Teaching Earth Science: Its Challenges and Rewards
By: Joel L. Bangahon
Introduction
Knowledge in earth science is very vital in nation building. Almost everything we do each
day is connected in some way to Earth: to its land, oceans, atmosphere, plants, and animals.
The food we eat, the water we drink, our homes and offices, the clothes we wear, the energy
we use, and the air we breathe are all grown in, taken from, surround, or move through the
planet. According to American Geological Institute (AGI) Foundation (2004), by 2025, eight
billion people will live on Earth. This number of people will undoubtedly continue extracting
resources to maintain a high quality of life. As we benefit from all the resources we get from
the Earth, then we, as individuals and citizens, need to know more about our planet – its
processes, its resources, and its environment. And “only through Earth Science education can
students understand and appreciate our complex planet” (AGI, 2004, p. 1). In this present
time, “the old and the young must join hands and help one another in the serious task of
nation-building”, the young to learn from the wisdom and experience of the elders, the elders
to recognize the impatience of the youth (Francisco, 1995, p. 92). In contrast, not all young
students are willing to cooperate in order to acquire the needed knowledge, attitudes and
skills essential for a secure future. It is then a burgeoning task for the teacher to facilitate
learning so that quality education will be acquired by the students. This paper will discuss the
different challenges faced by the teacher in imparting knowledge about Earth Science in
public secondary school, likewise it will also discuss the positive aspects in learning the
subject.
THE CHALLENGES
Motivation
My first experience in teaching earth science was on September 2005 in one of the public
secondary schools in Davao Oriental, specifically in District 1. I can still remember the first
day when I entered the class of more than fifty (50) students crowded in a classroom. Some
of them were busy chatting with their classmates, some were busy doing different tasks in
their seats, etc. The first question that popped into my mind during that moment was: how
can I get the attention of the students? As I introduced myself to them as their new science
teacher, I saw different emotions reflecting on their faces. There were emotions of
excitement, worries, anxieties, happiness, etc. I am not sure if they were prepared to take new
lessons in earth science. What I did was to let them get a piece of paper and let them write in
there: their names, favorite subject, subject they hate most and why they love/hate a certain
subject, and their expectation/s of the subject. I did this just to know whether they have
interest in the subject or to know what subjects they liked best and the reasons why they love
the subject. From that, I learned that out of more than fifty (50) students, only four (4) said
that they like science subject. When I asked them why they do not like science as a subject,
the common answer was: “Science is a difficult subject”. From that experience alone, I got an
insight that students will have difficulty in learning a subject if they do not like the subject.
This was supported by Nehru (2002, p.1), that teaching Earth Science to undergraduates or
high school students could be difficult “if the students are not motivated or if they are not
interested in the subject”.
There are several ways of motivating the students to be interested in Earth Science. In my
own experience, I used songs as part of my lessons - songs which are easy to learn and
frequently heard by the students. I used the tune of a particular song and changed the lyrics so
that it will fit with the topic I am discussing. There are also songs introduced to us during
seminars that are very helpful because students would find it easier to memorize certain
science concepts by just singing the songs over and over again. Example of these songs are:
“We’re the Scientist” – in the tune of “Ako’y Isang Pinoy”; “Sistemang Harana” – in the tune
of “Harana” as popularized by Parokya ni Edgar, this emphasizes the importance of scientific
method in solving problem; “Super Science” – in the tune of “Superman”, stressed on the
contributions of science in enhancing our lives; and a jolly song – “Youngsters Love
Science”. After introducing these songs, I found them useful in memorizing scientific terms,
concepts, and processes. With this, I feel happy when I heard some of my students singing
those songs and sharing them with their friends.
Nehru (2002, p. 1-2), suggested ways on motivating students to learn Earth Science. He said
that flexible approaches and connections to other subjects “is the key to success in a
classroom for motivating student interest”. It was proven true with my personal teaching
experiences. One should not stick to one option if it doesn’t work. Here are the motivating
techniques elaborated by Nehru (2002) which have been proven to work well with most
students:
1. Relate local or national or international news items to some aspect of Earth Science. One
may choose from a variety of items from the news. Some of the older news items and their
impact on social/political life may also be of interest to students. Any news items relating to
the following are generally welcomed by most students for class discussion: Earthquakes;
Volcanoes; Tsunamis; Floods; Meteor Showers; and news items related to disasters – present
or from past.
2. Pick a topic of common interest to most of the students, such as social or political problem
that they are familiar with: nuclear power plants, illegal logging, global warming,
consequences of urbanization; and mining.
In my case, I used illegal logging, illegal fishing and mining as my point of focus because
these issues are really happening in our locality.
3. Historical or biblical or religious locations and the geology associated with it: the Chasm at
Delphi and the Apollo Temple in Greece and the vapors that emanates from the location; the
geology of biblical areas such as the ones in Middle East; the Taj Mahal in India; the
Pyramids in Egypt; the Great Wall of China; Niagara Falls and Grand Canyon in USA;
Stories of Precious stones and gems; and any other similar ones.
