Geology and Earth Science Education

Michigan Tech recently instituted a teacher training program that allows undergraduates to obtain both a degree in Geology (B.S.) and an Earth Science teaching credential in only four years. The program is designed for undergraduates who are interested in becoming teachers but also wish to maintain strong ties to the academic department that most closely matches their content area. The first group of students to take advantage of this new program graduated during the 1999-2000 academic year.

Faculty in the Department of Geological Engineering and Sciences designed the accredited program to address the nation’s continuing need for teachers that are trained specifically in Earth Science. There is currently a shortage of Earth Science teachers and the situation is likely to become worse in the future. Surveys conducted by the National Science Teachers Association indicate that in 1998 approximately 4% of all teachers were Earth Science teachers. The Department of Education predicts that over a million new teachers will be needed to fill positions in all disciplines within the next ten years. This translates to a need for over 40,000 new Earth Science teachers within ten years. Projected needs for Earth Science teachers are compounded by the fact that a large percentage of currently practicing Earth Science teachers are actually teaching outside their primary content area. Producing more teachers with strong Earth Science backgrounds can only improve K-12 Earth Science education.

Earth Science is a critical component of K-12 education because it focuses on processes that students of any age can observe on their own. The National Science Education Standards, prepared by the National Research Council, emphasize that science content and curricula should "meet the interests, knowledge, understanding, abilities, and experiences of students". Earth Science provides applications and context that make courses in physics, chemistry, biology, and mathematics relevant and interesting to students. Earth Science education also includes investigations of complex systems in which changes in one parameter produce multiple, often unexpected, effects. Through field investigations and experiments, K-12 Earth Science students can learn about the way natural systems behave and the methods typically used to study them.

The B.S. Geology - Earth Science Education degree at Michigan Tech gives participating students the flexibility to either pursue a teaching career, or continue their disciplinary studies by attending graduate school and seeking employment as a professional geologist. This flexibility is attractive to many students who would like to teach at some point in their career but are unwilling as undergraduates to limit themselves to a single possible career path. Teacher education is a priority issue at the national level. The teacher education program is just one way that Michigan Tech is addressing the nation’s need for qualified, motivated Earth Science teachers. Teachers can also get Earth-Science field experience during the summer by participating in a two week institute taught in the National Parks and Monuments of eastern Utah, or a six-week geology and mining institute taught in Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula.