SLO 2: THEORETICAL UNDERSTANDING by reading, synthesizing, and evaluating
educational theory and research in their field and applying research findings to their
practice in diverse classroom settings-Position Paper on Geosciences Education
Andrew Stephens
For my Position Paper in SEd 646, I wrote about the need for rethinking the role
of Geosciences in secondary education. The paper reviewed the current state of
Geosciences, highlighted its importance for an educated populace, summarized current
literature on the subject, made recommendations, and painted a picture of the future
with Earth science standing on equal ground with biology, chemistry, and physics.
The successful completion of the position paper required me to read substantial
literature on educational research related to Earth science education. While reading
through the articles, websites, books, and journals I also had to consider the sources.
Since this was a position paper, I found plenty of supporting evidence from various
Geoscience associations and Geoscience teaching associations. To make a good
argument, I thus needed to evaluate the methods and evidence carefully. After careful
synthesis of the literature in my paper, I went back and connected the main ideas to
educational theories to bolster my argument. The finished product included a sound
review of the literature as well as an integration of research proven strategies for
teaching Earth science.
My research on the subject made me aware of the lack of ethnic and cultural
diversity among Geoscience professionals. This finding gave fueled my desire to bring
this rich content to the diverse student populace of California. By integrating more
Geosciences right here in the earthquake state, I felt that more students would be eager
to join the professional field.
This research paper affected my teaching tremendously since I was teaching
Oceanography, which is a branch of the Geosciences, at the time. I was also in the
process of revising the course description for the class in hopes of getting approval by
the University of California system as part of the A-G Requirements. In the spring
previous to this assignment I had submitted by description and it was not approved as a
lab science, but instead as an elective. It was this experience that really inspired me to
write the paper. After talking to my administrator and fellow science teachers, they
explained to me that all of the Geosciences had recently been treated as a sort of
second class science as the UCs rarely approved any as a lab science. After
researching and writing this paper, I was more educated on the topic of Geosciences
education. I went back to the drawing board and redesigned my Oceanography course
description. After a tireless effort and two more submissions, I finally got the course
approved. It was in the nick of time and just made it in time for my students to write it as
a lab science for their college applications.
Another positive externality of the position paper was that I became a better
teacher of the Geosciences. I implemented my own recommendations. As a result, my
students had a better experience.
Finally, the process of researching and writing this paper helped me improve my
skills as a researcher. I honed my APA styling; the practice improved my in-text
citations, formatting, and reference citations. The hunting process for literature, the
writing process in research, and the ability of persuasion all got a little better as a direct
result of this position paper.