Astrobiology in the classroom

from http://www.space.com

Astrobiology: Asking Big Questions to Learn Science

By Edna DeVore
Director of Education and Public Outreach
posted: 07:00 am ET
08 April 2004

 

"Teacher, why do I need to learn this?" "What's it good for?" Students
ask these questions when faced with content that seems unrelated to
their lives. Motivating students is fundamental to promoting
achievement in any classroom, even in science, which encompasses the
entire natural world, the whole universe. Good questions and quality
experiences support science learning for all students, not just those
who are already science-friendly.

Compare these with a commonly asked classroom science question: Does
the length of the string change the performance of a pendulum? Do
objects fall at different speeds according to their weights? and so
forth. No, I'm not picking on physics here, but these sorts of
investigations -- which can be fun -- need to be in a larger context
to motivate many students.

When students are asked to learn science with particular lessons and
laboratory investigations placed in the context of big questions, it
helps them to answer, "Why do I need to learn this?" and "What is it
good for?" Teaching buoyancy and pressure in the context of
investigating life at undersea volcanoes called black smokers makes
the lessons less abstract. What is life and how did it begin on Earth?
The black smokers host organisms that live in an environment that does
not need sunlight, and would bake and poison we surface creatures
immediately, yet they are very much alive. And, they share DNA with
us. Can we surface creatures trace our origins to the ocean floor?

Understanding how objects fall under the influence of gravity is made
more interesting if connected to space station astronauts who are
continuously "falling" as they orbit the Earth. Learning geology and
microbiology can be connected to our exploration of Mars where NASA is
"following the water" to seek evidence of life. What are the
conditions in space that effect the human body? This is a question
that leads to careful investigation of human physiology as well as
space physics. Can we travel to Mars safely and live and work on the
surface of Mars? These questions are core to the future of human life
beyond Earth.

Creative, integrated science teaching and learning can address the
"standards" and "benchmarks" as well as state, local and district
requirements. The basics of earth and space science, biology,
chemistry and physics are key to answering the big questions, and are
united in astrobiology studies. This was our motive for developing
"Voyages Through Time" an integrated science curriculum that provides
a foundational course for high school students.

I find it unfortunate that the current educational climate is driving
teachers to "teach to the test". States and districts are reverting to
prescribed curricula and course sequences that offer little
flexibility. In California, schools are reverting to Biology,
Chemistry, then Physics (with an ever declining number of students)
because sophomores will be tested in Biology. So districts that choose
integrated science or physics first are now having to completely re-do
and re-sequence their curriculum�all driven by federally mandated,
state interpreted tests. In asking key questions and threading them
through science studies over a sustained period of time, I assert that
students are better prepared to learn about science, and be motivated
to apply science in their lives. As a society, we still seek a
scientifically literate citizenship, and nationally mandated testing
(which is now driving curriculum sequences) is unlikely to assure such
literacy. It may, in fact, obtain the opposite effect as the basics of
science are emphasized to prepare for the test, and students miss the
big picture -- why am I learning this? -- that is offered in
integrated courses that ask the big questions.