Geology of Utah's National Parks and Monuments: Education Materials for Earth Science Courses

本提案中要求的资金将用于开发、评估和传播一个介绍性地球科学多媒体实验室的三个组成部分，该实验室的目标是供职前和在职教师使用。这三个组成部分是：1）基于CD-ROM的虚拟课程，包括基于犹他州的五个国家公园和纪念碑的特殊地质暴露的练习以及可以在任何地方进行的实践练习，旨在为用户提供分析地质过程及其产物的经验; 2）一套课程资料袋，内载详尽的课程计划、主要岩石样本、有关的地质及地形图，从技术和流行的文献，以及课程评估材料的参考;和3）一套录像带，提供有关偏远野外的深入资料，以及学生和研究人员在野外解决问题时所采用的技术。多媒体实验室的设计，将有助中学地球科学教师利用现有资料，地球系统的方法。该实验室将包括一系列开放式问题，重点是地球科学界目前正在研究的问题。这些问题的选择将鼓励发展解决问题的技能和整合各种来源信息的能力。技术技能和理论概念将仅在解决问题所必需的情况下在实验室中提出。参与该项目的学生和教师将使用定量和定性评估工具，包括诊断性学习日志、测试前/测试后态度调查和旨在测量高阶认知的工具，以确定材料在教授基本地质概念方面的成功。第二年，材料将在学年内由本科生（含职前教师）和从当地招聘的在职教师进行测试和评估。多媒体实验室的组成部分将根据参加者和我们自己的评价加以修改。在第二年的夏天，课程材料将对来自代表性不足的少数群体（妇女，非洲裔美国人和美洲土著人）的中学生进行测试，这些学生访问大学，作为旨在增加少数民族入学率的现有夏季青年计划的一部分。该方案允许各种各样的学生参与材料的评估，并将使PI能够调查不同教学方法和辅助手段对不同种族和经济背景以及男女学生的影响。多媒体实验室的组成部分将再次根据这些课程的参与者和教员的建议进行修改。在第三年，在职教师谁参加了第二年将测试多媒体实验室的有效性在自己的教室。此时将对多媒体实验室的组成部分和制作进行最后修改，实验室将在第三年年底向公众开放。

Funds requested in this proposal will be used to develop, evaluate, and disseminate three components of an introductory earth science multimedia laboratory that is targeted for use by pre-service and in-service teachers. The three components are: 1) a CD-ROM based virtual course including exercises based on the exceptional geologic exposures in five of Utah's National Parks and Monuments as well as hands-on exercises that can be performed anywhere and are intended to give users experience analyzing geologic processes and their products; 2) a course kit containing extensive lesson plans, key rock samples, relevant geologic and topographic maps, references from the technical and popular literature, and course evaluation materials; and 3) a video providing in depth information about the remote field sites and techniques used by students and researchers in the field to solve problems.The multimedia laboratory will be designed to help secondary school earth science teacher's present information using an Earth System approach. The laboratory will include a series of open-ended questions that focus on problems that are currently being researched by the Geoscience community. The questions will be chosen to encourage development of problem solving skills and the ability to integrate information from a variety of sources. Technical skills and theoretical concepts will be presented in the laboratory only as necessary to solve the problems. Quantitative and qualitative assessment vehicles, including diagnostic learning logs, pre-test/post-test attitude surveys and an instrument designed to measure higher-order cognition will be used by students and teachers who participate in the project to determine the materials success at teaching basic geologic concepts.During the first year of the project the three components will be developed. In the second year, the materials will be tested and assessed during the academic year by undergraduate students (including pre-service teachers) and in-service teachers recruited from the local area. The components of the multimedia laboratory will be modified in response to participants' and our own evaluations. During the summer of the second year the course materials will be tested on secondary school students from underrepresented minority groups (women, African American and Native American) that visit the University as part of an existing Summer Youth Program designed to increase minority enrollment. This program allows access to a wide variety of students to participate in assessment of the materials, and will allow the PIs to investigate the impact of different teaching methods and aids on students from diverse ethnic and economic backgrounds, as well as both genders. The components of the multimedia laboratory will again be modified as suggested by the participants in and instructors of these courses. During the third year, in-service teachers who participated during the second year will test the multimedia laboratory's effectiveness in their own classrooms. Final modifications to the components and production of the multimedia laboratory will be made at this time, and the laboratory will be made publicly available at the end of the third year.