Target targets field trip grants for K-12

"Target is accepting applications starting today for 5,000 grants of up to $800 each for the upcoming school year to run field trips at the K-12 level. This is a great opportunity for local teachers to get their students out to learn about Earth science. So pass this along to teachers you know and help them submit an application online anytime between Aug. 5 and Nov. 3, 2009."

Thanks to Arizona Geology and Geology.com for the tip

Subaru Minority Student Scholarship Program Deadline Approaching

The deadline is a few days away and they have received few applicants thus far ...


From GSA Education Division:

Dear GSA Campus Representative,

We are pleased to announce that Subaru of America, Inc., in partnership with GSA, has funded a scholarship program to benefit undergraduate minorities considering a degree in the geosciences. The Subaru Minority Student Scholarship Program will provide $1,000 to a student at an accredited university or college in each of the six GSA Regional Sections. The purpose of the award is to encourage minority students to continue studies in the geosciences as a possible degree choice. We would like campus reps to nominate one student whom they believe will benefit and be encouraged to continue in the geosciences by receiving this award.

The eligible student must be a member of a minority group, must have taken at least two introductory (first year) geoscience courses, be enrolled in additional geoscience courses in his/her upcoming school year, and be a student member of GSA. The campus rep must verify that the student has been and is currently enrolled in the geoscience classes, and that the student is a minority. A ‘minority’ is described as being of Hispanic, African-American or Black, Asian, American-Indian, Alaskan Native, or Hawaiian Native/Pacific Islander ethnicity/race. Each campus rep will be allowed and encouraged to electronically submit one completed student nomination form (see the Word document below) from their school for the Subaru scholarship by 15 August 2009. The student will need to countersign the nomination. Please email the completed one-page application to Jennifer Nocerino at jnocerino@geosociety.org. You will receive an email confirming receipt of the form. Campus reps will be notified of the winners in early September, which should allow time for the student to make plans to attend the Annual Meeting if possible. There will be no stipulations on the use of the $1,000.00 award money, although they should be encouraged to use it to support their studies.

This year’s recipients will also receive a free student registration to the 2009 GSA Annual Meeting in Portland, OR, 18-21 October. We would suggest encouraging students to also apply for travel grants (including the minority travel grant) in the event that they are chosen for the Subaru scholarship and wish to attend the Annual Meeting. Any recipients of the scholarship who can attend the Annual Meeting will be publicly awarded the scholarship by Subaru.

Please contact Jennifer Nocerino at jnocerino@geosociety.org for further information or questions. We hope you will take advantage of this exciting new opportunity for minority students sponsored by Subaru of America, Inc.

Best Regards,

Jennifer Nocerino
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jennifer Nocerino
Education and Outreach
The Geological Society of America
3300 Penrose Place, Boulder, CO 80301
jnocerino@geosociety.org; 303-357-1036; Fax 303-357-1073


Subaru Minority Student Scholarship Program
Nomination Form – Deadline: 15 August 2009
GSA Section? ____Cord ____RM ____ NC ____ SC ____ NE ____ SE
Campus Rep: Name: ____________________________________________
School: _________________________________________________
Address: ________________________________________________
City/St/Zip: ______________________________________________
Phone: _______________ email: ____________________________________________
Nominated Student: Name: ______________________________________ GSA #: _________
Address: ________________________________________________
City/St/Zip: ______________________________________________
Phone: _______________ email: ____________________________________________

The above nominated student is deserving of the Subaru Minority Student Scholarship Award because:


















I, the GSA Campus Representative, do hereby certify that the above student nominee has taken geoscience courses for one year and is enrolled in additional geoscience courses in his/her upcoming school year.
__________________________________________
Campus Rep

I, the above nominated student, do hereby certify that I am a member of a minority group as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau.
__________________________________________
Student Nominee

Please email form to: jnocerino@geosociety.org or fax to: 303-357-1073. ATTN: Jennifer Nocerino.

Teacher Advocate Program at GSA

From the Geological Society of America, via Geology.com:

Teacher Advocate Program (TAP)

The Geological Society of America is dedicated to increasing the appreciation of the Earth's history, processes, and resources through Earth science education. Recognizing that the future of geology rests in the hands of our nations' school teachers is the fundamental building block of the TAP program.

Developed as a means to support Earth science educators, the Teacher Advocate Program provides the following resources for teachers:

• Explore Geoscience CD-ROMs for teachers, with background materials and student activities, diagrams, images and 3-D models. Our Geoscience CDs are easy-to-use, curriculum-linked geoscience teaching resources in a variety of topics for educators across the USA and beyond, developed by educators with classroom teaching experience.
  