4. Anecdotes from the scientific discoveries/contributions of great men/women of the past
and present: Aristotle; Eratosthenes (measurement of the circumference of the earth);
Ptolemy; Copernicus; Tycho Brahe; Johannes Kepler; Archimedes; Newton; Einstein; James
Hutton; Charles Lyell; N. L. Bowen; Alfred Wegener; Harry Hess; and many more names
that are worth mentioning in Earth Sciences.
5. Space exploration always fascinates students: anecdotes of Lunar exploration; Mars
missions and life on Mars; Jupiter and its clouds and moons; discovery of new stars and other
galaxies outside our own; and other similar explorations.
6. There are several facts that intrigue and fascinate most Earth Science students:
a. Deepest mine in the world
b. Deepest bore hole in the world
c. Comparison of the above numbers with the radius of the Earth
This can show them how little we know about the earth through direct observation.
d. Compare these distances with the distance to the Moon
These numbers can raise questions like “how come we did not go too far down inside the
earth” and “how come we went almost quarter of a million miles to the moon”.
e. Latitude and longitude and their use in navigation and the time zones
f. Deep sea drilling and the mid-fifties project to drill past Moho into the mantle
g. The election of President John F. Kennedy and his pledge to land a man on the moon
h. The theory of continental drift and the evidence for it
i. The fascinating new theory of Plate Tectonics and its development
I used some of the items stated above and they worked for me in classrooms. Good general
knowledge coupled with interest and knowledge of a variety of items in Earth Sciences “can
help the teacher in getting the students enthused in the subject” (Nehru, 2002, p.2). As
teacher, we should always bear in mind that Earth Science poses questions that are exciting as
well as practical to children and adults alike.
Comprehension of the English Language
Provided that the students are well motivated in learning the subject, another problem comes
in – how they will understand the instruction with the use of English language? It is an
inevitable fact that most of my freshmen (first year) students do not understand spoken or
written English. Those that can fairly understand belong to the first section but there are also
students in the first section that cannot speak or write in English language correctly. This is
really a problem because teaching Earth Science should be in English and all the references
are written or published in English. This problem has been stated by Nogodula (2008) in his
article “English Language: A Catalyst for Understanding Science Better”. In addition,
Montgomery (2004, p.1335, cited in Nogodula, 2008) stressed that English is the “Universal
language of Science”. Therefore, in imparting knowledge to students, teachers should use
English as a medium of instruction. I must also admit that I am not perfect in terms of
elaborating concepts with the use of English so what I did was use the vernacular in some
part of my discussion. To maximize understanding of a certain concept, I translated some
scientific terms into the students’ vernacular so that they can fully understand what am I
talking or explaining about.
In our school it was really noted that non-readers or readers with poor comprehension pull
down the performance of the school during achievement test (Division, Regional or
National). To partly solve the problem, if not totally eradicate, an Informal Reading Inventory
(IRI) was conducted. This will gauge the reading level of the First Year students so that the
school, especially the teachers can identify who among the students are non-readers or has
poor reading comprehension. After the inventory it was found out that there are students with
reading ability that is of Grade I level and there are really non-readers. So another burden is
given to English teachers because aside from teaching their usual subject loads, they will do
remedial classes for those students identified as non-readers or with poor reading
comprehension. It is not only a burden for the English teachers but for other teachers as well
who taught subjects with English as a medium of instruction. This scenario was also
supported by Nogodula (2008, p.3) by saying that “poor or substantive English background
slows down the process of scientific development because it is hard to understand scientific
concepts while at the same time learning English language – this is learning two things
simultaneously”.
Discipline Inside the Classroom
In a classroom of more than fifty students or in some classroom sixty students, it is really
important that discipline should always reign for maximum learning. In my first year of
teaching, classroom discipline is really an issue for me. I easily got irritated by students who
were noisy, always going outside the classroom without valid reasons, and students yelling or
fighting with each other. But through reading books and attending seminars about classroom
discipline, this problem has slowly been elucidated.
A well-managed classroom will give the students rich opportunities for mental growth and
development. Good classroom discipline produces favorable working conditions conducive to
good learning and makes schoolwork enjoyable and interesting. According to Naungayan
(1997), one aspect of the teacher’s role under the concept of discipline is to help students
practice self-control and to develop standards of individual values and activities that will be
carried on regardless of whether the teacher or parent or someone else in authority is around
or not.
The concept of discipline when I was still in my elementary years is really different as
compared with modern concept of discipline which is based on democratic principles as
enumerated by Gregorio (1986, cited in Naungayan, 1997). He stressed that, a good
discipline is one that develops self-direction and self-discipline rather than discipline based
on compulsion and obedience. In addition, he laid emphasis on becoming familiar with the
cause of violation of discipline in order that such causes may be minimized, if not prevented,
and offenses may be more satisfactorily diagnosed and treated.
