Welcome to Exploring the Environment™ (ETE): The Earth's environment has changed more rapidly in the past generation than at any other comparable time in history. ETE provides teachers tools for students to become environmentally aware and to acquire the values and attitudes necessary for sustainable development. Toward this end the ETE modules encourage collaborative groups of students to conduct research in environmental areas and to generate products which demonstrate understanding. Resources are provided to address global issues through the use of satellite images, and to create classrooms featuring active-learning approaches, assessment through exhibitions, teamwork, students taking responsibility for their own learning, and awareness of the dynamics of both physical/biological and socio-economic variables.

Remote Sensing NASA and associated agencies hold terabytes of remote sensing data in databases that can be effectively used to support educational activities over the Internet. The purpose of the ETE project is to develop and provide high school environmental Earth Science course modules that feature NASA's remote sensing information.

Uses The ETE modules augment existing courses in biology, chemistry, Geo, Earth, and EnvironmentalScience. Interdisciplinary in nature, the modules could also be used in courses such as economics, social studies, and history. Under the button Modules and Activities are scenarios to engage students in issues concerning the interactions between people and nature.

Problem-Based Learning in Collaborative Learning Groups ETE emphasizes problem-based learning (PBL) and collaborative learning groups for student-directed inquiry into Earth systems education. The modules encourage students to think, solve problems, and write and speak clearly. The emphasis in this model is for students to take responsibility--and a more active role in the learning process. And as in real-life situations, the goal is not in answering questions correctly, but in to asking them. To learn more about using PBL and cooperative learning, there are useful tips in the Teacher Pages.

Where To Start If you are just starting to introduce remote sensing skills and concepts into your curriculum, the task may seem daunting at first. We suggest you introduce remote sensing skills and concepts a bit at a time. For example, have students complete some of the beginning remote sensing activities, or have them complete one of the weather modules. The other PBL modules and have been designed to introduce you and your students to remote sensing. All activities are located under the button "Modules and Activities."

Alpha Test Nineteen teachers across the country participated in a test of the ETE materials in 1995. More schools were added during the 1996-1997 school year, which now include over 50 teachers. The states with Exploring the Environment "test schools" are indicated in red on the map below...point and 'click' on those states to see participating schools and teachers.

We are particularly interested in finding teachers wishing to work with a parallel problem solving study in which three schools simultaneously solve problems and collaborate over the Internet. For additional information contact [email protected].

Process Goals Students should be able to solve problems and think critically. In each module students will encounter a situation, sometimes narrowly defined, but usually stated in such a way that students can define a focus that interests them--in line with the teacher's course objectives. Students should recognize there is problem, state and define it, gather and analyze data, place findings in a written document or other product, and support and defend their solution. A major objective is to create an environment where students are workers, where they think, exercise creativity, and generate products.

Content Goals According to Mayer and Armstrong (1995), students should develop the following understandings when studying Earth system science:

1. The Earth system is a small part of a solar system within the universe.
2. The Earth system is comprised of the interacting subsystems of water, land, ice, air, and life.
3. The Earth's subsystems (water, land, ice, air, and life) are continuously evolving, changing, and interacting through natural processes and cycles.
4. The Earth's natural processes take place over periods of time from billions of years to fractions of seconds.
5. Many parts of the Earth's subsystems are limited and vulnerable to overuse, misuse, or change resulting from human activity.
6. The better we understand the subsystems, the better we can manage our resources.
7. Human activities, both conscious and inadvertent, impact Earth subsystems.
8. A better understanding of the subsystems stimulates greater aesthetic appreciation.
9. The development of technology has increased and will continue to increase our ability to understand the Earth. The uses of computer simulations, modeling, and remote sensing are examples.
10. Earth scientists are people who study the origin, processes, and evolution of Earth's subsystems; they use their specialized understanding to identify resources and estimate the likelihood of future events.

Science Standards The Science Education Standards from the National Research Council (NRC), and the 1993 Project 2061 Benchmarks for Science Literacy are highlighted below as resources for learning and teaching science within the Exploring the environment project.

For more information regarding Science Standards addressed by Exploring The Environment, see additional National Science Standards resources On-line:

National Research Council(NRC) Science Education Standards and Assessment
NRC Standards On-line
Welcome to AAAS Project 2061 Benchmarks for Science Literacy.
National Science Teachers Association.

Reference:
Mayer, V.J., & Armstrong, R.E. (1990). What every 17-year old should know about planet Earth: The report of a conference of educators and geoscientists, Science Education, 74(2): 155-165.

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Maintained by ETE Team
Last updated January 11, 1999