Editorial: The Geosciences Gap in K-12 Education
Karen S. McNeal1
Many geoscience professionals in the United States
wonder why there seems to be so little interest in the
geosciences by university students and for that matter
why the general public does not seem to be aware of
geoscience phenomena in their daily lives. University
faculty are often surprised by how little geosciences seems
to be taught at the K-12 level. One can not help to make
the connection between the lack of geoscience curriculum
in K-12 schools, especially at the secondary level, and the
low recruitment of student, especially of minorities, into
the geoscience fields; short-sighted public policy and
management decisions; limited teacher knowledge of the
geosciences; and the overall limited public understanding
of the spatial and temporal complexity of complex earth
systems and processes. Despite these somewhat daunting
barriers to overcome there exists a positive, national push
by curriculum developers to bring valuable geoscience
curriculum to the K-12 level.
The National Research Council recently released its
planned modifications to the national K-12 standards,
where approximately twenty-five percent of these
standards include Earth and space science content and
process threads. However, many of the individual state
standards do not reflect the national standards
emphasized in Earth and space science. One may ask,
“why not”? Unfortunately, most of the high school state
assessments across the nation required for the attainment
of a high school diploma focus on the pure sciences (such
as biology, physical science, and math) and not applied
sciences (such as geoscience, space science, and
engineering). Subjects targeted in “high stakes”
assessments usually have the school administrator’s full
attention, and thus, the financial and personnel support.
The desire for elevated school rankings and the fear of
being taken over by larger state authorities leaves only the
“left-over” resources for Earth and space science courses.
If the teaching and learning goals for each state should
mirror the major areas of the national standards - twentyfive percent of which include an Earth and space science
emphasis - then most states have failed: a rather large
mismatch between state and national curriculum priorities
persists. Furthermore, best curriculum practices include
“backwards design” approaches where the assessments
should be strongly tied to the learning goals. At least one
of these “high stakes” tests should encompass the Earth
and space sciences, with best practices incorporated into
the curricula with a renewed vigor.
Most “college-bound” students do not take Earth
science in those cases where a high school is fortunate
enough to offer Earth and space science courses because
these classes are usually designed for the student that may
not be able to succeed in the pure sciences. The state of
Texas is an exception to this common phenomenon, where
it has recently incorporated into its science curriculum
required Earth and space science courses at the high
1Department
of Geosciences, Mississippi State University, PO BOX 5488,
Mississippi State, MS, 39762; [email protected]
Editorial: McNeal - The Geosciences Gap in K-12 Education
school level. These courses are cap-stone classes for all
graduating seniors, and considered “college-bound”
curriculum. The biggest problem Texas faces
incorporating this new curriculum is the lack of trained
teachers in the geosciences that can adequately teach the
content of such courses. Teacher training is imperative to
such initiatives, but once again, the state priorities often
dictate the content areas in which teachers can be certified.
For instance, in Mississippi, secondary science pre-service
teachers have a choice in emphasizing their degree
concentrations in one of the following content domains:
Physics, Chemistry, or Biology, with little opportunity to
expand their knowledge in the geosciences. It is not
surprising, then, that many Mississippi teachers feel
uncomfortable teaching this area. However, other states,
such as Michigan, include an integrated science program
for their secondary pre-service teachers where at least
eighteen hours of Earth and space science courses are
required. Unfortunately, the exposure and knowledge a
student receives about the geosciences is often dependent
on their teacher’s exposure and comfort with the field.
This teacher-student phenomenon leads to a vicious cycle,
a detrimental feedback loop of limited student geosciences
experiences, frequent manifestations of commonly held
misconceptions about critical concepts (such as causes of
the greenhouse effect), and general devaluing of the field
by the public and decision-makers. The proper training of
teachers in geosciences is especially important given the
difficulty in conceptualizing complex Earth phenomena,
as well as the interdisciplinary and applied nature of the
geosciences field, which perpetuates the dilemma.
The large variety in state science programs can be
challenging for those who train undergraduate students in
the geosciences. State curriculum and assessment
developers need to ensure that the appropriate national
standards are being targeted in their states and to fill the
curriculum gaps in the Earth and space sciences. Since
resources are limited in many states due to the current
economic crisis and the hiring/re-training of teachers may
be difficult, creative initiatives should be utilized in order
to bring the geosciences to the forefront of the science
curriculum. Such examples may include integrating
Earth/space science standards and curricula into the
traditional pure science courses since there are frequent
connections with the geosciences that can be made within
these fields. Professional development that supports
teacher awareness and knowledge of the geosciences
should also be provided. Furthermore, as geoscientists, we
need to be active in our own states and involved in the
educational development process if we would like change
to occur in Earth and space science education at the K-12
level, and specifically in secondary classrooms. Such
professional activity should also include the initiation of
partnerships by geoscientists with local schools combined
with visits to the classroom which can serve to assist
teachers with their teaching of the geosciences and inform
students of opportunities in the field.
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