EDUCATOR’S CORNER
Three Tiers of Earth Science Education
Rasoul Sorkhabi, Ph.D., CPG-11981
Dr. Rasoul Sorkhabi is a professor at the University of Utah’s Energy & Geoscience Institute, Salt Lake City. Email:
rsorkhabi@egi.utah.edu
In 1951, Dorsey Hager, an eminent petroleum geologist then living in Salt Lake City, Utah (where I write this), published a com- mentary in Science stating that “Most large universities have courses in geology, but they reach only a small segment of the population. An early foundation in geology is desirable for the many who never get to college. Why not start in the grade schools? Childhood is the age of wonder, of fresh impressions, and deep imagination – just the period of life in which geology should appeal to young minds and can be best presented.” Hager was right: Children love gem- stones, rock pebbles, shiny crystals, amusing fossils, the dinosaur toys, visits to zoos and natural history museums, and outdoor life. Indeed, how school children become interested in science, the type of questions they ask, and what particular aspects of nature fasci- nate them most at such an early age is an active field of research (see for example, Tulip et al., 1994; Trend, 2005). In his commen- tary entitled “Geology in the Grade Schools” Hager (1951) also argued that we should “teach geology as the Mother of Sciences, not as one of the natural sciences.” In other words, “all geologists should work together for the teaching of the most fundamental of sciences in the grade school.” The response to Hager’s com- ments came from Herbert Zim, an eminent science educator and author of children’s books. In his response entitled “Geology Is in the Elementary Schools,” Zim remarked: “Dorsey Hager’s plea for the teaching of geology in the grade schools reflects the concern of one who has undoubtedly experienced, enjoyed, and profited from both the formal and informal study of the earth sciences. There is no question that children of grade school age would also profit from more firsthand experiences with rocks, minerals, and physiographic forms.” However, “the textbook series used in the elementary grades includes material on all the topics Hager uses as illustrations: erosion, building materials, rock identification, mineral fuels, metals, fossils, and the solar and stellar systems.”
The above debate between Hager and Zim touches on an impor-
tant question: Should geoscience education be limited to specific geology classes and textbooks? Or are there indeed various levels and avenues for geoscience education? The answer is that we need all of the above – that is, geoscience education as part of general science courses in schools, specific geoscience courses in high schools and colleges, and earth literacy in popular sciences books and educational materials for the public.
General Science Courses
Let’s begin with schools. Zim (1951) is still right. Most general science books in schools and colleges do include Earth science top- ics. Let’s look at the following two books.
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Elementary School Science and How To Teach (first published in 1951 with an eighth edition in 1990) was written by two of the most celebrated authors of children’s science books: Glenn Blough and Julius Schwartz. The book includes five parts: Part 1 on teach- ing elementary school; part 2 on the Earth and the universe; part 3 on living things; part 4 on matter and energy. Earth science in part two includes a chapter on “The Earth and Its Surface” (the Earth’s interior, kinds of rocks, minerals, the forces that change the earth, kinds of mountains, oceans, earthquakes, volcanoes, drifting continents, erosion, and soil) and another chapter on “The Air and the Weather” (the atmosphere, composition of the air, weather, clouds, wind and air masses, hurricanes, thunderstorms, tornadoes, weather forecasting, and climate). The third part of the book on “Living Things” also includes the history of life and fossils in the Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic times.
The second book, Physical Science, is a college-level textbook
written by Bill Tillery of (my former university) Arizona State University (Tillery, 1991). The book is divided into four sections: Physics, Chemistry, Astronomy, and Earth Sciences – the latter con- sisting of five chapters: The Dynamic Earth; The Surface of the Earth; The Atmosphere of Earth; Weather and Climate; and Earth’s Water. Nearly one fourth of the 600-page book is about Earth science.
Earth Science in High Schools and Colleges There are 2,832 universities in the USA, of which nearly 2,000
universities have geoscience departments. In addition, there are 942 public community colleges and 73 independent community col- leges in the country. Therefore, earth science and geology courses are well covered in universities and colleges. However, the picture is different for high schools. In 2015, the American Geoscience Institute collected data on high school science graduation require- ments for all states in the USA. The survey found that while 22 states accepted an Earth and Space Science course for graduation, only two states required a year-long Earth/Environmental Science course, whereas the number of states for required Life Science and Physical Science courses for graduation were 50 and 30, respectively (Center for Geoscience and Society, 2015). This is an area that requires urgent attention and where geoscientists and geoscience professional societies and publications can promote the importance of geoscience to society and life standards. This area also requires raising teaching quality and training excellent teachers to teach Earth science in high schools.
Public Education
The third tier in Earth science education is the public. Most people are interested in geoscience as evident from the coverage
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