Connecting Lessons to the World
The challenges facing our society to become more sustainable are substantial and require inter-disciplinary approaches. Although geologists possess specialized problem-solving skills that make them well-suited to help society move toward more sustainable practices, they tend to be under-represented in relation to other disciplines. The Geological Society of America predicts a 20 year shortage of geologists and most companies that employ geologists actively recruit from outside the USA. This under-representation calls for broad-scale educational opportunities to increase engagement with students who have an interest in the geological sciences. The inclusion of these exercises in middle school would have the effect of making geology more relevant to students who are fascinated by the subject (Gilbert et al, 2010) but who do not pursue it, possibly because they see it as less relevant, less prestigious or less scientific than other disciplines (Hoisch and Bowie, 2010), particularly by minority students who may view geology simply as the study of rocks (Kurtis, 2009) rather than a path to a challenging and fulfilling career that also pays well.
One of the main tenets of Project Based Instruction is to make the lessons relevant to the students’ lives. Both the teacher and the students pursue the answers to questions about the world around them. Most high schools do not have geology courses despite the built-in geologic relevancy to water, soil, mineral resources, energy and natural hazards. Students become actively engaged in the topic when they see how it relates to the environment around them (Krajcik and Czerniak, 2007) so middle school may be the only exposure the students have to the geological sciences. Project Based Lessons allow for the opportunity for the student to explore the topic in a way that is relevant to their lives and help them integrate the knowledge rather than a rote lesson that is barely retained long enough to take the test.
The Project Based Lesson I designed called "Save the Time Agent" also included plans for an interview with a field geologist, Vicki Mills who has done research for NASA on the Mars Rover data and is currently employed with a mining company in Arizona. This allows the students to question the geologist on the relevance of plate tectonics theories to modern geologist's work and see how the lesson connects to real-life scenarios. When students can talk to a woman who actually works in the field they are more able to picture themselves as being able to accomplish those same goals.
The challenges facing our society to become more sustainable are substantial and require inter-disciplinary approaches. Although geologists possess specialized problem-solving skills that make them well-suited to help society move toward more sustainable practices, they tend to be under-represented in relation to other disciplines. The Geological Society of America predicts a 20 year shortage of geologists and most companies that employ geologists actively recruit from outside the USA. This under-representation calls for broad-scale educational opportunities to increase engagement with students who have an interest in the geological sciences. The inclusion of these exercises in middle school would have the effect of making geology more relevant to students who are fascinated by the subject (Gilbert et al, 2010) but who do not pursue it, possibly because they see it as less relevant, less prestigious or less scientific than other disciplines (Hoisch and Bowie, 2010), particularly by minority students who may view geology simply as the study of rocks (Kurtis, 2009) rather than a path to a challenging and fulfilling career that also pays well.
One of the main tenets of Project Based Instruction is to make the lessons relevant to the students’ lives. Both the teacher and the students pursue the answers to questions about the world around them. Most high schools do not have geology courses despite the built-in geologic relevancy to water, soil, mineral resources, energy and natural hazards. Students become actively engaged in the topic when they see how it relates to the environment around them (Krajcik and Czerniak, 2007) so middle school may be the only exposure the students have to the geological sciences. Project Based Lessons allow for the opportunity for the student to explore the topic in a way that is relevant to their lives and help them integrate the knowledge rather than a rote lesson that is barely retained long enough to take the test.
The Project Based Lesson I designed called "Save the Time Agent" also included plans for an interview with a field geologist, Vicki Mills who has done research for NASA on the Mars Rover data and is currently employed with a mining company in Arizona. This allows the students to question the geologist on the relevance of plate tectonics theories to modern geologist's work and see how the lesson connects to real-life scenarios. When students can talk to a woman who actually works in the field they are more able to picture themselves as being able to accomplish those same goals.