A Web site created at Carleton College to make earth science come alive in the classroom has been awarded the Science Prize for Online Resources in Education.
In an era in which knowledge of geoscience is fundamental to handling such pressing issues as climate change and environmental degradation, the Web site, known as On the Cutting Edge, fosters the sharing of ideas about teaching with the aim of improving education throughout the field.
“In the United States, many students get earth science in seventh or eighth grade—and never have another geoscience class,” says Cathryn Manduca, director of the Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College and a co-founder of On the Cutting Edge. “Yet now it is especially important for students in general to understand what is facing us environmentally, and for the workforce to have more and better-trained geoscientists.”
Carleton’s Version Of The Story
The Science Education Resource Center (SERC) works to improve education through projects that support educators. Although their work has a particular emphasis on undergraduate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education, they work with educators across a broad range of disciplines and at all educational levels. An office of Carleton College, their work is funded primarily through National Science Foundation grants. The office has special expertise in effective pedagogies, geoscience education, community organization, workshop leadership, digital libraries, website development and program and website evaluation.