At the 2002 Annual Geological Society of America meeting in Denver, Paul
Harnik (Paleontological Research Institution; [log in to unmask]) and Robert
Ross (Paleontological Research Institution; [log in to unmask]) will convene
the following National Association of Geoscience Teachers-sponsored topical
session:

Title: Geoscience Research Partnerships as a Strategy for Engaging K-16
Students and Teachers in Inquiry-Based Learning (Topical Session T39)

Session Description:

Involving K-16 students and teachers in authentic scientific research can
benefit both scientific and education communities: students and teachers
get a chance to experience science first hand, and researchers are able to
collect larger quantities of data than previously possible. The geosciences
are ideal for such partnerships, as they capture the public imagination
daily (as reflected in popular media), and many fundamental research
questions remain unanswered due to the sheer magnitude of human labor that
is involved to gather and synthesize the necessary data. Involving students
in research is not a new idea, but has traditionally been employed only
with upper-level undergraduate majors and select groups of high-achieving
high school students. Integrating research and education in less
traditional settings such as introductory undergraduate classes, courses
for non-majors, and pre-college classrooms has recently begun to increase
in frequency. While the number of partnerships between K-16 students,
teachers, and geoscientists grows, issues of educational assessment and
data quality are paramount for documenting the impact research partnerships
can have on either educational reform or scientific research.

Volunteered abstracts on projects in any phase of development are welcome
additions to this session, with particular interest in issues of data
quality and learning assessment.

Please contact either of us if you have any questions or suggestions. The
deadlines for abstract submission
(http://www.geosociety.org/meetings/2002/) is July 16 (electronic). We look
forward to an engaging dialogue in Denver on the challenges and benefits of
these research and education partnerships.





Robert M. Ross
Director of Education
Paleontological Research Institution
1259 Trumansburg Road
Ithaca, NY 14850
tel: 607 273 6623 x18
FAX: 607 273 6620
email: [log in to unmask]
PRI website: <www.priweb.org>

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