This Syracuse University project will create an outreach and professional development model by linking university geoscientists to urban elementary school students and teachers. Together they will create, teach and disseminate Earth science lessons. These lessons will use schoolyards and walking distance urban parks as field laboratories for students to investigate their local ecosystems. The lessons will be aligned with the standards for Earth and other basic sciences, as well as integrate mathematics and language arts. The goals of this project are to teach elementary teachers an Earth System Science and inquiry approach to teaching geoscience and to increase urban elementary students' aptitude and enthusiasm for geoscience as well as their appreciation for their local environment. The project will mentor university scientists and science educators on effective ways to train elementary teachers in Earth System Science. It is expected that this project will serve as a model to promote field-based Earth science among urban youth, most of whom are underrepresented minorities, including persons with disabilities.
