HR: 1400h
AN: ED73B-03    [Abstracts]
TI: Empowering Rural Appalachian Youth Through Integrated Inquiry-based Earth Science
AU: Cartwright, T J
EM: tina.cartwright@marshall.edu
AF: Marshall University, 135 Jenkins Hall, Huntington, WV 25755, United States
AU: * Hogsett, M
EM: hogsett11@marshall.edu
AF: Marshall University, 135 Jenkins Hall, Huntington, WV 25755, United States
AB: Science education must be relevant and inspiring to keep students engaged and receptive to learning. Reports suggest that science education reform can be advanced by involving students in active research (NSF 1996). Through a 2-year Geoscience Education award from the National Science Foundation, a program called IDGE (Integrated Design for Geoscience Education) has targeted low-income, under-represented, and minority high school students in rural Appalachia in inquiry-based projects, international collaboration, and an international environmental expedition incorporating the GLOBE program protocols. This program targeted Upward Bound students at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. The Upward Bound is a federally-supported program targeting low-income, under-represented, and minority students for inclusion in a summer academic- enrichment program. IDGE builds on the mission of Upward Bound by encouraging underprivileged students to investigate science and scientific careers. This outreach has proven to be successful in enhancing positive attitudes and understanding about science and increasing the number of students considering science careers. IDGE has found that students must be challenged to observe the world around them and to consider how their decisions affect the future of our planet, thus making geoscience relevant and interesting to the students. By making the geoscience course inquiry-based and incorporating field research that is relevant to local environmental issues, it becomes possible for students to bridge the gap between science in theory and science in practice while remaining engaged. Participants were able to broaden environmental connections through an ecological expedition experience to Costa Rica, serving as an opportunity to broaden the vision of students as members of an international community of learners and scientists through their experiences with a diverse natural environment. This trip, in coordination with the inclusion of scientific instruments such as GPS and probeware, fostered additional student interest in earth science. IDGE has shown to have a lasting effect on the participating students who learn from the experience that science is a dynamic field in need of creative minds who want to make discoveries. Through relevant inquiry, the quality of geoscience instruction is inspiring a new generation of geoscientists. This work was supported in part by the National Science Foundation under award 0735596. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Science Foundation.
UR: http://wvscience.org/IDGE
DE: 0800 EDUCATION
DE: 0805 Elementary and secondary education
DE: 0815 Informal education
DE: 0845 Instructional tools
SC: Education and Human Resources [ED]
MN: 2009 Joint Assembly