Dear Folks,
I am a new member. I am looking for a place to get ideas and
trouble shoot for teaching Earth Science for Teachers at Missouri State
University in West Plains Missouri. I have been teaching grades 7-12
over the last 25.5 years in the rural Ozarks (a great place to do
geology - Karst heaven with great igneous knobs). I am teaching this
college class as an adjunct instructor. This is the 3 year that I have
taught the class in the last five. I have been struggling with student
misconception for years! I have a MS in education. I have read many
books on the brain and learning (Pat Wolf, Mel Levine, and many more).
I did find Heather Percovic and Robert Ruhf study published in the
Journal of Geoscience Education (May 2008) very interesting and useful.
My inquires with Heather have brought me to this list serve (this is
my first). I have signed up to access and use the Geoscience Concept
Inventory. I am looking forward to making up a test after my account
is completed.
I have a ton of questions. Lets start with one.
Barometers! First of all, no one uses one anymore! The data
is just given on web forecasts. The school can afford to buy one. I
have used the balloon stretched over the can in the past to measure air
pressure. This method is not exciting, it is difficult to "see" any
significant difference over a period of time. Any ideas? The safety
school personnel took my mercury away years ago (yes - I had some for a
HS lab, I would only "show" students - this tells you how long I have
been around). How to I get the concept of air pressure / forecasting
across to pre service teachers and 8th graders without messing them up
and without a real barometer. I do have on old one that was broken I
have taken apart that I show.
--
Mary Ann Mutrux
Middle School Science Teacher