4:30 PM - 4:45 PM
[U14-05] Issues raised at the meeting for exchanging Information on the Earth Science Education in High Schools
★Invited Papers
At the "the meeting for exchanging Information on the Earth Science Education in High Schools" held on November 23 and 24, 2019, the issues of geoscience education in high schools were the isolation and aging of earth science teachers, and teachers other than full-time earth science teachers. In order to solve these problems, "formation of a network that transcends schools and regions", "creation of a system that inherits know-how across generations", "dedicated to earth science" The need for "support for teachers other than" was proposed. In response to the proposal, the "the Online meeting for exchanging Information on the Earth Science Education in High Schools" was established as a place for online information exchange. The online information exchange meeting is a voluntary activity by junior high school, high school, university faculty members, research institutes, publishers, etc., and is mainly operated using apps called Slack and Zoom, and participants report on class practice. We have carried out various activities such as introduction of teaching materials, lectures on each specialized field by university faculty members and people from research institutes. Here, I would like to report on some of the issues that have emerged during the exchange of information.
The first is support for young earth science teachers. Many earth science teachers are often alone in school, and they are originally in an environment that tends to be isolated. In each prefecture, there are geoscience subcommittees and geoscience study groups that are active by high school teachers, and information exchange and exchanges have been carried out across schools. However, the number of young earth science faculty members who participate in these meetings is decreasing year by year, and in some prefectures, efforts are declining due to a shortage of people. In addition to supporting the activities of the earth science subcommittees and geoscience study groups in each prefecture, we also support students in the teacher training stage to continue learning earth science education even after becoming teachers, such as by introducing the efforts of these study groups.
The second is support for earth science education from outside the school. During the exchange of information, many high school teachers wanted to give students an opportunity to come into contact with earth science through lectures on the latest research by experts. There were also researchers and university officials looking for opportunities to outreach high school students. Despite the needs of both of these, there are still few practical examples that have been implemented. While online exchanges are seeing new forms of support for earth science education, it is necessary to consider how to increase opportunities for students to come into contact with earth science in the future.
The first is support for young earth science teachers. Many earth science teachers are often alone in school, and they are originally in an environment that tends to be isolated. In each prefecture, there are geoscience subcommittees and geoscience study groups that are active by high school teachers, and information exchange and exchanges have been carried out across schools. However, the number of young earth science faculty members who participate in these meetings is decreasing year by year, and in some prefectures, efforts are declining due to a shortage of people. In addition to supporting the activities of the earth science subcommittees and geoscience study groups in each prefecture, we also support students in the teacher training stage to continue learning earth science education even after becoming teachers, such as by introducing the efforts of these study groups.
The second is support for earth science education from outside the school. During the exchange of information, many high school teachers wanted to give students an opportunity to come into contact with earth science through lectures on the latest research by experts. There were also researchers and university officials looking for opportunities to outreach high school students. Despite the needs of both of these, there are still few practical examples that have been implemented. While online exchanges are seeing new forms of support for earth science education, it is necessary to consider how to increase opportunities for students to come into contact with earth science in the future.