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Course Overview
From the soil and rocks beneath our feet to our connection to
the Moon and Sun, the story of Earth is a fascinating one — and
most of what is known about the Earth has been gathered through
observation and interpretation. Children are careful observers of their
surroundings,
and try to make sense of their world from a very early age.
As teachers, it is important to encourage students’ curiosity,
help them sharpen their skills of observation and interpretation, foster
their development
of science knowledge, and share with them the excitement of
exploring Earth and the solar system. The challenge is to ensure that
their understandings
are scientifically accurate. To do this, teachers need to be
comfortable with the science content they teach, and to have their own
sound understandings
of core science concepts. Essential Science for Teachers: Earth
and Space Science is a content course designed to help K-6 teachers
enhance
their understandings of “big ideas” in Earth and Space Science.
This course is composed of eight sessions, each with a one-hour video
program addressing a topic area in Earth and Space science
that emphasizes the science content that is likely to be part
of any elementary school science curriculum. Posing the question "What
is Earth’s
structure and its place in the universe?", the course begins by looking
at soil, the top layer of the solid Earth and interface between
rock, water and atmosphere. We then explore the nature of the
dynamic Earth
and the internal and external processes that are continually
at work shaping the planet. Moving on from the Earth, the course
continues with an investigation
into Earth’s neighborhood in space. Video examples, colorful graphics,
lively animations, models, and other visual strategies are used
as learning tools to bring meaning to the content being addressed.
Essential
Science for Teachers: Earth and Space Science also highlights
the ideas that children bring to the classroom about
these topics. The programs include interviews with children that
uncover their
ideas about science concepts related to the content of each program,
providing participants the opportunity to confront their own
science ideas. The
programs also feature first- through sixth- grade classrooms
in which students and teachers explore Earth and Space Science
topics. Connections
to current science knowledge are made through scientist interviews
about the ideas they apply on a daily basis.
By exploring topics
that range from soil to the solar system, Essential Science:
Earth and Space Science strives to provide
participants the opportunity to increase their science content
knowledge, become better
informed of students’ science conceptions, and develop new understandings
of how this content connects to K - 6 classrooms.
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Session Descriptions
Session 1.Earth's Solid Membrane: Soil
How does soil appear on a newly formed, barren volcanic island?
In this session, participants explore how soil develops, its
composition and structure, its role in certain Earth processes,
and its place in the
structure Earth.
Session 2.Every Rock Tells A Story
How can we use rocks to understand events in the Earth’s past? In
this session, participants examine the processes that form sedimentary
rocks, learn how fossils are preserved, and are introduced to
the theory of plate tectonics.
Session 3.Journey To The Earth's Interior
How do we know what the interior of the Earth is like if we’ve never
been there? In this session, participants investigate the internal
structure of the Earth and focus on features that are connected to tectonic
plate
movement.
Session 4.The Engine That Drives The Earth
What drives the movement of tectonic plates? This question is
explored by looking at how plates interact at their margins,
what makes volcanoes work, and the story of Hawaii's formation.
Session 5.When Continents Collide
How is it possible that marine fossils are found on Mount Everest,
the world's highest continental mountain? In this session, participants
examine what happens when continents collide and how this process
shapes the surface of the Earth.
Session 6.Restless Landscapes
If almost all mountains are formed the same way, why do they
look so different? This session focuses on forces continuously
at work on the surface of the Earth that sculpt the ever-changing
landscape.
Session 7.Our Nearest Neighbor: The Moon
Why is the Moon, our nearest neighbor in the solar system, so
different from the Earth? This session explores the complex connections
between the Earth and Moon, the origin of the Moon, and the roles
played by gravity and collisions in the Earth–Moon system.
Session
8: Order Out of Chaos: Our Solar System
Why do all the planets orbit the Sun in the same direction?
Why are the planets closest to the Sun so different from the gas
giants farther out? In this session, participants examine the
nature of the solar system
by considering scientific evidence about its formation.
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