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Why Field Trips?

Field experiences provide unique and valuable learning environments for students learning Earth Science. The physical scales over which geologic phenomena operate are difficult to grasp from even the most advanced visualization resources; there is no satisfactory substitute for standing at an outcrop or tracing a rock unit contact in conveying the significance of geologic maps or plate tectonics. This basic precept is at the heart of reform measures emphasizing “hands-on, minds-on” learning. In geoscience, “hands-on” should not be limited to “hand sample”. Secondly, a pervasive attitude of science as an austere profession reserved for a privileged few can impede student learning. Field experiences may reduce this barrier by demystifying subject matter and facilitating place-based science inquiry. If students realize that their local environments are research foci for scientists, and that they can make observations and form hypotheses using skills they already possess, they may shed a bias that to become a scientist you must possess exotic glassware and wear a white lab coat. This opportunity is particularly acute in Hawaii, where the landscape is as rich in surficial geological phenomena as any place in the world.

Why This Workshop?

Unless you have taken a course in a geoscience department, you may be unprepared to embark on field excursions with students. For those lacking personal experience, geology content is difficult to self-teach using field guides, and the logistics of a one or two-stop field trip with students may seem formidable. Carrie DeMott and Julia Hammer are developing educational materials intended for 6-8th grade instruction. The materials include pre- and post-assessment instruments, classroom activities, and guides for field trips on Oahu, Maui, and Hawaii, as well as resources for deeper investigation. These products will be disseminated to teachers through a summer workshop.

What's Involved?

• Interactive instruction on plate tectonics, origin of magma, development of Hawaiian volcanic chain, volcanic processes and hazards
• Trips to local area field sites such as Diamond Head, Manoa landslide area, and Koko rift
• Help developing a WebQuest virtual field trip for your students
• Small class size: between four and six teacher-participants
• Exposure to laboratory experiments in igneous petrology
• Hawaii State Science Teacher Standards (HiCPS) explicitly addressed

Comments from Prior Teacher-Participants

Working in Julia’s lab made me excited about discovery again and helped me see science as a creative process again, more so than a set of facts.  As a result, I completely changed the emphasis of my physical science class this year.”

The experience promoted discussion between two teachers at different schools, where the emphases and approaches to physical science education are different.”

“I can really see using the same techniques, analogies and types of equipment in my classroom to talk about not only light (from a physics perspective) but also crystal structure and materials science (from a chemistry perspective).”

“I found today’s information very valuable as it supports my lesson that teaches the students about viscosity of liquids.  I never knew that this theme was also important to lava flows and rocks.  I can transfer this new knowledge on to my students as it has an everyday application and will make the learning meaningful.”

“The other highlight of the day was checking out and playing with the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)...  While the explanation of how it worked is WAY more detailed than I would discuss with most high school students, having a better understanding of how it functions will help me in the long run.”

“Many things that I learned and experience this summer have made me more confident in teaching science.”

General Science Content Standards

Participation in this professional development program is anticipated to strengthen teacher understanding of the following National Content Standards defined for grades 9-12 and Content and Performance Standards of the Hawaii Department of Education, grade 12:

National Standards

• change, constancy, and measurement
• evolution and equilibrium
• understanding scientific inquiry.
• properties of earth materials
• structure of the earth system
• conservation of energy and increase in disorder
• chemical reactions
• geochemical cycles

State Standards

• doing scientific inquiry
• using unifying concepts and themes
• doing safety
• relating the nature of technology to science
• understanding scientific inquiry and the content of scientific knowledge
• nature of matter
• forces that shape the Earth

 

For more information about Julia Hammer and her research, you can also check out her web site.

 


 

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