Earth Science Tools for Educators:

Workshops for K-12 Teachers

Mary O’NeillSouth Dakota State University

Brookings, SD

Cassie SoeffingAxtell Park Middle School

Sioux Falls, SD

The ESTE Workshops:What are they?

The Earth Science Tools for Educators workshops are a unique opportunity for K-12 educators to acquire foundational concepts and skills for the study of earth system science.

They are week-long workshops held annually for the past three summers in South Dakota with funding from UMAC EdPARC.

Earth Science ToolsProfessional research tools used

in the workshop include GIS software and data, GPS data

collection equipment and processing software, remote

sensing data, and technologies for the visualization and

presentation of geospatial data.

What is UMAC? The Upper Midwest Aerospace

Consortium (UMAC) is a NASA-funded project that involves nine universities in five states--ND, SD, MT, WY and ID.

UMAC began in September 1995. Its purpose is to find practical uses

for remotely sensed data products and associated technologies in the grass-roots user community.

What is the EdPARC?

The Education Public Access Resource Center (EdPARC) is one of three

PARCs within UMAC. Its purpose is to promote the utilization of remotely

sensed products and associated technologies in the education

community. The other two PARCs are the AgPARC (agriculture) and the

NRPARC (natural resources).

EdPARC Council Consists of a university scientist or

teacher educator and pilot K-12 teacher from each of the nine UMAC institutions

Recognizes that students, as citizens and professionals of tomorrow, are very special UMAC end users

Mission of the EdPARC Council

Develop teaching/learning activities that reflect recent developments in understanding how people learn--actively, collaboratively, conceptually, constructively, contextually, multisensorily--and are consistent with on-going work in national reform efforts

Utilize remote sensing, GPS and GIS as tools to inspire students and teachers to think systematically about the earth

Distribute the relevant information in forms usable in schools

EdPARC Council Accomplishments

Train-the-Trainer workshops Curriculum templates for

individual UMAC-state workshops

Example lesson plans Prairie-to-Mountain Explorer

What is Prairie to Mountain Explorer?

PTME is a set of three CDROMs containing spatial datasets for the UMAC states.

PTME includes a user’s guide.

PTME is a tool for integrating GIS, GPS and remote sensing technologies in the classroom.

PTME Datasets Regional (5 UMAC

states) 1:2,000,000 scale

State 1:100,000 -

1:500,000 scale County

1:100,000 scale

Geographic coordinate system

Geographic units = decimal degrees

NAD83 datum ArcView shapefiles Naming

conventions for files and fields

Area units = acres

PTME Datasets transportation streams/lakes elevation soils land ownership land cover NDVI geology Lewis and Clark

sites/routes

crops/livestock mineral deposits demographics temp/precip cities/landmarks dams toxic waste sites pollution emissions species habitats

PTME Methodology

Acquire data from various sources Process the data to comply with

standards Create ArcView project (.apr) file Use Avenue programming language

to create user-friendly interface Design directory structure Write the User’s Guide

PTME 3 CDROMs

SD, ND MT, ID WY, Regional

Datasets 34 regional 18 state 6 county

Installation procedures for PC and MAC

NEXT

Assignment:

Explore PTME datasets to determine if precipitation is a significant factor in the spatial distribution of corn as an agricultural crop in South Dakota

One possible solution presented as an ArcView layout

Exploring WyomingSpecies Habitatsby Holly Copeland

National Standards Relevant to This LessonSocial Studies: Performance Expectation IIIc: Use appropriate resources, data sources, and

geographic tools such as aerial photographs, satellite images, geographic informationsystems (GIS), map projections, and cartography to generate, manipulate, andinterpret information such as atlases, data bases, grid systems, charts, graphs, andmaps

Science: Content Standard C: As a result of activities, students should develop an

understanding of populations and ecosystems: The number of organisms an ecosystem can support depends on the resources

available and abiotic factios, such as quantity of light and water, range of tempertures,and soil composition.

