Initial Publication Date: January 22, 2015
Kyle Gray: Using Interactions between Water, Earth's Surface, and Human Activity in Investigations into Earth and Space Science
Photo of Dr. Kyle Gray
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Provenance: Kyle Gray, University of Northern Iowa
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About this Course
A 200-level geology course for pre-service teachers.
15
students
Two 110-minute class
sessions
One 50-minute class
session
four-year public liberal arts
university
Syllabus (Acrobat (PDF) 454kB Jul19 14)
Investigations into Earth and Space Science is an inquiry-based, Earth and space science content course for elementary education majors earning a minor is science education. The course is taught entirely within a laboratory format with minimal lecture and meets for two hours twice a week and one hour on Fridays. This course is a sequel to an introductory Earth and space science course that Elementary Education and Early Childhood Education majors are required to complete.
Students who take this class are earning a minor in science education that includes 28 semester hours of science content plus a 2-hour science methods course in addition to the methods courses required for the elementary education degree. Students who take Investigations typically have a strong affinity for science and many would prefer teaching science at the elementary or middle school level.
Course Goals:
- Introduce students to Earth and space science concepts not covered in the introductory course.
- Reinforce concepts introduced in the introductory course.
- Model student-centered, inquiry-based teaching practices.
Course Content
Investigations into Earth and Space Science focuses on topics from the 7–12 Iowa state standards but also revisits material from the state K–6 standards. Since introducing this module, both Investigations into . . . and its perquisite course have been revised to better align with the Next Generation Science Standards. Examples of topics introduced in this course include:
- Stellar evolution (including the H-R diagram)
- Exoplanets (detection and types)
- Near Earth Objects and hazards associated with large impacts
- Volcanic hazards (including pyroclastic density currents)
- Isostasy and mountain building
- Flooding and recurrence intervals
- Mass wasting (including landslides)
- Climate and global warming
Throughout the course, students are given multiple opportunities to interact with the target concepts through guided, inquiry investigations, field trips, and group projects. The entire course is bound together using the theme of interstellar exploration. During the astronomy unit, students determine limitations on feasible human travel to other stars and apply course concepts to a fictitious exoplanet. For example, students determine the number of tectonic plates on the planet and infer past geologic events based on topography and geometry of the plates. They also predict current plate motions and identify suitable sites for colonization based on an open-ended set of criteria. By the end of the term, students have applied a wide range of concepts to their planet including the locations of deserts and rainforests, directions of surface ocean currents, and areas susceptible to earthquakes.
A Success Story in Building Student Engagement
The students taking Investigations into Earth and Space Science plan on teaching science at the elementary or middle school level. Unlike many of their peers, these students are interested in science and motivated to learn more. They also are familiar with an inquiry-based pedagogy that eschews lecture for projects and student-centered activities. Even though this course is student-centered, I am continually looking for ways to improve student involvement in the class and provide new ways of connecting the course concepts to my students' lives. The activities in this module helped my students to see how the concepts applied to other regions of the country. In particular they were excited to compare our local river systems to river systems from other parts of the country. Through their experiences with this module, they came away with a stronger understanding of the factors that shape and influence a stream and appreciated the complexity of issues related to living near a river.
My Experience Teaching with InTeGrate Materials
I have found that incorporating materials from the InTeGrate program has helped my pre-service teachers make the connection between their everyday lives and concepts taught in my Earth and Space Science content course. While working on this module, my students found the interactive investigations with the steam tables to be engaging and quickly developed an understanding of where groundwater comes from and how it moves through the subsurface and into their water bottles. They also found Google Earth to be an engaging platform that could easily be used to answer scientific questions. Before taking this course, most of my students had never seen Google Earth, but they eagerly embraced this technology and found numerous ways to use it throughout the remainder of the semester. For this module, they especially enjoyed using Google Earth to look at river systems that looked very different from the ones found near our campus.
Relationship of InTeGrate Materials to my Course
Investigations in Earth and Space Science is a 15-week course offered during odd-numbered spring semesters. This units within this module were implemented during weeks 10 and 11 as part of a unit on erosion and surficial processes, and marked a transition from topics on the solid Earth to processes acting on its surface. I have also used the materials from Unit 1 in subsequent teacher workshops.
Unit 1
- The water demonstration is very powerful. I have used it in other workshops. A pipette works well for collecting the smaller amounts of water, and food coloring helps to illustrate the different water reservoirs.
- Students found the plant transpiration station to be intriguing, and it is a great way to illustrate the organic contribution to the hydrologic cycle.
- The setup that will require the greatest attention is the small stream tables. Getting the right consistency of sand and clay is tricky and should be practiced several days in advance of this unit. I tried using a sand/clay mixture from a home improvement store, but the water never infiltrated that material and created a big mess. To compensate, I used a full-size stream table from my classroom and had students observe how grains of different sizes moved differently.
Unit 2
- This unit is great for showing students how rivers change shape as they progress from source to mouth. It also provides a excellent introduction to Unit 3. I followed this unit as-is except for the part with the stream tables. Rather than use a homemade model, I used a full-size stream table from the classroom. It is best to have the water source fall from a container rather than a hose connected to a pump. This better simulates precipitation and models how precipitation gathers together into smaller streams which then combine into larger streams.
Unit 3
- I followed this unit exactly as written. Initially I had the students type in the latitude and longitude of each location, but that can be difficult to do in Google Earth. I strongly recommend downloading the location files (.kmz files) onto all student computers. Doing so will speed up the time required for the module and allow the students to focus on observations rather than finding the locations.
- Do not assume that your students have used Google Earth. A quick tutorial on how to use the various tools is very helpful and cuts down on numerous questions later on. SERC has a good resource for learning how to implement Google Earth in your classroom.
Unit 4
- I followed this unit exactly as written. The homework project works best if you can provide some time in class for students to begin their research and organize their tasks.
Unit 5
- I did not fully implement this unit. I had the students read the article and we discussed it in class. To fully implement Unit 5, your students must be familiar with the rock cycle, plate tectonics, and isostasy.
Assessments
I used the assessments provided in the module and then included some questions about the unit on a subsequent exam. The flood brochure takes several days for students to complete and ideally would be assigned in class with time to start the project and several days to complete outside of class.
Outcomes
This was the first time I had used Google Earth as more than demonstrating objects such as volcanoes or continental shelves. I found that it is a powerful tool that allows students to explore places they could never visit as part of the class. I have also found the section of the hydrologic cycle to be helpful when teaching workshops for teachers.
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