Earth and Space Science - 2012 Course

A summer course for middle and high school teachers
Taught at UMass Amherst
and sponsored by the NSF and the STEM Education Institute at UMass Amherst

  • Tuesday and Wednesday, August 14 – 15, 2012 at U Mass Amherst
  • 9:00 to 3:30 each day
  • $80/day stipend ($160 total) and materials provided to each teacher
  • Free PDPs (no graduate credit)

Earth and Space Science will develop an understanding of planetary accretion and evolution and the place of the Earth in the solar system.

  • Making a planet: From elements to dust to planetesimals
  • Why there are volcanoes
  • What shapes the crusts of planets; what do we see in NASA photos?
  • Comparative planetology using maps
  • What is the lifetime of a planet?

Along the way we will cover pertinent topics in mathematics, including:

  • Units and converting units
  • Scale and dimensional analysis
  • Scientific notation and significant figures

After the course, participants are encouraged to develop curriculum units that will be uploaded to the course website, edited as a group, and piloted during the school year. This material will be available for other teachers to use (with the writer's permission) via a course website.

Application process

If you are interested in participating in the 2012 class, please use the application form to tell us about yourself.

Application Deadline - April 1, 2012

For more information, contact Dr. Lindy Elkins-Tanton, Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington DC:ltelkins@dtm.ciw.edu; 202-478-8828


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