GP-IN: Connecting and Expanding the Nebraska Geoscience Teacher Network (GeoNet)

The GeoNet project aims to tackle the numerous challenges faced by secondary teachers in teaching Earth System Sciences, important science disciplines for society in our changing world. In Nebraska, approximately 76% of school districts have opted to incorporate Geoscience topics into existing physical science and/or biology courses rather than offering a dedicated Earth and Space Science (ESS) course. This trend underscores a challenge: the dearth of resources available to effectively integrate Earth System Science into other science disciplines, leaving teachers to grapple with this issue independently. Unfortunately, this challenge is often exacerbated by teachers' limited knowledge of Earth System Science content. Furthermore, there is a notable gap in teachers' awareness of Geoscience career pathways. Given that educators play a pivotal role in shaping students' career aspirations, this knowledge deficit has the potential to impede the influx of students into the Geosciences. The GeoNet project endeavors to address these multifaceted challenges through an intensive professional development program tailored to secondary teachers. The goals of 'GeoNet' are as follows: (1) Establish a robust network of engaged secondary teachers across various science disciplines. (2) Provide guidance to teachers in crafting new curricula infused with integrated geoscience themes and Nebraska-specific geoscience phenomena. (3) Facilitate the ongoing incorporation of geoscience content within a NGSS framework across diverse science subjects. (4) Enhance the foundational knowledge and teaching efficacy of educators in the realm of geosciences. (5) Heighten teacher awareness and perception of geoscience career opportunities and pathways. To realize these goals, the team proposes the establishment of a geoscience learning community and network (GeoNet) comprised of a set of master teacher leaders who will collaborate closely with the principal investigators to nurture additional cohorts of secondary science educators. Through sustained professional development, exposure to field-based geological phenomena, integration with local experts and resources, and community-building events, teachers’ enhanced knowledge and exposure to geosciences will aid their collaborative professional development and implementation of innovative curricula integrating geoscience themes. Through the implementation of this project, we anticipate significant improvements in geoscience education, thereby enriching students' comprehension of Earth systems and fostering interest in geoscience careers. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.