Transcript Community and Authentic Experience: CIRES Earthworks Workshops Tim Weston2 (ATLAS) Susan Buhr1, Lesley Smith1 (CIRES) University of Colorado, Boulder.

Community and Authentic
Experience: CIRES Earthworks
Workshops
Tim Weston2 (ATLAS)
Susan Buhr1, Lesley Smith1 (CIRES)
University of Colorado, Boulder
Our goals for Earthworks
participants
To experience authentic scientific
inquiry
 To become part of a like-minded
community of educators and
scientists
 To practice new skills and think
through implementation

What do the teachers do?
•Identify a question to
research
Question can be about any
field-science topic
Learn field methods
Conduct project as adult
learners
Build community and
collaboration opportunities
Teach skills to others
Plan implementation
“The Mud People” hydrology
group presents
their groundwater study methods
What do the scientists do?
Develop field methods
suitable for classroom
implementation.

Work with teachers in
conducting a research
project.

Some give evening
presentations

Provide support during
implementation.

Dr. Joyce Gelhorn leads
discussion on a burn site study.
Participant Deliverables
For all:
 Experimental Plan
 Electronic copy of data and coordinates
 Group presentation
 Summary report
 Implementation Plan: Individual
For those taking three credits:
 More detailed Implementation Plan
 Report/outcomes by end of school year
Recent evaluation studies


Interviews and Survey
Goals to learn about:
Benefits of Earthworks
participation
 How teaching practices
changed
 How other professional
activities changed
 Recommendations for
improvement

“Students spend more time
inquiring into the health of
local wetlands from the
bottom up and the top
down (bedrock to topsoil
and clouds to
puddles)…By looking into
the whole system, students
(and parents, and teacher)
get a better understanding
of how it all works
together.”
[2007 Presidential Award
Winner in Science Teaching]
Study participants


Interviews: Nine past participants and
fifteen new participants
Survey: 39% response rate so far of 167
teachers from 37 states.
51% high school, 41% middle school, 7%
elementary
 More females (63%) than males (37%)
 Caucasian (89%), Hispanic (4%), African
American (2%)
 Note: Many teach in challenging contexts

“The Defining Feature: Extensive
Work with Scientists”
“Earthworks really
allowed me to see
how science is
done in the field.
It was absolutely
beneficial to work
with scientists and
have discussions
about science that
happens outside
of my classroom.”
The ecology group discusses
potential sampling schemes
Importance of Community


Working with like-minded teachers is important
“There’s really a strong
to all
sense of community at
Earthworks that makes it
Many reported feeling isolated
because
of theirto
a lot more
comfortable
use of inquiry-based science.
go back and try some of
the new activities. It’s
really good to know others
are out there you can talk
with.”
Benefits of Participation
45
40
Did not help
35
Helped Somewhat
30
Helped Great Deal
25
20
15
10
5
0
Like-minded
teachers
Authentic
science
Work with Grant writing Lesson Plans Communicate
scientists
w/ Scientists
Changes to Teaching Practices
30
25
20
15
Not at all
Somewhat
Extensively
10
5
0
Inquiry-based Students go
teaching
outside to do
science
Students
gather data
Students
analyze data
“I learned to let
the students
have more
control and be
more active in
their learning.
Knowing what
is a ‘good’
question that
can be
researchable”
Changes to professional activities
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Communicate
w/ Scientists
Curriculum
committees
Conferences
Grant
proposals
“I’ve attended many
workshops-too
numerous to mention.
Earthworks gave me
the confidence to go
for what I
want…quality
education for my
student and ME. I
also have started a
Masters in
Geoscience.”
“How likely to participate in…?”
30
Not likely
25
Somewhat likely
Very Likely
20
15
10
5
0
Archived
listserve
Threaded
discussion
Resource
repository
Swiki/wiki
List of links Phone coach Phone group
Conclusions





Earthworks succeeds at providing authentic
science experience in a supportive
community.
Teachers experience gains in inquiry-based
teaching practices
Teachers grow as leaders
Teachers increase their ability to access
resources
Teachers more likely to participate in
technology-mediated support mechanisms.
2007 Earthworks


Contact: Susan Buhr [email protected]
http://cires.colorado.edu/education/k12/earthworks
Thanks go to NASA, EPA, U. of Colorado and CIRES for
past support of Earthworks