Expedition Earth Science

Expedition Earth Science

 

Overview-- Watching, listening and reading are all good ways to learn, but when students leave the classroom and engage in the real problem solving activities of adult professionals the rate of learning increases dramatically.
Mr. Peneston and Mr. Calderwood have developed the Expedition Earth Science program to provide all of their students with the opportunity to explore Earth Science processes by conducting the work of scientists at field locations around the State. Students will select and then participate in 1 of the first 6 expeditions offered this year. All students are also invited to participate in our 13th annual white water rafting expedition in May and our annual Spring Break expedition to the US. Virgin Islands National Park. Each expedition begins at an after school meeting about 2 weeks before the trip where the students will form teams and receive detailed assignments describing the problems that they must solve by collecting scientific data in the field on the day of the expedition. They will also receive information about the products (reports, etc.) that they are expected to produce and how they will be graded.  Expeditions typically consist of 15-24  students, 2 teachers and 3-10 parent volunteers who spend all day on a Saturday or Sunday traveling to and collecting data at a location or series of locations. Parents are needed to act as drivers and to assist in supporting the student teams.
 
Supervision-- The Earth Science teachers will organize and coordinate enough parent volunteers to provide at least one adult to support each team.
 
Parent Authorization Forms- Every student must have a completed Parent Authorization Form and Medical Release form signed by their parents.
 
Costs-- Most of the Expeditions will not cost the student anything except for lunch.
However, students are asked to share the gas expenses of the parent drivers. If a student chooses to go on the fossil trip, they will pay $5 each for entrance into the museum. Students who chose the whitewater rafting trip will also have to pay the rafting company a fee.
 
Transportation- The Expedition Earth Science program cannot happen without the support and participation of parents. Each student must arrange his or her own transportation. They have a list of other students and phone numbers to help in arranging car pools. All drivers must be at least 21 years old and every parent must indicate on the Parent Authorization Form how the student is traveling.
 
Grading- On each expedition, student teams will complete tasks that will lead them to produce products such as PowerPoint slide shows, written reports and posters. A written summary will also be required from each team member. These written documents will be added to the student’s lab folder and will used to grant the student 5 lab credits. Each student will also receive up to 5 bonus points added to their quarterly average. The amount of bonus credit will depend on the quality of the work and the participation level of each student.