EarthCaching for Pre-Service Teachers: Examining Attitudes and Intentions towards Informal Science Learning

这个探索和设计项目是改进本科STEM教育计划的参与学生学习轨道，将开发、测试和研究高质量的本科教材，将实地地球科学学习整合到小学教师教育中。从历史上看，未来的小学教师教授地球科学的方式并不一致，许多小学教师在实践中缺乏对地球科学主题的强烈接触。地球科学是对人类福祉和全球可持续发展具有重要意义的问题的核心，强有力的K-12地球科学教育对于确保能够在自己的生活中做出明智决定的公民的发展和激励新一代地球科学家至关重要。在任何一门科学中，地球科学工作人员中人数不足的少数群体的参与率最低，如果地球科学工作人员的数量和多样性都要增长，就需要更多地关注各级地球科学教师的准备工作。该项目通过在基础教育专业的科学内容课程中测试一种新的地球科学教学模式来解决这个问题。该模式融合了实地经验和非正式、课外学习的原则，使用非常成功的EarthCaching计划作为教师候选人学习的基础。新课程教材将在资助期内直接影响225名本科教育专业学生，目的是增加他们对地球科学核心概念的知识和对实地学习的积极态度，从而加强他们在自己的课堂上教授科学的准备。该项目回应了进一步研究非正式学习如何补充正规课堂环境的需要。该项目将开发和研究一个课程，其中包括地球缓存入门模块和六个地球缓存真实的实地体验，这些体验将在课外完成。课程将针对职前小学教师；然而，教材将适用于特殊教育和幼儿教育专业。这一增强的课程内容将支持职前教师将抽象的地球科学概念与现实世界的背景联系起来。该项目将采用定性和定量的研究方法，提供丰富的数据集，以增进对实地非正式学习对符合下一代科学标准的教师候选人的地球科学知识的影响的理解。此外，本研究将探讨教师在参与非正式学习活动后，是否愿意与学生一起使用非正式学习经验，以及教师对终身科学学习的个人倾向是否有所改变。这些课程材料将成为南伊利诺伊大学爱德华兹维尔分校职前教师科学内容课程的永久组成部分，并将广泛传播给教师教育和地球科学教育界。这些研究结果将成为一个更大的项目的基础，该项目将研究非正式学习在不同机构背景下培养科学教师方面的作用。此外，被接受进入EarthCaching.org公共数据库的项目开发的EarthCach将供普通公众发现和探索，预计将有数千人访问。罗伯特·诺伊斯教师奖学金计划为该项目提供共同资助，以表彰其与诺伊斯努力更广泛的教师培养目标的一致性。

This Exploration & Design project, of the Engaged Student Learning track of the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education program, will develop, test, and study high-quality undergraduate instructional materials that integrate field-based geoscience learning into elementary teacher education. Historically, the geosciences have been taught inconsistently to future elementary teachers, and many elementary teachers enter their practice lacking strong exposure to geoscience topics. The geosciences are central to issues of importance to human well-being and global sustainability, and strong K-12 geoscience instruction is critical to ensuring the development of citizens who can make informed decisions in their own lives and for inspiring a new generation of geoscientists. The geoscience workforce has the lowest participation by underrepresented minorities of any of the sciences, and if the geoscience workforce is to grow in both numbers and diversity, more attention to the preparation of teachers of earth science across grade levels is needed. This project addresses this problem by testing a new model for geoscience instruction in a science content course for elementary education majors. The model integrates principles of field-based experiences and informal, out-of-classroom learning using the highly successful EarthCaching program as a foundation for teacher candidates' learning. The new curriculum materials will directly impact 225 undergraduate education majors during the grant period, with the goal of increasing their knowledge of earth science core concepts and positive attitudes towards field-based learning, thereby strengthening their preparation to teach science in their own classrooms. The project responds to the need for further studies on how informal learning complements the formal classroom environment. The project will develop and study a curriculum that includes an Introduction to EarthCaching module and six EarthCaching authentic field-based experiences to be completed outside of class time. The curriculum will be aimed at pre-service elementary teachers; however, the materials will be appropriate for special education and early childhood education majors. This enhanced course content will support pre-service teachers to connect abstract geoscience concepts to real-world contexts. The project will employ qualitative and quantitative research methods, providing a rich dataset to advance understanding of the impact of field-based informal learning on teacher candidates' knowledge of earth science as aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards. Furthermore, the research will examine teacher willingness to use informal learning experiences with their students after participating in such an activity and changes in their own personal dispositions towards lifelong science learning. The curriculum materials will become a permanent component of the science content course for pre-service teachers at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, and will be widely disseminated to the teacher education and geoscience education communities. The research findings will be the foundation for a larger project to examine the role of informal learning in the preparation of science teachers across different institutional contexts. Additionally, project-developed EarthCaches that are accepted into the EarthCaching.org public database will be available for discovery and exploration by members of the general public, with expected visits in the many thousands. The Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship program is providing co-funding for this project in recognition of its alignment with the broader teacher preparation goals of the Noyce effort.