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The Preparing Teachers to Teach Earth Science project website has not been significantly updated since 2007. We are preserving the web pages here because they still contain useful and ideas and content. But be aware that it may have out of date information.
For more recent resources related to Earth science teacher preparation, check out the collection at Teach the Earth.
Initial Publication Date: May 3, 2006

Brainstorming Report outs

Friday May 16, 3:20 pm


Recruiting Geoscience Students for K-12 Teaching Careers: Warming the Climate and Recruiting the People



Developing Knowledge of Instructional Materials

  • Using the web
    • Provide exemplary good best-practice materials available as an online offering for K-12 teachers
    • Rely on exemplary existing materials
    • Build concept course based on materials
  • Classroom
    • Using classroom curricular materials in K-12 ES content courses
    • DLESE
    • NASA matrix linking materials standards -- materials need review
    • Summer programs need to be open to pre-service teachers -- they have both time and need; problem with funding not making it open to this group

Mentoring/Advising

  • Keeping students in college in the first place
    • Look at what historically black colleges are doing
    • Foster learning groups and peer groups, cohort groups of all kinds
  • Involve pre-service teachers and science majors in outreach programs like open houses.
  • Must have institutional support and connections between science and education departments
  • Get students to consider geology
  • Get beyond geology=rocks stereotype
  • Variety of things students need to know
    • They are adults now
    • How to make a lesson plan
    • Classroom management
    • Good contact on site between science, education, and students
  • Private universe -- what are misconceptions

Co-curricular activies

  • Important because they provide important knowlege that students don't get in curriculum that is necessary to succeed
  • Expose pre-service to in-service activities
  • National meetings
  • Workshops with in-service
  • Science fairs/after school/Saturday field trips (museums)
  • Critical aspects
    • Developing unit plans
    • Standards base (ES and other)
    • Web-based data sets
    • Demonstrate "hands-on" using simple tools (play dough)
    • Put in contact with people who run high tech equipment
  • Conditions
    • Partnerships are essential

Working with Teachers after they leave the Department

  • Why:
    • Networking
    • Need for credit
    • Remain part of profession
    • Despairable need for content
    • Teachers can be involved in research, department or professional development
  • Evidence it's important
    • Mass required for higher level of certification
    • Assessments show PD affects teaching
  • Critical aspects: conditions for success
    • Funding, evaluation, follow-up
    • Blend of content and pedagogy
    • Involve master teachers

Why are pre-service teachers important to departments?

Critical that they be active members of department to change second class status

  • Ideas:
    • TAs (give priority so can practice methods)
    • Outreach coordination (school visits to department, classroom contacts, recruitment tool for majors, give academic credit)
    • Research assistants in action research for faculty teacihng or on traditional research
    • Criterion 2 consultants for faculty
    • High quality peer mentors
    • Teaching freshman lab as components for graduation