Special Topics Course at AASU for Public School K-12 Teachers at SE Region PRISM* Schools (Next offered Summer 2008)
BIOL 6000 "Georgia's Barrier Islands: Natural Laboratories for Inquiry-Based Learning & Teaching of Science"
In this truly interdisciplinary course, teachers will be immersed into the history and science of coastal Georgia's barrier islands as encountered through a tour of the natural history of Ossabaw Island. The participants will investigate integrated science and mathematics topics within the context of a chronological study of the unique and relatively undocumented natural history of Ossabaw and other islands. This study will begin with the pre-human period, involving coastal genesis and the formation of the barrier islands, move through the history and relevant science of the Native American period, the Spanish period, the Colonial and Revolutionary periods, the Plantation period and finish with perspectives on the future. This course will emphasize content that supports the Georgia Performance Standards, and each day participants will engage in the application of knowledge gained to their own classrooms through the development of grade-appropriate activities and course materials.
* This course is meant for teachers at public schools in coastal Georgia that participate in the PRISM program (Partnership for Reform in Science and Mathematics ( http://www.prism.armstrong.edu ). Course participants may sign up for 5 PLUs or for 3 hours of graduate credit. For questions concerning qualification, application procedures, and funding, please contact Peter Verity (912-598-2471)
or Sabrina Hessinger (912-921-2059).
Course Dates : M-F 8:00-5:00 with an overnight field study on Ossabaw Island
Instructors : Peter Verity (SkIO), Charlie Belin (AASU), Becci Curry (St. Mary's ES, Camden), Ron Phillips (Coastal MS, Chatham), Karyn Chester (Camden County HS).
Location : Primary class location is University Hall 156 at AASU with the following required field experiences:
- Group will travel to St. Catherines by boat and spend entire day on island.
- Overnight on Ossabaw Island. Activities include marsh walks, beach seining, ecology hiking & specimen gathering.
- Group will kayak to Little Tybee for field study.
Note: this is a field-based course that includes water-borne activities, kayaking/boating, some long walks, an overnight stay in a dormitory on a barrier island.
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Drs. Peter Verity and Marc Frischer often teach Introduction to Oceanography ( OCEA 3100 ) at Armstrong Atlantic State University (AASU) . This course is offered through the Chemistry department at AASU and is designed for non-science majors. In practice, many of the students are from the Education department, and they need science courses to meet their teaching credentials. Peter and Marc are excited about the opportunity to help train the next generation of teachers in the philosophy and approach of doing science. Oceanography is just one of many branches of science but is unique in that incorporates all of the major disciplines of earth sciences, e.g. physics, biology, chemistry, and geology. Moreover, many other branches of science find an important niche in oceanography, such as mathematics, remote sensing, genetics, even image processing. Please contact either of them for the next date the course is offered. |
