This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).
SJV Rocks!! will enhance minority participation in the geosciences by enhancing the earth science curriculum in Kern County schools and improving teacher content knowledge of local geology. In Kern County almost 70% of students are of minority ethnicity. By enhancing the experiences of all students, SJV Rocks!! will reach a large minority population.
During the first summer of the project, four teams of Kern County earth science teachers and geology undergraduate students from California State University Bakersfield (CSUB) and Bakersfield College (BC) will create classroom activities on topics of San Joaquin Valley geology that employ STEM best practices. Teams will work with experts on the specific topics at CSUB, the Buena Vista Museum of Natural History and the Kern County Museum. To facilitate classroom implementation, activities will be linked to the CA science standards, current textbooks and, where possible, the CA math and language arts standards. During the second summer, CSUB will host a four day workshop to disseminate the classroom activities to Kern County teachers. During these workshops, teachers will acquire all the necessary background information, work through the activities and create all the instructional materials to implement the activities in their own classrooms. For broader dissemination, all information and activities, including instructional video depicting each activity being taught, will be linked to the CSUB Geology website and will be submitted to the DLESE database. With more effective earth science educational tools, improved preparedness and enhanced confidence, teachers will be better able to inspire their students to explore the geosciences. To further foster student interest and delineate the pathway to geoscience careers, CSUB and BC geology students, most of whom are recent graduates of Kern County schools, will visit classrooms, talk about their university and professional experiences, and assist in implementation of the new classroom activities.
