An Immersion Professional Development Program in Environmental Science for Inservice Elementary School Teachers
- Resource Type
- Authors
- Richard E. Lee; Bruce E. Perry; Juanita Constible; Edward G. Soldo; Robert G. McWilliams
- Source
- Journal of Geoscience Education. 55:72-79
- Subject
- School teachers
Teaching skills
University faculty
Professional development
Mathematics education
Learning standards
General Earth and Planetary Sciences
Environmental science
TRIPS architecture
Content knowledge
Science education
Geology
Education
- Language
- ISSN
- 2158-1428
1089-9995
Poor performance by elementary school students on science assessment tests is due in part to inadequate science education for teachers. Environmental Science for Elementary School Teachers (ESEST) is a 14-year collaboration between university faculty in geology and biology and public school teachers in Ohio. The primary goal of this immersion, field-based program is to increase K-6 teacher knowledge of basic principles of environmental science. Participants and instructors take daily trips to field locations; hands-on activities are used to illustrate concepts such as geologic time and use of biotic indices to assess stream quality. Qualitative and quantitative assessments indicate a two-fold increase in content knowledge and an improvement in teaching skills by our participants. Further, participants return to their classrooms with the confidence to teach state academic content standards and an increased sense of independence. We argue that partnerships between K-12 and post-secondary institutions are cr...