^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ AWG E-MAIL NEWS No. 2000-22, April 24, 2000 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ CONTENTS: 1) REQUEST FOR HELP 2) FULBRIGHT SCHOLAR PROGRAM 3) AGI EDUCATION PROGRAM UPDATE--APRIL 2000 4) STUDENT OPPORTUNITIES 5) POSITION OPENINGS 6) SUBMISSION & MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 1) REQUEST FOR HELP ***UT Austin Grad Student Seeks Housing Dear fellow AWG members, I will begin graduate studies in the Geosciences Department at the University of Texas at Austin in the fall of 2000. I would appreciate any advice or recommendations you may have regarding housing in the area. I am primarily looking for specific leads, as I have already tapped into local guides and online resources. You may send your ideas to csally@world.oberlin.edu. Thank you for your assistance! Sincerely, Sally Holl 22222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222 2) FULBRIGHT SCHOLAR PROGRAM The Fulbright Scholar Program's annual competition to lecturing and research grants in some 130 countries opened March 1. Opportunities are open not only to college and university faculty and administrators, but also to professionals from the business community and government, as well as to artists, journalists, lawyers, independent scholars, and many others. Grants are available to faculty and adminstrators from two-year, four-year, and graduate institutions. Fulbright awards very from two months to an academic year or longer. While foreign language skills are needed in some countries, most lecturing assignments are in English. Some 80% of the awards are for lecturing. Application deadlines for 2001-2002 grants are: May 1 for Fulbright distinguished chairs awards in Europe, Canada and Russia; August 1 for lecturing and research grants worldwide; and November 1 for spring/summer seminars in Germany, Korea and Japan for international education and academic adminstrators as well as for the summer German studies seminar. For information, contact: Council for International Exchange of Scholars, 3007 Tilden St. NW, Suite 5L, Washington, D.C. 20008-3009; (202)686-7877; ; an application is available at . 3333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333 3) AGI EDUCATION PROGRAM UPDATE--APRIL 2000 http://www.agiweb.org/education/ ***Field Test Edition of Investigating Earth Systems Completed The American Geological Institute (AGI) completed the final module of the field test edition of Investigating Earth Systems (IES) on April 20. The inquiry-based program for grades 5-8 is best suited for schools whose curricular goals are consistent with the National Research Council's National Science Education Standards and AAAS Project 2061 Benchmarks for Science Literacy. Each of the nine modules takes about six weeks to complete, has 7 student investigations, and is accompanied by a 160-page teacher guide. EarthComm and IES have entered the commercial development phase. AGI will take the 3,500 pages of manuscript produced for the two programs though an intensive review and revision process. Three to four earth scientists are reviewing each module for content accuracy, and a senior content editor will ensure content accuracy throughout commercial design. The first modules are scheduled for printing in July. Individuals who are interested in learning more about the program should contact Mike Smith or the publisher, It's About Time, at 1-888-698-8463 or visit their website at http://www.its-about-time.com. ***Field Test Evaluation reveals effectiveness of EarthComm AGI received the first report of the EarthComm field test from an independent evaluation expert this past month. The executive summary of the 50-page report (shown below) reveals a high level of teacher satisfaction and demonstrates that students accomplished many of the curricular goals. Executive Summary-Evaluation of EarthComm Module One This report summarizes the results of the field test of Module 1, Earth's Dynamic Geosphere, the first of five modules in the EarthComm (Earth Systems Science in The Community: Understanding Our Environment) program. EarthComm is a National Science Foundation funded high school curriculum project, guided in design and approach by the National Science Education Standards (1996). In the field test 27 teachers in schools spread across several geographic regions utilized this three-chapter module. The material was taught, starting in the fall semester of the 1999-2000 school year, in 53 classes involving 1169 students. The purpose of the field test of EarthComm, Module 1, was to provide a trial of the field test version of the materials developed after the Spring 1999 pilot test was completed. The main goal was to measure the extent to which EarthComm goals for teachers and students were achieved when the curriculum was used by a representative sample of educators. The instruments used in the evaluation included written Curriculum Questionnaires and Goals Questionnaires completed by all field test teachers, marked-up versions of the printed materials with comments