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. 197
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