• Lesson plans, resource links, and materials at teachers' fingertips via our Education Web page
  


• Field experiences in geologically dynamic locations for teachers only through GSA's Teacher GeoVenture trips
  


• Workshops supplying educators with activities and resources to use in the earth science classroom
  


• GSA's Distinguished Earth Science Teacher in Residence, who develops resources, maintains the Education Web page, and assists teachers in need of ideas or geoscience career information who contact GSA.
  

Considering Support of TAP ?

If you are considering supporting the Teacher Advocate Program but would like more detailed information about our successes and goals, please download this file for additional information (pdf format). We thank you for your interest and support of this program.

Science Dies Ugly Death! Only 4 in 10 Americans Believe in Continental Drift! (wait a minute...)

(This post is stolen almost verbatim from Geotripper, but since he is me, it is ok)

Check out a poll and excellent discussion by Devilstower in which Research 2000 asked about plate tectonics (for DailyKos). Worded like similar polls by Gallup about evolution, they asked whether the respondents "believed" Africa and America were once connected ("Do you believe that America and Africa were once part of the same continent?"). If this sounds like a poorly worded question, it was, and they did it on purpose. First, look at the results:

YES NO NOT SURE

ALL 42% 26% 32%

DEM 51% 16% 33%

REP 24% 47% 29%

IND 44% 23% 33%

OTH/REF 42% 25% 33%

NON VOTERS 46% 22% 32%

WHITE 35% 30% 35%

BLACK 63% 13% 24%

LATINO 55% 19% 26%

OTHER/REF 56% 19% 25%

18-29 48% 20% 32%

30-44 40% 28% 32%

45-59 43% 24% 33%

60+ 39% 30% 31%

NORTHEAST 50% 18% 32%

SOUTH 32% 37% 31%

MIDWEST 46% 22% 32%

WEST 43% 24% 33%

Wording in a poll is everything, and for a long time major polling organizations have been asking badly designed questions about science, especially those on evolution, by wording their questions poorly, and then reporting the results with a misleading emphasis. Following the point made by Devilstower, a headline may very well read "Only 4 in 10 people believe..." but this ignores that fact that a full third of the respondents understood that they didn't have enough knowledge in the subject to give an informed answer. The real news in this poll is that only a quarter of the respondents were wrong in their perception of the science and that their ignorance was influenced by region, political affiliation and race (the interesting point in this poll result is how poorly whites did in comparison to blacks and hispanics, if you want to interpret the results literally).

Devilstower does a great job of explaining the inflammatory nature of the use of Africa in the question. Other questions in the poll were highly political ones, including an approval poll for congress and the president. It helps to explain the disparity of the findings in regards to the Southern states. Would the disparity still apply if Europe were substituted for Africa in the question?

The big problem with the poll is the use of the word "believe". People believe in deities. People hold opinions that animal testing is wrong. People believe it's wrong to torture prisoners. But does one believe in gravity? Can a person believe they don't need oxygen to live? They can choose not to believe these things, but it doesn't change the fundamental fact that they will fall if they jump off a cliff, or suffocate if they try breathing water. In the most proper sense scientists don't deal with beliefs. They deal with experimentation and confirmation of physical facts. Hypotheses can't be believed in, they have to undergo testing. They will usually be confirmed or disproven, and it doesn't fall to a vote about belief, whether by the scientists themselves, or by the public at large.

This misunderstanding about being able to pick and choose what science to "believe" is at the heart of issues like human-induced global warming or evolution. I have a lot of respect for the people who responded in this poll by saying they didn't know. I just hope they take the next step and try to learn something about it. Education is everything in facing the complex problems of our society.

The Big Ideas in Earth Science

Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Adams in Washington State

Courtesy of David Curtiss at the AAPG:

"The U.S. National Science Foundation has launched an Earth Science Literacy Initiative and developed a 14-page color brochure that outlines nine “Big Ideas” in earth science that all informed members of society should understand.

Big Idea #1: Earth scientists use repeatable observations and testable ideas to understand and explain our planet.
Big Idea #2: Earth is 4.6 billion years old.
Big Idea #3: Earth is a complex system of interacting rock, water, air, and life.
Big Idea #4: Earth is continuously changing.
Big Idea #5: Earth is the water planet.
Big Idea #6: Life evolves on a dynamic Earth and continuously modifies Earth.
Big Idea #7: Humans depend on Earth for resources.
Big Idea #8: Natural hazards pose risks to humans.
Big Idea #9: Humans significantly alter the Earth.

As described in the background to the document, “In a frighteningly ironic dichotomy, America has one of the most advanced and educated scientific communities in the world but one of the most scientifically ignorant populations. A document of the basic “Big Ideas” of Earth science, created by the Earth science community and supported and endorsed by the major Earth science organizations, would be extremely powerful in combating these destructive elements. Again, it is not enough that the Earth science communities carry out good research. These discoveries need to be communicated to the American people, and the people need to have sufficient literacy in the geosciences to understand those discoveries.”

