ABSTRACT Joseph B. Davis. the HISTORICAL FOUNDATIONS of MODERN EARTH SCIENCE EDUCATION
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ABSTRACT Joseph B. Davis. THE HISTORICAL FOUNDATIONS OF MODERN EARTH SCIENCE EDUCATION: USING THE POWER OF HISTORY IN EARTH SCIENCE EDUCATION (Under the Direction of Dr. Catherine A. Rigsby) Department of Geological Sciences, November, 2010. This project is part of a larger collaborative effort between science, math, and education departments at East Carolina University. The project aims to address the common science and mathematics deficiencies of many high school students by (1) elucidating the relationships among the history of scientific discovery, the geological sciences, and modern scientific thought; (2) developing, and utilizing in the classroom, activity-based instructional modules that are relevant to the modern geological sciences curriculum and that relate fundamental scientific discoveries and principles to multiple disciplines and to modern societal issues; and (3) using these activity-based modules to heighten students’ interest in science disciplines and to generate enthusiasm for doing science in both students and instructors. The educational module developed from this linkage of modern and historical scientific thought is activity-based, directly related to the National Science Education Standards for the high school sciences curriculum, and adaptable to fit each state’s standard course of study for the sciences and math. The module integrates historic sciences and mathematics with modern science, contains relevant background information on both the concept(s) and scientist(s) involved, presents questions that compel students to think more deeply (both qualitatively and quantitatively) about the subject matter, and includes threads that branch off to related topics. A module for the topic of density has been developed and is waiting to be tested. THE HISTORICAL FOUNDATIONS OF MODERN EARTH SCIENCE EDUCATION: USING THE POWER OF HISTORY IN EARTH SCIENCE EDUCATION A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Department of Geological Sciences East Carolina University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science in Geology by Joseph B. Davis November 2010 © 2010, Joseph B. Davis THE HISTORICAL FOUNDATIONS OF MODERN EARTH SCIENCE EDUCATION: USING THE POWER OF HISTORY IN EARTH SCIENCE EDUCATION by Joseph B. Davis APPROVED BY: DIRECTOR OF THESIS __________________________________________ Dr. Catherine A. Rigsby COMMITTEE MEMBER __________________________________________ Dr. Terri Woods EXTERNAL COMMITTEE MEMBER __________________________________________ Dr. Zachary Robinson EXTERNAL COMMITTEE MEMBER __________________________________________ Dr. Martha Fewell CHAIRMAN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGICAL SCIENCES __________________________________________ Dr. Stephen J. Culver DEAN OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL __________________________________________ Dr. Paul Gemperline ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis is part of a larger project which was funded by the Division of Research and Graduate Studies. The larger project is a collaborative effort involving ECU faculty from the Departments of Biology, Chemistry, Geological Sciences, Mathematics and Physics, as well ECU’s College of Education. Thank you to the ECU faculty members of project RaN, Drs. Robinson, Morehead, Stellwag, Shinpaugh, Thompson, and a special thanks to Dr. Dawkins for her assistance with the project over this past summer. There are many people that supported me over the past two years. First and foremost I must thank my thesis advisor Dr. Catherine Rigsby for allowing me to be a part of this project. As busy as she has been the past two years with teaching classes, conducting research, and traveling she has always made time for me when I had a question or concern regarding the research. I sincerely appreciate her guidance and support during these past two years. I would also like to thank the Department of Geological Sciences for allowing me to work on this “non-traditional” geology thesis. Specifically, I would like to thank Dr. Terri Woods for her encouragement and suggestions during my undergraduate and graduate tenures at ECU. I would like to thank Drs. Woods and O’Driscoll, Mr. Andy Srinivasan, Mrs. Ann McClung, and Mrs. Crystal Netter for their enthusiasm towards the project. I would like to thank all of my geology instructors for making each class an “experience” that I will never forget. Also, I would like to thank John Woods and Jim Watson from the department for lab equipment and technology support. Finally, I must thank my family for their support over the past few years. It has been a long journey which I could not have completed without them. So, to my father Roy, and to my mother Shirley (RIP), thanks for being there during the times I needed you most - I will never be able to repay you for all of your love and support. To the in-laws Billy and Barbara Carroll, thank you for your support (and for introducing me to the “Bailey Experience”). It is not enough to only say thank you, so the next round is on me. Most importantly, I must thank my wife Beth for putting up with me for all of these years. Without her love and support I would not have made the decision to continue my education. She is the world to me. All of this is for her. TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION PAGE LIST OF TABLES ...................................................................................................... viii LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................... ix I. PROJECT GOALS AND RESEARCH ..................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 1 Project Objectives ............................................................................................... 2 MODULE DEVELOPMENT ................................................................................. 4 Choosing a Topic ................................................................................................ 4 Background Research ......................................................................................... 5 Current Connections ........................................................................................... 8 Science Education Standards .............................................................................. 9 MODULE CONTENT .......................................................................................... 10 Demonstrations ................................................................................................. 12 Activities ............................................................................................................ 13 Experiments....................................................................................................... 13 Interdisciplinary Threads.................................................................................. 15 INTEGRATING SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS .......................................... 16 From Qualitative to Quantitative...................................................................... 17 Integrating Math ............................................................................................... 18 CONCEPTUAL THINKING ................................................................................ 19 TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued) II: HISTORICAL FOUNDATIONS AND MODERN UNDERSTANDING: TEACHING SCIENCE TODAY THROUGH THE SCIENCE OF YESTERDAY ......................... 21 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 21 USING THE MODULE ........................................................................................ 22 Presentation of the Module ............................................................................... 23 Density of an Irregularly-Shaped Object ......................................... 24 Density of Liquids ............................................................................... 25 Density of Rocks and Minerals .......................................................... 25 What Students Learn from the Experiments...................................................... 27 Assessment ........................................................................................................ 28 GENERATING ENTHUSIASM FOR EARTH SCIENCE .................................. 28 REFLECTIONS AND FUTURE WORK ............................................................. 30 What next? ........................................................................................................ 31 III: REFERENCES CITED ......................................................................................... 32 IV: APPENDIX I -- THE MODULE ........................................................................... 46 viii List of Tables PAGE Table 1: Science education standards and interdisciplinary connections. The module topic density is directly related to the National Science Education Standards and to the North Carolina Standard Course of Study goals and objectives for the Earth and Environmental Science curriculum. In addition, numerous interdisciplinary connections exist between the module topic density and the North Carolina Standard Course of Study science curriculums (NSES, 1996; NCSCOS, 2004). ................................................. 36 Table 2: The relations of the module components that specifically address National Science Education Standards and North Carolina Standard Course of Study Goals and