Another Node On the iNternet : ANON
Online Communities Created for Earth
System Science Teacher Professional
Development
James A. Botti, Ph.D.
Instructional Designer
NASA Classroom of the Future
Center for Educational Technologies
Wheeling Jesuit University
Wheeling, West Virginia 26003
jbotti@cet.edu
The Earth
System Science Education Alliance, or ESSEA, is a partnership among
universities, colleges, and science education organizations dedicated to
improving Earth science education in general and Earth system science in particular. Led by the Institute for Global
Environmental Strategies (IGES) and the Center for Educational Technologies˙
(CET) at Wheeling Jesuit University, ESSEA is supported by the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Earth Science Enterprise
(ESE).
Over the past
ten years, a wave of science education reform and the exponential growth of the
Internet for educational purposes have stimulated the formation of dynamic new
online communities of learners.
ESSEA's three new online courses focus on Earth system science content
and guide participating teachers into collaborative, student-centered science education
experiences. ESSEA's electronic
environment structures clear expectations that encourage teachers to reexamine
their responsibilities for their students' learning.
An overriding
objective in the development of each of the online courses was to create
"high-impact, motivating reasons" for individuals to engage in the
material. Course developers
purposely designed an online learning environment where interdependence among
participants would provide the glue that holds together a successful community of
learners, learners who would rely on each other for input. Interdependence is built as a result of
a complex task, roles, shared resources, and joint products (Johnson, and Johnson,
1992). The course content is
shaped to challenge the teachers' prior learning experiences and knowledge-building
skills through group problem solving, online research, and constructive
feedback as part of the ESSEA learning experience.
The ESSEA
online learning environment provides "spaces" that define, support,
and refine participant roles and tasks. Discussion roles that occur within the
personal journal , and learning spaces are carefully scaffolded to promote the
modes of thought required for each task. Fundamental skills, such as "how
to contribute to the conversation" within the discussion spaces, and
establishing criteria for how to be a "critical friend" are carefully
developed. Bereiter's discussion of inquiry (1992) guides the framing of the
ESSEA course structure as one in which participants
o work toward a common understanding
satisfactory to all
o frame questions and propositions in
terms of evidence
o expand the body of valid propositions
o subject any belief to examination.
The ESSEA
experience has demonstrated that the design features of online structures and
spaces replicate the energy and momentum generated by normal human face-to-face
interaction. Capra (1997)
stated that sustainable communities are characterized by information available
on demand, feedback loops for individual self-regulation, clearly-defined
niches or roles, and clear goals.
Davis (1997) suggested that community-building principles can be
translated into the online environment by having clear goals supported by
carefully defined rubrics, by creating challenges that cause relationships to
form through the exchanges of ideas, by providing regular reflection for
individuals and groups, and by creating a structure or place that mirrors the
key forms of social interaction to occur that permit the virtual community to
form. These pioneering ideas led
the ESSEA staff to formulate experiences that guide participants through the
social dynamics of the online learning process.
The ESSEA
online learning environments are places for collaboration and knowledge
building, not simply a repository for Earth system content. Participants are
mailed necessary background reading materials, CD-ROMS, and other supporting
materials. The online sites offer
week-by-week instructions, information regarding rubric-supported expectations,
guidance for thriving in online communities, and discussion areas. Facilitators support, coach, reply to
journal entries, and intervene only to provide administrative instructions, to
maintain the flow and direction of the course, or to address specific Earth
science or pedagogical issues.
Course
Descriptions
The ESSEA
partnership features online Earth system science graduate courses for teachers
of grades K-4, 5-8, and 9-12. Developed over the past five years by the CET at
Wheeling Jesuit University, these courses have undergone an independent,
NASA-sponsored peer review and were rated "Outstanding." Each of the semester long courses for
elementary, middle, and high school teachers begins with three weeks of
introductory activities, and then develops content, pedagogical, and
technological knowledge through four, three-week learning cycles. ESSEA's Earth system science courses
for educators feature student-centered, knowledge-building,
virtual
communities where teachers participate in collaborative exercises and threaded
discussions. A master teacher and an Earth scientist, who assists with the
science content, mentor each section of 20-24 students.
To view courses
at the addresses below, use "cet" as your user name and password.
K-4
Earth System Science Course – http://www.cotf.edu/essc2
The elementary
school course focuses on basic Earth system interactions between land, life, air, and water. In week A of each learning cycle,teachers
do Earth system activities with their students. In week B, teachers investigate aspects of the Earth system
including how rocks change to soil, the relationships between rock, weathering,
and soil nutrients, and the consequent development of biomes. In week C,
teachers develop activities for their classroom and share the activities online
with other course participants.
5-8
Earth System Science Course – http://www.cotf.edu/essc
The middle school
course stresses the effects of various real-world EVENTS such as volcanoes,
hurricanes, and destruction of rainforests on Earth's lithosphere, atmosphere,
biosphere, and hydrosphere. Teachers work in teams during week A of each cycle
to research the impact of an event on individual spheres. In week B, participant groups jigsaw to
study the interactions between events, Earth's spheres, as well as positive and
negative feedback loops. During
week C, teachers develop Earth system classroom activities for their own
students.
9-12
Earth System Science Course – http://www.cotf.edu/essc3
The high school
course is centered on problem-based learning in such critical areas of global
change as degradation of coral reefs, ozone depletion, and climate change. During week A, participants work in
teams listing what they currently know about the subject, then searching for information
via the Web and other resources. During week B, the group constructs an Earth
system science diagram that describes the "sphere" interactions
(atmosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere, and biosphere) from the various known
causes of the event. In week C, each teacher/participant designs a lesson for
classroom use and reflects upon what he or she has learned during the previous
two weeks.
Summary
ESSEA was
established to provide teachers with rigorous, online professional development
courses that feature student-centered, knowledge-building communities in which
teams of teachers solve problems, build models, and design original classroom
activities. By offering state-of-the-art
online courses, the ESEA national professional development effort aims to
improve the knowledge, skills, and resources of Earth system science
educators. Participants benefit
from a deeper understanding of Earth system science and from the opportunity to
use methodologies in their classroom that reflect current, cutting-edge
research on how students learn. Course experience also encourages communication
and cooperation among practicing science teachers.
Universities,
colleges, and science education organizations that wish to join the ESSEA
collaboration and deliver ESSEA graduate courses online for K-12 teacher are
encouraged to inquire. For more
information about the Earth System Science Education Alliance (ESSEA) and
information to complete "Requests for Proposals," please visit the
ESSEA website at http://www.cet.edu/essea.
REFERENCES
Bereiter,
C. (1992) Implications of postmodernism
for science, or, science as progressive discourse. Educational Psychology, 29, 3-12.
Capra, F. (1997) The Web of Life: A New Understanding
of Living Systems. New York: Doubleday.
Davis,
H.B. (1997, January) Building virtual communities: Parallel universes
of the mind, http://www.eclipse.net/~hilaried/parallel.html.
Johnson, D.W.,
& Johnson, R.T. (1992). Positive interdependence: Key to effective
cooperation. In R. Hertz-Lazarowitz & N. Miller (Eds.),
Interaction in
cooperative groups: The theoretical anatomy of group learning (pp. 174-199).
New York: Cambridge University Press.
Associate
Editor
John C Butler
Department of
Geosciences
University of
Houston
Houston, Texas
77505
jbutler@uh.edu