Revisioning Earth Science Education in a Nontraditional Teacher Education Program

这个项目正在修订现有的地球科学本科课程，整合了教育、内容、技术和评估方面的专业知识。该课程的目标受众是在联合学院和大学（UI&amp；U）佛罗里达学术中心（FAC）非传统教师教育项目学习的职前教师。该项目帮助FAC以少数民族为主的教师教育学生获得符合佛罗里达州阳光州标准的内容知识，改善他们对科学教育和科学过程的态度，提高他们使用教学技术学习科学的能力。为了服务于这个低住院率项目的学生，该课程采用在线/现场混合的形式，强调在线调查和有限的现场合作会议和实地考察。调查小组正在与目前在迈阿密-戴德县和布劳沃德县教小学的职前教师和大学校友协商，以确定适当的练习，以提高对基于标准的地球科学主题的认识。在这个小组和外部评估人员的帮助下，该团队正在按照在线学习和基于问题的教学法的最佳实践设计课程，采用旧金山州立大学教师开发的地球系统科学课程的方法和材料，以及来自dleses和MERLOT的材料。该项目旨在为UI&amp；U的全国本科课程提供在线课程的最佳实践系统的开发。在这个项目中开发的新课程材料和评估工具将通过DLESE、MERLOT和ERIC提供。

Earth Systems Science (40) This project is revising an existing undergraduate course in the earth sciences, integrating expertise in education, content, technology, and assessment. The target audience for the course is pre-service teachers studying in Union Institute and University's (UI&U) nontraditional teacher-education program at its Florida Academic Center (FAC). The project helps FAC's largely minority teacher-education students achieve content knowledge consistent with Florida's Sunshine State Standards, improve their attitudes towards science education and the scientific process, and enhance their ability to use instructional technology to learn about science. To serve students studying in this low-residency program, the course is using a blended online/live format that emphasizes online investigation and limited live collaborative sessions and field trips. The investigation team is consulting with pre-service teachers and university alumni currently teaching elementary school in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties to identify appropriate exercises to improve knowledge of standards-based earth science topics. With this group, and an outside evaluator, the team is designing the course following best practices in online learning and problem-based pedagogy, adapting approaches and materials from an earth systems science course developed by the faculty of San Francisco State University, and materials from DLESE and MERLOT.This project is aiding in the development of a system of best practices in online course offerings for UI&U's undergraduate programs nationwide. New course materials and assessment instruments developed during this project will be made available via DLESE, MERLOT, and ERIC.