Happenings
Happenings| Dr.
Fortner visited Japan in March 2004 as a guest of former visiting
scientist Masa Goto, who leads the Earth science activities at Japan's
National Institute for Educational Research. Rosanne presented an update
on Environmental Education in the USA. Other presenters were Dr. Sylke
Hlawatsch from Kiel, Germany, and Dr. Chun-Yen Chang from Taiwan. The
international group visited Hakone Volcano and hot springs, a new
science museum, and Masa's family in Zushi. Photos: Right -- Sylke, Masa, Rosanne, Chun-Yen Below: Mt. Fuji seen from Hakone volcano; Masa's niece Miho with black egg boiled in hot springs, and paper lanterns hung in cherry trees at Kandawara Castle. |
 |
 |
|
Dr.
Sylke Hlawatsch visited the ESE program in Columbus several years ago in
preparation for a project she was developing at the Liebniz-Institute for
Science Education (IPN) in Kiel, Germany. Her project, "System Earth,"
started in 2000, and is developing instructional modules for secondary and
primary education in science and geography. The initial work included analysis
of students' conceptions and interests, and that research has shaped the
development of 13 modules on topics such as matter cycles, convection in earth
systems, origin an development of life, physics and chemistry of the atmosphere,
and history of climate change. Modules are web- or CD-delivered, and include
background information, exemplary teaching strategies, and assessments.
Western Ireland is the site of the 13th International Conference on
Aquatic Invasive Species, September 19-23, 2004. Dr. Fortner will present
“Educators Respond to Invasive Species: Interactive Web-based Activities for
Learning and Decision Making“ and a poster session on "Classroom
technology for learning and decision making about invasive species" with
co-authors Jennifer[Dudley] Malinowski and Robin Goettel. The conference
description is at http://www.aquatic-invasive-species-conference.org
The
same presentations are being proposed for the 2004 annual meeting of the North
American Association for Environmental Education, in Biloxi, Mississippi.
Istanbul, Turkey, hosts an International Conference on Earth Systems Science in 2004.
An International Symposium on Earth System 2004 will take place in Istanbul,
Turkey, on 08 - 10 September 2004. The organizers report that the symposium is
offered "in memory of the laureate Professor Sirri Erinc. He was the
founder of modern geography in Turkey and will always be remembered for his
contribution to the field of earth processes and their interactions with the
society, known today as the Earth System Science." For information about
the Symposium, visit <http://www.earthsystem2004.org>.
Rosanne
Fortner has returned to Cyprus several
times since her 1999 Fulbright Fellowship. In a recent trip she worked with
colleagues in ESE and environmental education to develop research articles for a
special science issue of the Mediterranean Journal of Education Studies. They
were published as
Fortner, R.W. & Constantinou, C.P. 2003. Needs assessment and educational climate for global science literacy: The case of Cyprus. IN: Mayer, V.J. (ed.): Implementing Global Science Literacy. Columbus: Earth Systems Education Program, The Ohio State University. Chapter 9, pp 131-140.
Computer Based Learning in Science
(http://www.ucy.ac.cy/cblis2003/), an international conference held in
Nicosia, Cyprus, from July 8-12, 2003, involved presenters from many countries
reporting programs and research in which students and teachers are learning
science through classroom technology. Dr. Rosanne Fortner chaired a
symposium on Digital Game-Based Learning, with an overview presentation about
"Fostering Science Education Objectives with Teacher-Made Computer
Games." This was followed by four 1/2-hour presentations by Cyprus teachers
who were in Rosanne's Integrated Science workshop at the University of Cyprus in
2002. To see an abstract of this presentation, please click on the following
link: Abstract
(.doc file).
