The Teach for America RockCorps, Year 1: Turning Authentic Research Experiences in Geophysics for STEM Teachers into Modeling Instruction™ in High School Classrooms

Abstract:

National reform efforts such as the Next Generation Science Standards, Modeling Instruction™, and Project Lead the Way (PLTW) seek to more closely align K-12 students’ STEM learning experiences with the practices of scientific and engineering inquiry. These reform efforts aim to lead students toward deeper understandings constructed through authentic scientific and engineering inquiry in classrooms, particularly via model building and testing, more closely mirroring the professional practice of scientists and engineers, whereas traditional instructional approaches have typically been lecture-driven. In this vein, we describe the approach taken in the first year of the Teach for America (TFA) RockCorps, a five-year, NSF-sponsored project designed to provide authentic research experiences for secondary teachers and foster the development of Geophysics-themed teaching materials through cooperative lesson plan development and purchase of scientific equipment.

Initially, two teachers were selected from the local Dallas-Fort Worth Region of TFA to participate in original research studying the failure of rocks under impulsive loads using a Split-Hopkinson-Pressure Bar (SHPB). For the teachers, this work provides a context from which to derive Geophysics-themed lesson plans for their courses, Physics/Pre-AP and Principles of Engineering (POE), offered at two large public high schools in Dallas ISD. The Physics course will incorporate principles of seismic wave propagation to allow students to develop a model of wave behavior, including velocity, refraction, and resonance, and apply the model to predict propagation properties of a variety of waves through multiple media. For the PLTW POE course, tension and compression testing of a variety of rock samples will be incorporated into materials properties and testing units. Also, a project will give a group of seniors in the PLTW Engineering Design and Development course at this certified NAF Academy of Engineering the opportunity to collaborate with UT Arlington scientists to design and prototype a fixturing solution for material testing. These course adaptations address learning objectives specified by the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, using geoscience examples to make abstract concepts more concrete.