Using GIS Technology for Earth Systems-level Analyses

地球系统科学(40)根据美国国家科学基金会1996年的报告《塑造未来》，本科生的首要目标是直接体验探究的方法和过程。目前，许多高校非理科专业的学生倾向于通过选修面向专业的低分内容的理科课程来满足通识教育的理科要求。这些类型的通识教育课程的学生很少有机会体验旨在发展科学推理的开放式探究，或者在地球系统层面上调查具有地方意义的、与科学相关的问题。我们需要一个课程框架，它可以作为在地球系统一级理解和分析科学概念的基础，可以纳入最早的本科教育阶段。我们对非专业科学课程的设想是，在地球系统过程的背景下，使用标准的工业技术和计算机程序来综合科学概念和推理。这个项目的重点是将技术带入普通教育科学课堂。正在设计和评估一门以技术为基础的跨学科课程，该课程面向非理科专业的本科生进行地球系统层面的探究和研究。波特兰州立大学最近在其通识教育计划(UNST)中所做的工作表明，地理信息系统可以成为向本科生通识教育学生教授地球系统的一个吸引人的有用工具。然而，遇到的问题是缺乏一个统一的流域覆盖范围数据库，该数据库与易于理解的课程挂钩。到目前为止，讲师们搜索然后剪辑个别覆盖范围，并将可用的信息应用到课堂活动中。我们的目标是研究、选择和地理参考哥伦比亚河流域内适当的环境“覆盖范围”，并编制和评估一门课程，以确定其提高学生对流域和水质的系统理解的能力。其结果将是一张光盘，其中包括适当的覆盖范围、数据集、模块说明和教师课程。之所以选择哥伦比亚河流域(CRB)，是因为UNST内有一系列以CRB为中心的通识教育课程，并有大量目标受众在PSU和整个地区范围内测试课程。在成功完成该项目的这一阶段后，可通过与其他机构的伙伴关系，为北美境内更多的大型流域编制类似的覆盖范围和课程，以便在全国范围内传播。

Earth Systems Science (40) According to the National Science Foundation's 1996 report "Shaping the Future," the overarching goal for undergraduate students is to directly experience the methods and processes of inquiry. At present, at many colleges non-science majors tend to meet general education science requirements by taking lower division content-based science courses designed for majors. Students in these types of general education classes seldom have the opportunity to experience open-ended inquiry geared towards developing scientific reasoning or to investigate locally significant, scientifically relevant questions at the earth systems level. We need a curricular framework that can be used as the foundation for understanding and analyzing scientific concepts at the earth systems level which can be incorporated into the earliest stages undergraduate education. Our vision of a science curriculum for non-majors is one that synthesizes scientific concepts and reasoning using standard industry technology and computer programs within the context of earth system processes. This project focuses on bringing technology to the general education science classroom. An interdisciplinary technology-based curriculum is being designed and assessed, which engages undergraduate non-science majors in earth systems level inquiry and research. Recent work at Portland State University in their general education program (UNST) has shown that Geographic Information Systems can be an engaging and useful tool for teaching earth systems to undergraduate general education students. The problem encountered though is the lack of a unified database of coverages for watersheds that is tied to an easily understandable curriculum. Until now, instructors searched for then clipped individual coverages and worked the available information into classroom activities. Our objectives are to research, select and geo-reference appropriate environmental "coverages" within the Columbia River Basin and to produce and evaluate a curriculum to determine its ability to advance students towards a systematic understanding of watersheds and water quality. The outcome will be a CD ROM with appropriate coverages, data sets, modular instructions and a teacher's curriculum. The Columbia River Basin (CRB) was chosen because there are a series of general education courses within UNST that center around the CRB and a large target audience for testing the curriculum within PSU and region wide. Upon successful completion of this phase of the project, similar coverages and curriculum can be developed for national dissemination for additional large watersheds within North America through partnerships with other institutions.