earthobservatory.nasa

1. http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov • Interactive Web-based magazine about Earth system science & the use of satellite remote sensors to study Earth • 26,000 unique visits per day worldwide • 40,000 subscribers • Global composites are the 2nd most popular element! • Has elements both for formal and informal education • Development of RSS feeds and database redesign to allow content syndication a p r i l 1 8 , 2 0 0 5

2. Content Syndication • Educators & communicators can easily leverage EO’s content for inclusion in their own efforts National Museum of Natural History Forces of Change Tokyo Science Museum “GeoCosmos” (~20-foot spherical TV) a p r i l 1 8 , 2 0 0 5

3. 2004 Survey Results: Teachers • Teacher Feedback (511 respondents, +287) • 50% (+13%) were undergraduate or higher, 30% (+3%) were 9 - 12 grades, 13% (-8%) were 6 - 8 grades, 6% (-9%) were K-5 • 67% (+4%) of respondents teach Earth science or related course(s) • Most of our respondents encourage students to visit the EO — 35% (-17%) said “Often,” and 41% (+12%) said “Sometimes”; 11% said “Never” • Most of our respondents incorporate materials from the EO into their class- room lessons • 29% (-15%) said “Often,” & 43% (+5%) said “Sometimes”; 12% (-2%) said “Never” Very often Never 9% 12% Fairly often Once or twice 21% 16% 43% Sometimes a p r i l 1 8 , 2 0 0 5

4. 2004 Survey Results: Students • Student Feedback (239 respondents, +59) • 87% (+6%) were undergraduate or higher, 8% were grades 9 - 12 (-5%), and 3% (-2%) were grades 6 - 8 • Interestingly, 74% (+6%) said their teachers “Never” encouraged them to visit the EO — indicating students are finding it on their own • 66% (-3%) of respondents have used the EO as a reference tool when doing schoolwork assignments, while 34% (+3%) have “Never” Use the EO for schoolwork assignments? Never Yes a p r i l 1 8 , 2 0 0 5

5. 2004 Survey Results: Students • Student Feedback (239 respondents, +59) • The EO helped 55% of student respondents to consider taking science courses in the future • The EO helped 36% of respondents to consider becoming scientists Considering future science coursework? Considering becoming a scientist? Strongly disagree Strongly agree Disagree Disagree 19% 6% 9% 42% Strongly agree 27% No influence Agree No influence Agree 55% 36% a p r i l 1 8 , 2 0 0 5

6. Team Strengths • Bruce Caron – The New Media Studio, Education Technologies developer • Building educational software, creating visualizations • LuAnn Dahlman – TERC, EET guru • Teacher professional development, K-12 teaching, EET • David Herring – NASA, Earth Observatory manager • Science writing, dataset knowledge • Ray Tschillard – Greely Schools, BSCS • Teacher professional development, pedagogy • Ali Whitmer – UCSB, Curriculum Developer • Building lesson plans, pedagogy, scientist a p r i l 1 8 , 2 0 0 5

7. Merging Technology & Pedagogy • Earth Observatory is a powerful tool for teachers that can enhance learning • Even the best tools can be underutilized • Interest in promoting an inquiry approach • Connect inquiry and technology through real data use in the classroom • Use technology to explore large, intangible concepts a p r i l 1 8 , 2 0 0 5

8. The 5 E’sBiological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) • Engage – students in the topic • Explore – the topic with others • Explain – the topic, guide to understanding • Elaborate – to help students extend their understanding • Evaluate – student learning & understanding a p r i l 1 8 , 2 0 0 5

9. Modeling the 5E’s • First page is a case study about the Carbon Cycle that engages the teacher • We will model the 5E approach while teaching about the tool a p r i l 1 8 , 2 0 0 5

10. Engage: Carbon Case Study Between one and two billion metric tons of carbon per year are “missing” from the global carbon budget. In other words, scientists cannot account for 15 to 30 percent of the carbon that humans annually release into the atmosphere… …we can generate animations that help us visualize the pathways that it follows. a p r i l 1 8 , 2 0 0 5

11. Explore and Explain • Teachers are guided through an example data set comparison (structured inquiry) • Vegetation Index (greenness) versus Rainfall • Vegetation Index versus Surface Temperature • Primary Productivity versus Surface Temperature • Fires versus Rainfall and/or Vegetation Index anomaly • Fires versus Fine Aerosol Particles • Still to come: Fires versus Carbon Monoxide • Teachers are then encouraged to examine additional datasets that may be relevant to the case study (problem solving challenge) • The associated instructions provide explanations about the datasets and how to build animations a p r i l 1 8 , 2 0 0 5

12. Elaborate • Teachers are pointed to additional stories, datasets and tools for further investigation (these are mostly terrestrial in focus) • The Mystery of the Missing Carbon - http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/BOREASCarbon/ • Evolving in the Presence of Fire - http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/BOREASFire/ • Rain Helps Carbon Sink - http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/CarbonHydrology/ • Watching Plants Dance to the Rhythms of the Ocean - http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/SSTNDVI/ • Escape from the Amazon - http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/LBA_Escape/ • Global Garden Gets Greener - http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/GlobalGarden/ • From Forest to Field: How Fire is Transforming the Amazon - http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/AmazonFire/ • Stealing Rain from the Rainforest - http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/AmazonDrought/ a p r i l 1 8 , 2 0 0 5

13. Conclusions • Each tool has many more educational uses than can be explored in a single EET chapter • Focus on one or a few aspects • Each team member brings individual strengths to the effort • Embrace diversity • Avoid “too many cooks” • Integrate pedagogy and technology • Model the approach in your EET chapter • Next Steps: • Develop an evaluation and assessment strategy • Present lesson to teachers for incorporation into their classrooms • Collect data on lesson’s effectiveness a p r i l 1 8 , 2 0 0 5