Teachers who participate include these, from the graduate program for Learning in Science at UCY:
Marios
Papaevripidou: The Vulture
Game
|
|||
| Alexia Sevastidou:
Tree Court In this computer simulation, trees are on trial for harming the Cyprus environment (Exotic species withdrawing too much water). Students study photos and historic data about the trees and decide if they are guilty. |
|||
| Christiana
Nicolaou: Moufflon and domestic sheep A computerized conversation between the species helps students learn how they are alike and different. |
|||
| George Pieros:
Who wants to be a Flamingonaire? From the music to the familiar logo, this game of questions and answers is about the endangered flamingoes that come to the salt lakes of Cyprus in fewer numbers each year. |
North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) (http://naaee.org/conferences/index.php) met in Anchorage, Alaska, from October 7-11, 2003. Dr. Fortner presented the new on-line curriculum for environmental decision making, developed as part of the Ohio Sea Grant Education Program. Visit the materials using the link on our home page, and let us know what you think. ESE was represented by three sessions:
Session Title: Instructional materials for environmental decision making
Presenters: Rosanne Fortner, Joe Arvai and Ann Froschauer
Summary: Giving students environmental knowledge does not translate to fostering thoughtful decisions. If teachers are to prepare students for making environmental decisions, they need working models of curricula that provide instruction about how effective decisions are made. This session will demonstrate curricula using a decision making model for environmental education.Poster Session Title: The effect of an EE program on student affect toward science
Presenters: Jennifer Dudley and Rosanne Fortner
Summary: This presentation reports the results of a study on the effect of participation in a place-based environmental education program (the F.T. Stone Laboratory student workshop) on the science affect (feelings) of students. An influence on student feelings was found in the short-term but long-term results were more ambiguous.Session Title: Environmental education base: a model of nonformal EE in China
Presenters: Hongxia Duan and Rosanne Fortner
Summary: China EPA launched an ãenvironmental education baseä program that helps people understand the principles of sustainability and the relationships between human and nature. This presentation will demonstrate how nonformal environmental education is going on in China. Hopefully, people from other cultures know more about our efforts on building a sustainable society as well as Chinese culture.
 |
Dr. Vic Mayer has accepted a second Fulbright Fellowship. In autumn 2003, he taught two graduate science education courses at Pusan National University, Korea, in cooperation with Dr. Jeonghee Nam, Assistant Professor of Chemistry Education. In addition to the two courses he involved his students in several research projects focusing on Global Science Literacy. Vic is returning to Pusan in spring 2004 for two months to complete the various research projects. |
In 2004, Dr. David Haury has a project entitled “Ohio Science Institutes for Middle Grades,” supported by the Ohio Department of Education. Teams of teachers from rural Ohio and central Columbus schools are developing modules for science learning in life, earth and physical sciences at the middle school level. The modules will be taught to leadership teams of teachers in Summer 2004. Dr. Fortner is a Co-Principal Investigator on the project, with responsibilities as the Associate Director for Science and Technology on both the curriculum development and summer institutes.
From 2005-2007 the Ohio Sea Grant College Program will support an education project called “Great Lakes Teacher Education: High Tech, High Touch Learning.” In the first year, five teachers will be awarded fellowships to the full summer term at Stone Laboratory, to learn the science and leadership skills for Great Lakes education in the future. In Year 2, these five will be joined by three others. In addition, two graduate courses will be offered to teach teachers how to adapt the successful Ohio Sea Grant instructional materials to web-based modules.
USEPA Region V supports an equipment grant for development of "Distance Learning from F.T. Stone Laboratory." The 2002-2004 grant has provided for purchase of videoconferencing equipment, a document camera and digital video camera, plus assistance with the cost of connections and line time for conferencing. Plans are for production of "Virtual Workshops" for secondary schools, and broadcast of Stone Lab's summer lecture series to off-island locations, enabling greater access by the public. Read about this work in Twine Line 26 (1): 4.
Ohio Sea Grant supports a 3-year project (2002-2005) for "Expanding delivery modes for Great Lakes education." In the first year of the project we have developed the decision modules linked to our home page. In the second year we will pull together information about what nonformal institutions along the Lake Erie shore have to offer in Lake Erie education, and will send that information to all high schools in the watershed. In our third year we will develop on-line short courses for credit to teach about Lake Erie topics.
"Digital and Field Technologies for Coastal Environmental Studies" October 2001 – March 2004. National Science Foundation Award of $75,000. This grant from the Division of Undergraduate Education supported a course at Stone Lab in summer 2002. Course materials have been submitted for use by Earth systems scientists everywhere through the Digital Library for Earth Systems Education (DLESE). You can preview the materials through this link: http://hcgl.eng.ohio-state.edu/cenr797/
Return to ESE Home