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Middle Grades ESS Showcase


The Earth Scientist

Description

This is a special issue of The Earth Scientist sponsored by the Earth & Space Science Partnership. The included articles reflect the enthusiasm, hard work and success of the teachers and project leaders in developing quality classroom activities and professional development opportunities.

"In the summers of 2011 and 2012, with funding from a Targeted Math Science Partnership (MSP) grant (NSF Award #DUE-0962792), we welcomed middle and high school Earth and Space science teachers from partner school districts in Pennsylvania for summer workshops in plate tectonics, solar system astronomy, energy production, and climate change. Our Penn State Earth and Space Science Partnership (ESSP) presented each discipline-based workshop with a common pedagogical approach including content storyline, formative assessment, and claims-evidence-reasoning.

In addition to our summer workshop offerings, we encourage teachers to pursue other avenues of professional development. Certainly, publishing curricular innovations in The Earth Scientist not only empowers teachers but helps to elevate the teaching profession and provide a voice for advocacy in the discipline (see Guertin and Furman, 2013). We have worked hard alongside teachers to establish and sustain the Pennsylvania Earth Science Teachers Association (PAESTA, http://www.paesta.org/), the Pennsylvania chapter of NESTA. PAESTA offers the opportunity for leadership and engagement for the teaching community online and at our annual conference.

The articles featured in this issue reflect the enthusiasm, hard work and success of the teachers and Penn State project leaders in developing quality classroom activities and professional development opportunities available through PAESTA. We hope you will enjoy these articles, incorporate some of these innovative ideas and resources into your own classroom, and join up in supporting PAESTA and NESTA!"