NSF Award Abstract - #0224501

AWSFL008-DS3

Cataclysms and Catastrophes--The Role of Science

Abstract

Cataclysms and Catastrophes-The Role of Science

This project is developing and field-testing curricular materials based on the role of science in causing and/or understanding catastrophes. The goal of the materials is to help high school teachers incorporate geoscience into the teaching of physics, mathematics, chemistry and biology. This is a collaborative effort involving The University of Texas Institute for Geophysics (UTIG), the Bureau of Economic Geology (BEG), and 4empowerment, an Austin-based private education company. Events that capture the imagination of teachers and students alike-for example, the devastation caused by Hurricane Mitch in Honduras, the Chicxulub asteroid impact event, and the Oklahoma City bombing-serve as the basis for inquiry-based, hands-on learning activities using data collected by UTIG and BEG scientists. Activities are expanded to include familiarity with technologies such as Lidar (LIght Detection And Ranging), drilling, seismic reflection and refraction, geophysical logging, and the Internet. In addition to teaching concepts in science and mathematics, the "Cataclysms and Catastrophes" theme carries implications for disaster prevention, awareness, and decision-making. Using seismology to identify nuclear explosions (monitoring nuclear testing worldwide), for example, is important to national security. Curricula materials developed for the project are posted to 4empowement's Web site, Cyberways and Waterways, and promoted through e-letters and collaborations with state and national science and mathematics educational agencies and organizations. Curricular materials are also available to DLESE (Digital Library for Earth System Education) and to the 76 institutional members of the National Consortium for Specialized Secondary Schools of Mathematics, Science and Technology. The project builds on the recent success of the ongoing TEXTEAMS (Texas Teachers Empowered for Achievement in Mathematics and Science) Leadership training program for the Texas high school science course, Geology, Meteorology and Oceanography (GMO), developed in 2000 by UTIG researchers. TEXTEAMS is a certification program of professional development and leadership training for K-12 teachers sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the Texas Education Agency. The curricular materials developed for "Cataclysms and Catastrophes-The Role of Science" will also complement the TEXTEAMS GMO offering designed around the theme "From Texas to Antarctica".