The primary objective of this project is to encourage Hispanic participation and enrollment in the geosciences, thereby ultimately enhancing diversity within the discipline. To achieve this goal, middle and high school science teachers serving large Hispanic populations will be recruited for a series of three two-year programs, each of which will center on paid field experiences in Northern Illinois and in Mexico. The fieldwork in Mexico will expose the teachers to a geologic and social environment outside of their community where they can interact with a diverse group of scientists from either the Universidad National Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) or Centro para el Estudio del Agua del Centro de Investigacion Cientifica de Yucatan (CEA-CICY). While in Mexico, the participants will visit classrooms and spend a day with their counterparts in both middle and high Mexican Partnership Schools. The field experience will be followed by school visitations, regularly scheduled workshops, a summer course and culminate in an international conference of middle and high school educators to be held in the greater Chicago area. Over the course of the five-year grant period, it is expected that three cohorts of 10-12 teachers will be shepherded through the program.
Northern Illinois University (NIU) engaged 44 middle- and high-school teachers who serve Hispanic populations in a two-year professional development program during which they completed two geology field experiences, participated in workshops during the year, created virtual fieldtrips and lesson plans, and implemented the lessons in their classrooms. One field experience was in the United States (Midwest or Black Hills); the other was for ten days in either Mexico or Costa Rica. Some of the teachers completed action research projects, a cultural exchange with teachers from Mexico, and presentation of papers at national conferences. Intellectual Merit: NIU faculty members from geosciences, instructional technology, and literacy education provided the professional development on the geology of the field sites, techniques in creating instructional materials, cultural literacy, and strategies for teaching the EL student. NIU partnered with the Universidad National Autonoma De Mexico, CEA-CICY in Mexico, and the Ministry of Environment, Energy, and Telecommunication in Costa Rica to coordinate the field experiences and provide a cultural exchange. The teachers increased their knowledge of geosciences and field skills, technology skills in creating lessons, ways to integrate literacy skills for the bilingual learner within science lessons, and understanding of the Hispanic/Latino culture. They reported increased confidence in teaching geology, ability to use instructional technology such as virtual field trips, and the ability to better serve the needs of their Hispanic student. After their involvement in the project, they reported they continued to draw upon their OEDG experiences in interacting with students, crafting lessons, and displayed artifacts from the field experiences in their classrooms. The virtual field trips and lesson plans were used in their classrooms and shared with other teachers. The impact on students included increases in content knowledge, an interest in other parts of the world, and improved skills of being a scientist. Broader Impacts: The teachers developed standards-based, peer-reviewed educational materials to increase student learning and interest in the geosciences. Over 3,500 students of which approximately 70% were Hispanic were students of the teachers in the OEDG project from 2007 to 2013. This project established partnerships with the Mexican and Costa Rican organizations which will continue beyond the project.
