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The Data Sets and Inquiry in Geoscience Education Project: Model Curricula for Teacher Capacity Building in Scientific Inquiry Tasks with Geospatial Data

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Book cover Teaching Science and Investigating Environmental Issues with Geospatial Technology

Abstract

The NSF-funded Data Sets and Inquiry in Geoscience Education project (DIGS) developed a set of curriculum modules comprising units and assessments in which students use real geospatial visualizations and data sets to conduct extended inquiry on plate tectonics and local climate change. As befits the differences in research on the two topics, the modules present data-centered inquiry tasks that vary in the amounts of structure inherent in the problems the students are asked to solve. Yet, both modules use presorted authentic data, lead students through scripted yet open-ended investigations, and provide implementation supports through scoring guides, teacher directions, and all-inclusive student and teacher Web access to the materials. This chapter describes how the modules have educative value for teachers by exemplifying contrasting curriculum models for data-based inquiry, by showing how driving purposes that stimulate student thinking and expression can be articulated, and by showing how scaffolding can be strategically employed to enable successful student inquiry.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Seismic Eruption. Version 2.1. Level 2006.05. © Alan Jones, 1996–2006. Freely available for downloading from the Web at http://www.geol.binghamton.edu/faculty/jones/#Seismic-Eruptions

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Acknowledgements

 This article is based on the assessment and curriculum research and methods developed by Edys Quellmalz, who served as Principal Investigator from September 2005 to June 2007; Daniel Zalles, Co-principal Investigator from September 2005 to June 2007 and then Principal Investigator from June to October 2007; Janice, Co-principal Investigator; and Amy Pallant, curriculum developer on the Data Sets and Inquiry in Geoscience Education project (NSF-GEO# 0507828; Quellmalz & Zalles, 2002).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. SRI International, 333 Ravenswood Avenue, Menlo Park, CA, 94025, USA

    Daniel R. Zalles

  2. Concord Consortium, 25 Love Lane, Concord, MA, 01742, USA

    Amy Pallant

Authors
  1. Daniel R. Zalles
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  2. Amy Pallant
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Correspondence to Daniel R. Zalles .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Hobart & William Smith Colleges, Geneva, New York, USA

    James MaKinster

  2. Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York, USA

    Nancy Trautmann

  3. Lynch School of Education, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA

    Michael Barnett

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Zalles, D.R., Pallant, A. (2014). The Data Sets and Inquiry in Geoscience Education Project: Model Curricula for Teacher Capacity Building in Scientific Inquiry Tasks with Geospatial Data. In: MaKinster, J., Trautmann, N., Barnett, M. (eds) Teaching Science and Investigating Environmental Issues with Geospatial Technology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3931-6_12

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