Enhancing Access to the Geosciences for Latino/a English Language Learners in North Texas (EAGLE-NT)

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The University of North Texas, in collaboration with Denton Independent School District (ISD), Lewisville ISD, Irving ISD, Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD, Fort Worth ISD, the Elm Fork Education Center, and the Clear Creek Natural Heritage Center, are using this OEDG planning grant award to establish a targeted partnership in the North Texas region to explore strategies for enhancing the quality of geoscience education at the elementary school level for Latino/a English Language Learners (ELLs). The project seeks to help prepare K-5 teachers who will begin teaching a new science curriculum in the fall of 2010 that includes Earth Science objectives at every grade level. Monthly planning workshops in September, October, and November of 2010 will bring together stakeholders from the North Texas region, including ~30 elementary science teachers from North Texas elementary schools with large Hispanic populations, six UNT faculty members with expertise in geoscience education and bilingual education, and two representatives from local informal science education outreach centers. The partnership will assess the challenges of teaching Earth Science to Latino/a ELLs, plan research-based methods for confronting these challenges, and identify deficits in teacher preparation and curriculum materials for geoscience education.