Incentives and Related Resources

There are many new incentives and opportunities to develop better links between research and education:

• Recognition that discovery is common to both the research and educational mission; it motivates, enriches, and sustains the research community; it is an essential component of the process of learning science.
• Value is added to the research enterprise by expanding the impact of scientific discovery through educational experiences in classrooms and outreach to the public; value is added to the educational experience by translating the excitement of discovery of new knowledge to students.
• Collaborative partnerships among those who discover new knowledge (i.e., researchers) and those who translate and deliver this knowledge (i.e. educators) are essential.
• Application of a systems approach-geoscience researchers are increasingly drawn towards multi- and interdisciplinary studies of the whole Earth system, which requires sharing information and working together in new ways. This approach naturally carries through into the educational arena, as well. For more information, see "Shaping the Future of Undergraduate Earth Science Education, Innovation and Change Using an Earth System Approach (Ireton, Manduca, and Mogk, 1997)
• Inculcation of "scientific habits of the mind" for ALL students (e.g.,Project 2061, AAAS 1989; Shaping the Future of Undergraduate SMET Education, NSF 96-139). All students should be given the opportunity to learn science through direct experience with the methods and process of discovery and inquiry.

In this digital age, there are unprecedented opportunities for the scientific community to acquire, analyze, interpret and distribute new scientific data to formal and informal learning settings for use by all students and citizens. New communication networks can link scientists, educators, and learners in new ways. New opportunities include research and research-like experiences for students, citizens, and teachers; use of real-time or archived data in classrooms; and new initiatives to support research on learning to teaching in the Earth sciences.

Resources

• http://www.agu.org./cgi-bin/sessionsf?meeting=fm00?=ED62A&maxhits=100 - AGU session on Bridging Research and Education, Fall 2000 (Link Broken):
  Presentations by Dave Mogk, Margaret Leinen, Cliff Jacobs, Cathy Manduca and others discussed the essential interplay between research and education, examples of successful bridges, and the role of NSF projects including DLESE in bringing together these two activities of the scientific community.
  • Presentation by Cliff Jacobs Powerpoint (PowerPoint 1.8MB Jan4 08)
  • Presentation by Cathy Manduca Powerpoint (PowerPoint 1.9MB Jan4 08)
  • Presentation by Dave Mogk
• The Bridges Report:
  Connecting Research and Education in the Earth System Sciences presents recommendations from the pre-planning committee of the "Geoscience Education in the Next Millennium" meeting at the National Science Foundation (April 28, 2000). These recommendations highlight the integration of research and education,opportunities for research in education, and the use of research on education.