Earth Exploration Toolbook StepbyStep Guides for Investigating Earth

Earth Exploration Toolbook Step-by-Step Guides for Investigating Earth System Data Lu. Ann Dahlman Center for Science Teaching and Learning, TERC

What is the Earth Exploration Toolbook? The EET is a website that provides concrete guidance for teachers who want their students to learn Earth system science by working with data.

Challenges to using data • Appropriate data, while freely available, may be difficult to locate. • Once found, data are often not in a useful or familiar format. • Locating an appropriate tool and learning to use it to interact with the data in a meaningful way is difficult.

The project’s goal is to help teachers and faculty become competent data users To achieve this goal, teachers need direct practice using data, including • accessing or obtaining specific data and tools, • manipulating tools to analyze the data, and • interpreting the results.

A Recipe for Success • The EET uses a cookbook approach to walk users through scientifically valid data analyses. • EET chapters are similar to recipes—each independent chapter lists ingredients and instructions for making some data product. Go to the EET

The EET Template Authors build EET chapters using a Content Management System. Page templates describe the information to be entered in each field, and an accompanying author’s support document describes best practices for building consistent chapters. • Contributors will soon be working with our developers, using the template to create new chapters. • Teams of data providers, tool developers, and educators will use the template to build chapters at the DLESE Data Services Workshops.

Not a software manual Using a case study approach emphasizes understanding of the data over the tools or techniques. The storyline places technology procedures in a meaningful context and provides an example of accurate interpretation.

Quality Assurance Each chapter receives • internal testing and consistency checks, • two rounds of formative evaluation by classroom teachers, • two rounds of classroom testing, and • scientific review. Plans are under way to submit chapters to NASA’s Educational Review and to add links to the DLESE Community Review System.

Professional Development Seminars • Teachers will participate in two-hour online + teleconference seminars. • Participants will work through a single chapter, including Further Exploration.

The EET Team • • • Tamara Ledley, TERC Cathy Manduca, Carleton College Lu. Ann Dahlman, TERC Carla Mc. Auliffe, TERC Nick Haddad, TERC Sean Fox, Carleton College Denise Blaha, UNH Rita Freuder, UNH Robert Downs, CIESIN

Earth Exploration Toolbook http: //serc. carleton. edu/eet