A population consists of all individuals of a species that occur together at a givenplace and time. All populations living together and the physical factors with whichthey interact compose an ecosystem.

Suggested Grade LevelMiddle/Junior High-High SchoolMaterials1. A PC or Macintosh with Arcview 3.02. PTME CD-ROM set3. “Exploring Species Habitats Worksheet”--provided

Estimated Time To Complete The Lesson1 1/2 hours (or about 2, 50 minute periods)Overview Query the data for species within a county, elevation, range, rivers and streams, land

cover, etc. Make a data table—summarize data Make up a species question for other students MORE....

Concept SummaryA species’ habitat contains the elements necessary for it to sustain life. Habitat data for a givenspecies can be investigated to determine preferred types of vegetation, availability of water,elevation, and land use.

Example Lesson Plan Using

PTME Datasets

Workshop Activities (I) Examine topics related to GIS, GPS,

remote sensing, earth science and geospatial data sources

Visit research and applied science facilities

Collect and review educational materials on-line from the USGS EROS Data Center and other sites

Practice a “hands-on” instructional approach integrating science, mathematics, geography and technology

Workshop Activities (II) Work cooperatively in a group to

use new knowledge and skills Receive and learn how to use a

GPS unit Receive and learn how to use

ArcView GIS software Receive Getting to Know ArcView

tutorial and multimedia CDROM

Workshop Activities (III) Receive Prairie-to-Mountain

Explorer CDs and User’s Guide Receive a packet of lesson plans

developed by K-12 teachers Develop your own transportable

GIS/GPS lesson plan Present the lesson plan to the

workshop participants

Workshop Details Fee: $250 per participant Credit: 3 graduate credits Stipend: $175 Housing: Dorm rooms provided upon

request Daily Schedule: 8 am – 5 pm and evenings Duration: Monday – Friday Who: K-12 educators - teams of 2 from

same school encouraged

Workshop Sponsors UMAC EdPARC ESRI USGS EROS Data Center South Dakota State University South Dakota School of Mines and

Technology University of Sioux Falls Sinte Gleska University

Workshop ScheduleEarth Science Tools for Educators 2001

South Dakota EdPARC 8:00- 12:00, 1:00 – 5:00 @ EROS and 6:30 – 9:30 @ USF Computer Lab

Monday 11 June

Tuesday 12 June Wednesday 13 June

Thursday 14 June Friday 15 June

8:00 – 8:30 Registration EDC-Dave Greenlee

8:30 – 9:00 Welcome, Intro, Expectations, PreTest

Review OziExplorer

EDC-John Hutchinson

City of Sioux Falls GIS Steve VanAartsen

PostTest & Evaluation

9:00 – 9:30 SD Space Grant Consort. Tom

9:30 – 10:00

10:00 – 10:30

UMAC EdPARC GIS Day Video

EDC-Earth Explorer

10:30 – 11:00

11:00 – 11:30

11:30 – 12:00

GIS Lessons Kelly, Cassie, Deanna

GPS-GIS project GIS

Projects

Projects

12:00 – 1:00 Lunch Lunch Lunch Lunch Lunch

1:00 – 1:30

1:30 – 2:00

2:00 – 2:30

2:30 – 3:00

GIS-ArcView Prairie to Mountain Explorer

3:00 – 3:30 GPS

3:30 – 4:00

EDC-Tour

4:00 – 4:30

4:30 – 5:00

GPS Scavenger Hunt

Discussion

Projects Projects Project Reports

5:00 – 6:30 Supper Supper Supper Supper

6:30 – 9:30 Lesson Plan Template OziExplorer, GPS

Hotlink, Layouts Projects Projects

Workshop Statistics 1999

One two-week workshop Funding from SD Dept. of Education 12 participants

2000 Two one-week workshops 24 participants

2001 Two one-week workshops 51 participants

The Future Case Studies

Precision Agriculture Controlled Burns Leafy Spurge

Remote Sensing Workshop July 31 – August 2, 2001 Grand Forks, ND

GIS Showcase October 8-10, 2001 Billings or Bozeman, MT