WKU Selected To Participate In Earth Systems Alliance

June 26, 2007

Bowling Green, Ky. - The Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) has selected Western Kentucky University’s Department of Geography and Geology as one of 10 associate members taking part in the Earth System Science Education Alliance (ESSEA), an innovative professional development program for pre-service and in-service middle and high school teachers.

Selected participants (24 partners and 10 associate members) include state universities, private colleges, and science research and education organizations spread among 22 states and the District of Columbia.

ESSEA is funded through a cooperative agreement awarded to IGES by the National Science Foundation under its Geoscience Teacher Training (GEO-Teach) program, which supports projects designed to improve the quality of geoscience education, primarily at the middle and high school levels. GEO-Teach projects provide pre-service teacher training, in-service professional development and access to high-quality curricular materials. 

Partners will receive funding and training to offer a series of online Earth system science courses geared toward teachers of specific grade levels and aligned to national education standards. Working in collaborative groups, teachers who enroll in an ESSEA course can earn undergraduate, graduate or continuing education credit while learning to teach Earth system science using inquiry-based classroom methods. Associate members will have access to the courses, training, and to the ESSEA network via annual meetings, the program’s Web site and e-mail communications.

The NSF-funded program will build and expand on the original ESSEA program funded by NASA and administered by IGES from 2000 to 2005. IGES is currently updating the existing courses with additional online tools, modules and materials.

WKU geology faculty members Dr. Fred Siewers and Margaret Crowder will represent the department in the Alliance and will participate in a conference and workshop scheduled for August in Omaha, Neb.

“WKU’s selection for participation in the Alliance is recognition of the department’s commitment to building strong earth science programs in the P-12 system across the Commonwealth,” said Dr. David Keeling, head of the Geography and Geology Department. “Both Fred and Margaret have offered earth science courses for teachers online in recent years and are developing the program to contribute to the department’s initiative to provide more graduate-level earth science content to teachers around the region.”

More information about ESSEA is available online at http://essea.strategies.org/
               
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For information, contact Fred Siewers at (270) 745-5988.