EarthScope USArray and Plate Boundary Observatory (PBO) instruments are currently monitoring deformation and seismicity in the Pacific Northwest. Geoscientists are using EarthScope data to advance understanding of the active continental margin at "the leading edge" of our continent. Teachers on the Leading Edge (TOTLE) is a teacher professional development program featuring Pacific Northwest geology, associated geologic hazards, and EarthScope science. TOTLE invites K-12 teachers to become novice geophysicists using EarthScope science to enhance their students' understanding of plate tectonics, earthquakes and tsunamis, and volcanoes. Through this project, TOTLE: (1) introduces 120 K-12 and community college teachers of Earth Science to the EarthScope Project; (2) immerses teachers in inquiry-based studies of active continental margin geology; (3) coordinates with science educators at UNAVCO, the Incorporated Research Institutes for Seismology, and the EarthScope National Office in developing instructional materials that convey the wonder of EarthScope science to K-12 learners and the general public nationwide; (4) forms teams of teacher-learners, led by a community college instructor, that promote integration of EarthScope science into the K-12 curriculum; and (5) provides a template for Geoscience educators to build place-based programs that connect EarthScope science with regional geology as USArray steps across the country. TOTLE provides an example of coordination between K-12 science teachers, university science educators, and federal and state government scientists to develop a science education program that preserves the authenticity of cutting-edge research while making that science inviting, accessible, and useful to K-12 teachers and students.
On March 11, 2011 at 2:46 PM local time, a magnitude 9.0 great earthquake struck off the northeast coast of Honshu, Japan. This massive earthquake and resulting tsunami that swept onshore in Japan within 30 minutes devastated northern Honshu. On January 26, 1700 at about 9 PM local time, a great earthquake in Cascadia caused widespread destruction from northern California to western British Columbia and generated a tsunami that, as Native American groups retell, "put the canoes in the trees." These two mirror-image natural disasters separated by 311 years raise Earth science education questions of enormous human consequence. We know an earthquake and tsunami similar to the March 2011 Japan disaster will strike the Pacific Northwest again. Unfortunately, citizens and the built environment of the Pacific Northwest are not as well prepared for a great earthquake and tsunami as were those of Japan. How can we translate and disseminate science information for K-12 teachers and students in a way that fosters earthquake and tsunami literacy and promotes a culture of geologic hazards awareness so the Pacific Northwest can prepare for and mitigate the effects of the next great Cascadia earthquake and tsunami? The Teachers on the Leading Edge Program (TOTLE, http://orgs.up.edu/totle) was funded by the National Science Foundation EarthScope Program to address this geoscience education challenge. EarthScope is a large geophysical initiative investigating the structure of the North American crust (www.earthscope.org/); results have significant value in furthering understanding of geologic hazards in the USA. Principal Investigators and Master Teachers of the TOTLE - EarthScope Project developed a learning sequence and educational resources on Pacific Northwest (PNW) plate tectonics, seismology, earthquakes, tsunami, and EarthScope science. The centerpiece of this program was a series of K-12 teacher professional development workshops featuring PNW active continental margin hazards and EarthScope science. The 1-week workshops were held in summers 2008-2010 with 35 PNW middle school teachers attended each year. TOTLE - EarthScope teachers have impacted >30,000 students and >1500 other adults regarding workshop topics. The elements key to success were: a) facilitation team with broad expertise in both geoscience and education; b) regional team format that encouraged learning community development; c) extensive "kit" of teaching materials for easy classroom transfer (Figure 1); and d) significant use of real and virtual field trips and animations to aid in "visualization" of processes. 100% of participants agreed or strongly agreed that the program would positively impact their teaching. Confidence in teaching workshop topics (4-point scale: 1="not at all confident"; 4="very confident") continued to rise in each subsequent survey from 2.7 (pre-workshop) to 3.3 (post-workshop) to 3.5 (1st year) to 3.7 (2-3 years after) suggesting the program impact is long-lived (Figure 2). Average teacher performance on content questions improved from 66% (pre) to 79% (post). Greater than 75% of teachers implemented at least seven of the classroom activities in the year following the workshop. Overall implementation of the 22 common curricular elements rose from 54% (2008 cohort) to 63% (2009 & 2010 cohorts) with teacher-rated effectiveness improving from 4.1 to 4.4 (4="very effective", 5="excellent"). Better scaffolding from simpler topics to complex ones (e.g. Episodic Tremor & Slip) led to improved implementation of those difficult topics between 2008 and 2009-10 (e.g. from 28% to 53%). Development of regional learning "teams" was highly successful during the workshop but subsequent team activity needed more support to be maintained. Printed and digital materials developed by TOTLE are being used extensively in EarthScope workshops for interpretive professionals in parks and museums, in teacher workshops such as Illinois EarthScope, and in training sessions for the Oregon Master Naturalist Program. Dissemination of TOTLE educational resources is continuing through the program web site, distribution of the TOTLE DVD, collaboration with the Incorporated Research Institutes for Seismology (IRIS) Education and Public Outreach Program, and a peer-reviewed article for Journal of Geoscience Education (in review). Science educators in many fields are investigating the effectiveness of problem-solving and place-based science education programs applied to natural hazards. The TOTLE - EarthScope Project serves as an example of the efficacy of science teacher professional development as a method for advancing geologic hazards preparedness in at-risk communities. Results of this science education project can be applied nationally to the common cause of achieving a disaster resilient America through natural hazards education. The project also serves as an example for translating "big science" for K-12 teachers and students in an engaging fashion that emphasizes the social relevance of scientific research.