and recommendations from field test teachers, telephone interviews of a sample of these teachers, a pre/post test taken by students and samples of student written work, provided by the teachers. When all the sources of information from the field test were considered it became clear that Module 1 of the EarthComm curriculum worked effectively in the field test classrooms. Almost all of the field test teachers were very favorably impressed by the high quality of the science content, the module components, many of the hands on activities, the inquiry approach, the group work, and the relevance to the community. Most teachers also reported student interest in the overall program to be moderately high and very high in many of the activities. Furthermore, the data collected indicated that the students had learned the material and accomplished many of the goals covered in Module 1. The only consistent negative response from field test teachers was that it took too long to complete the module. Several teachers, especially those who described their students as being below average, felt that the reading level was too high and that there were too many questions for the students to answer. These teachers also noted that some students seemed to be resistant to the high level of work required and the need to work in groups, more independent of the teacher. The principle conclusion of the field test study was that Module 1 should be prepared for commercial publication by retaining the present format and pedagogical approach, but should include many of the revisions suggested by the field test teachers. Section 6 of this report, (Summary and Recommendations), provides 14 recommendations for project staff to consider. ***AGI Awards Minority Geoscience Scholarships AGI distributed scholarship awards to 47 undergraduate and 15 graduate students in April. In addition to a financial award, each scholar is assigned a mentor from the MPP Committee and contacted at least four times during the academic year. The undergraduate component of the program is supported by a grant form the National Science Foundation (through March 2001). The graduate component of the program is supported by corporate donors (Exxon and Mobil Oil Companies) and individual contributors. The AGI MPP Committee is completing its review of scholarship applications for the 2000-2001 school year and will select recipients in May. Financial support must be raised in order to continue the two programs. ***Curriculum Projects showcased at National Science Teacher's Association Meeting AGI program staff attended the annual NSTA conference in Orlando, Florida. The conference drew 12,000 teachers and administrators from throughout the country. AGI displayed its educational products and Earth Science week materials at a booth shared with other members of the Coalition for Earth Science Education. In addition to the NSTA meeting, AGI recently provided workshops on its curriculum programs to teachers in New Haven, CT, Boston, MA, and Dade County, Florida. ***Intel Science Fair Competition The ISEF competition will take place in Detroit, Michigan May 7-13. Judges supported by the AGI Education Program include Larry Woodfork of the West Virginia Geological Survey, Rich Busch of West Chester University, Don Byerly of the University of Tennessee Knoxville, and Chris Mathewson of AEG. 4444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444 4) STUDENT OPPORTUNITIES **MINERALOGY RTESEARCH GRANTS The Mineralogical Society of America announces the 2001 grants for student research in mineralogy and petrology and in crystallography from the Edward H. Kraus Crystallographic Research Fund. Each grant is for $3500; application instructions and forms can be found at . Deadline is June 1. 5555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555 5) POSITION OPENINGS **University of California, Berkeley-Assistant Museum Scientist 50% position ending 6 months after date of hire. Perform curatorial work related to the moving and installation of a major collection of invertebrate fossils into the Museum. $2430 - 2910 (full-time rate) Preferred qualifications: Experience in curatorial work with natural history collections. On-line information is available at http://hrweb.berkeley.edu/JOBS/apply.htm (Job title 04-333-30/SL). Send completed application packet to University of California, Berkeley, Employment Services, 7G University Hall # 3542, Berkeley, CA 94720-3542 Closing date: 5/5/00 6666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666 6) SUBMISSION & MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION ***Thanks to everyone who contributed to this issue of AWG E-Mail News. For submissions to AWG E-Mail News, contact Editor Joanne Kluessendorf at editor@awg.org. For advertising, contact the Ad Editor at ads@awg.org. PLEASE SEND AD COPY OR OTHER SUBMISSIONS AS RTF FILES OR AS PART OF AN E-MAIL MESSAGE ***For membership information or to join AWG, visit our website at or contact our business office at ***E-mail or address changes? Send to office@awg.org, please.