For this initiative, NSF partnered with the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, the American Geological Institute, American Geophysical Union, Geological Society of America, National Association of Geoscience Teachers, National Earth Science Teacher Association, Smithsonian Institution, and U.S. Geological Survey. "

NAGT Statement on Climate Change

From the July 2009 National Newsletter

STATEMENT

The National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT) recognizes: (1) that Earth's climate is changing, (2) that present warming trends are largely the result of human activities, and (3) that teaching climate change science is a fundamental and integral part of earth science education. The core mission of NAGT is to "foster improvement in the teaching of the earth sciences at all levels of formal and informal instruction, to emphasize the cultural significance of the earth sciences and to disseminate knowledge in this field to the general public." The National Science Education Standards call for a populace that understands how scientific knowledge is both generated and verified, and how complex interactions between human activities and the environment can impact the Earth system. Climate is clearly an integral part of the Earth system connecting the physical, chemical and biological components and playing an essential role in how the Earth's environment interacts with human culture and societal development. Thus, climate change science is an essential part of Earth Science education and is fundamental to the mission set forth by NAGT. In recognition of these imperatives, NAGT strongly supports and will work to promote education in the science of climate change, the causes and effects of current global warming, and the immediate need for policies and actions that reduce the emission of greenhouse gases.

NAGT further recognizes that climate, climate systems and climate change are best taught in an interdisciplinary manner, integrating the many relevant sciences into a holistic curriculum approach; that climate-change topics provide exceptional opportunities for students to learn how geoscientists study past, present, and future climate systems, including the essential role of computer models in the assessment of global climate change scenarios; and that a current and comprehensive level of understanding of the science and teaching of climate change is essential to effective education. In support of these goals, NAGT sponsors professional development programs for geoscience educators, including workshops, seminars, and teacher-scientist cooperatives, and disseminates "best teaching" practices for climate change in the Journal of Geoscience Education.

A Note from the President of the National NAGT

From the July 2009 NAGT Newsletter

How will the current financial turmoil affect geoscience education? This is certainly a question on all of our minds as we watch the majority of states grapple with budget deficits, see massive losses in endowments and find our own net worth shrinking in frozen real estate markets. While such developments are troubling, they are occurring in a political environment that is favorable to science education and one where the Federal government is injecting massive amounts of capital into the system. What trends should we as geoscience educators monitor and how should we position ourselves during this period to strengthen our profession? In this President's Corner I summarize what I view as important factors related to budgets and enrollment. I encourage those of you with more expertise in these areas to voice your views using the editorial option of this newsletter.

Pay attention to budget discussions both on- and off-campus. Clearly we are entering a period of unprecedented fiscal austerity that will affect us all. Most economic experts agree this recession is deeper and will last longer than any in the post-war era. Current state reports show deficits in 48 states that total approximately 24% of state budgets; this despite Federal stimulus aid. The projections for 2011 are even worse. Most private endowments suffered similar losses. Looming budget cuts will likely have both immediate and long-term impacts. While many academics pride themselves on being altruistic, we must remain cognizant that wages (both real and indirect) affect job satisfaction. If the education community follows industry, we could face wage freezes, cuts and even retrenchment. Likewise, departments will likely be required to additionally reduce operating expenses; those reductions could impact field, lab and classroom experiences. It is incumbent on us, as educators and mentors, to remain positive about our profession during these difficult financial times. One way to do this is to build new research collaborations and seek additional support through increased funding available as part of the stimulus package. You could also monitor state budget discussions, consider becoming politically involved and find other ways to streamline operations to preserve those educational opportunities you most value.

Watch enrollment trends over the next 12-36 months. Demographic data are positive as they suggest enrollments should increase over the next two years, peaking in 2011. The same data suggest these students will be more diverse than ever before. Data from the last two significant recessions also show enrollment increased during those difficult economic times, even when graduation rates were flat. Therefore, we can expect to see more non-traditional students in our classrooms due to widespread unemployment and the growth of federally funded retraining and veterans programs. This provides an excellent opportunity for the geosciences to become a more inclusive profession. While enrollment trends appear positive for the near term, the affects of unemployment coupled with dropping home values and tight credit are unknown. Also, about the time economic experts project a rebound in the economy, enrollments are projected to fall as the number of graduating high-school students drops. As such, geoscience educators should redouble their efforts to strengthen their departments to both take advantage of and prepare for changes to enrollment trends. An excellent source of information for building a strong geoscience department can be found at http://serc.carleton.edu/departments/index.html.

Clearly we, as a community, are in the midst of challenging times. The NAGT community needs to face these challenges together, provide support and encouragement where needed and share ideas for success when possible. Please contact me if you have ideas to share (steer@uakron.edu).


Dave Steer

President