As facilitator of students’ learning in Earth Science I should always bear in mind that
classroom discipline is really one of the vital tools so that learning could be attained. In line
with this, Roxas (2001, p.93) underscored that “the teacher can be an effective facilitator of
learning only when there is discipline and proper classroom management in teachinglearning”.
Making Use of Technology
The use of textbooks alone in imparting science concepts and processes is not enough. Any
ordinary classroom on Earth is not the best place to observe interactions ranging in scale from
solar system to the components of a cell. With just pure lectures, often learners are forced to
create their own mental images to understand situations they cannot view directly. In many
instances the result has been a misconception that takes on a reality of its own inside the
students mind. As observed by Summers and Reiff (2005), standard textbooks have been
ineffective in changing these deeply rooted misconceptions. Students remain confused about
topics involving basic spatial relationships such as the reason for the seasons. To solve this
problem, there is persistent call for a teacher to be creative in his teaching and maximize the
technology present.
To keep pace with the advancement of Science and Technology, teachers need to have
creative and inquiring minds. Such thoughts and ideas “conceived by the inquiring minds”
inspire and challenge the teacher to be creative (Pamittan, 1997). In connection with the call
of being creative and to equate myself with the evolving technology, I constantly visit the
World Wide Web so that I can make my lessons updated. This was not easy for me because
the place where I’ve been teaching has no internet connection and only during weekends that
I can browse the Internet for topics that need further elaboration through videos or flash
animations. In addition, I used PowerPoint in order to make my lessons interactive to the
students and I’ve found out that their interest in my lessons was elevated with the use of
computers. Moreover, I was happy because our principal really encouraged the use of
PowerPoint in classroom instruction. In fact, he proposed and spearheaded the
implementation of Computer Aided Instruction (CAI) in the Division of Davao Oriental.
THE REWARDS
Students’ Achievement
The first person that would feel happy in the achievement of students in terms of learning
Earth Science is the teacher. I personally beam with pride when my students perform well
during exams or on the top rank during contest related to Earth Science. It was remarkable for
me when my two contestants for the 2008 Division Science Quiz held in San Isidro National
High School ranked second and third respectively. I felt that this is my reward for exerting
effort in reviewing students about science concepts not only through books but also from the
information retrieved from the internet and by helping and teaching them how to use the
computer in exploring the Encarta Encyclopedia. I also felt fulfilled when I see my students
embraced positive attitudes in learning the subject. With this, I established in students’ heart
the love for Earth Science that could be very helpful in learning other sciences like Biology,
Chemistry, and Physics. A course in earth sciences can provide to students an introduction to
subject matter in all other sciences that illustrates their relevance and connections (Kelly &
Burks, 2005). With a strong foundation in Earth Science, students will no longer find
difficulty in learning other sciences.
My Contribution in Nation-Building and for the Future
As a teacher in Earth Science, I can say that I have a great role in building a nation -- a nation
that maximizes its resources but does not sacrifice the future. As deemed by AGI (2004), our
lives and civilization depend upon how we understand and manage our planet. Earth
processes affect us all. Weather patterns influence the availability of water resources and the
potential for earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, typhoons, and floods can kill large numbers of
people and cause millions or even billions of pesos in property damage. If our students are
well informed about those processes affecting our lives then they would be cautious in every
action they will do like cutting trees, burning too much fossil fuels, the use of aerosol sprays,
etc. Every lesson in Earth science will somehow connect students to the past, as well as
challenging them to think about the future.
Conclusion
Teaching Earth science in secondary school is not an easy task. A lot of challenges must be
surmounted so that teaching-learning could be a pleasant experience for both the teachers and
students. My first three years experiences in teaching the subject have really shaped my
knowledge and attitudes towards the subject. Since my elementary years as a student, I still
bring the passion and love in understanding the complex world of science. And now that I’m
in the field, then it is my turn to permeate my enthusiasm in learning science subjects to my
students especially during their first science subject in secondary education which is the earth
science.
The earth sciences provide the best all-around introduction to science. The earth sciences
integrate concepts from all other major disciplines of science, including biology, chemistry
and physics. Thus, teaching of earth sciences throughout the elementary and secondary
schools will promote scientific literacy in general.
As teachers we should always keep abreast of the technology so that our knowledge in the
subject matter will be updated from time to time. We should always let our students view
science as part of their everyday lives so that they will not feel alienated from it.
Lastly, we should always bear in our minds that an understanding of the earth sciences is
critical for a secure future. When we emphasize Earth science education, everyone benefits.
References/Literature Cited
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Francisco, P. S. (1995). Teachers: Guide the Youth in Nation Building. The Modern Teacher,
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Kelly, P. H., & Burks, R. J. (2005). The Importance of Teaching Earth Science in Schools
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from http://www.geosociety.org/positions/pos4_publicSchools.pdf
Naungayan, E. C. (1997). The Modern Concept of Classroom Discipline. The Modern
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Nehru, C. E. (2002). Teaching Earth Science Using Historical and Current News Anecdotes
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Roxas, V. S. (2001). A Vision of Excellence Through Discipline and Classroom
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