DLESE description of ESSEA Online Courses: 9-12 Earth System Science Course

This 16-week online graduate course for high school teachers is offered by colleges and universities across the United States as part of the NASA ESSEA Program (Earth System Science Education Alliance). The course is structured as a collaborative, Problem-Based Learning (PBL) experience. It is modeled so that teachers will learn to use science as inquiry from the student perspective and then be able to model this teaching approach in their own classrooms. Specifically, teachers will evolve their own knowledge about Earth systems science and their skills in thinking systemically about specific events; learn to develop strong arguments with hypotheses, assertions, and evidence; develop collaborative skills for knowledge building, argument building, and acting as a critical friend; and develop PBL experiences that will engage their students in using Earth systems science thinking.