How does a volcanic eruption in the Philippines influence weather halfway around the world? How does a change in Earth's temperature alter sea level along coastlines? Traditionally, subjects like geology, weather, chemistry, and biology are taught separately from one another. In the real world, however, almost nothing occurs in isolation; the Earth is a system of interconnected parts always interacting with and affecting each other. Earth system science (ESS) is the study of interactions between the various Earth spheres—lithosphere (land), atmosphere (air), hydrosphere (water), and biosphere (life)—and how an event in one sphere can impact the others.
The College of Charleston has recently been awarded an Earth System Science Education Alliance (ESSEA) from the Institute of Global Environmental Strategies. This program will offer online courses for graduate level credit. The two programs being offered this Fall and then in Spring 2008 are:
- Hurricane Katrina | October 27 - December 08, 2007
Summer 2005 was winding down when what was to become a monster storm was just beginning to brew...
When Katrina came ashore on August 29, it became one of the deadliest and costliest storms to hit the
United States. The National Climatic Data Center described Katrina as “one of the strongest storms
to impact the coast of the United States during the last 100 years. Since 1995 there have been an
increasing number of hurricanes. Are recent increases in the number and strength of hurricanes
evidence of global climate change? Or are they the result of a natural climate cycle?
Beginning in October, the College of Charleston will be offering a 5-week online course for educators on Hurricane Katrina. This 5-week course will attempt to understand hurricane processes through an ESS approach and will utilize current pedagogical strategies, such as problem-based learning, jigsaw, etc. The pedagogy practiced throughout the course is intended to engage and guide students' involvement in learning. Students will become active learners, shaping events in the classroom. There will be at least two face-to-face sessions, at the beginning and the end of the course. The remainder of the class will be held through a virtual classroom—online. 1-2 graduate credits will be awarded for the course and can count towards recertification, a Bachelor's Degree +18 hours, and/or a Master's Degree +30 hours.
The ESSEA Program will pay students' fees for the course and participation will be on a first come first served basis. If you are interested, please feel free to contact Cynthia Hall, Program Director for more informaiton. If you know that you would like to take the course, please register at http://serch.cofc.edu/ESSEA/registration.htm. - Science and Math For Teachers Earth System Science | Spring 2008
In the Spring of 2008, if interest level is high enough, the SMFT program at the College of Charleston
will be offering a similar online ESS course for educators. However, this course will be conducted
over a 16-week semester and therefore, will delve into additional topics and at more depth than the
above-mentioned 5-week course. This semester ESS course will attempt to understand global events/processes,
such as deforestation, climate change, volcano eruptions, coral reef degradation, etc., and will utilize
current pedagogical strategies, such as problem-based learning, jigsaw, etc. The pedagogy practiced
throughout the course is intended to engage and guide students' involvement in learning. Students
will become active learners, shaping events in the classroom. There will be at least two face-to-face
sessions, at the beginning and the end of the course. The remainder of the class will be held through
a virtual classroom—online. The course will be a standard graduate level course for 3 credit hours.
If you are interested, please feel free to contact Cynthia Hall, Program Director for more information.
