Teaching Earth Sciences - Earth Science Teachers' Association

ContentsEditorialAdrian Pickles 3Mick de Pomerai and Elaine Tilson 3From the ChairDawn Windley 5Communicating Science: A Memorable EveningPeter Kennett 7Education for Sustainable Development and OutdoorLearningMichael Cross 9Geology in Schools – Where? How? With What Resources?David R Wright 13Investigating Earth Science or ‘What has the BritishGeological Survey Ever Done for Teachers?’Dr David Bailey 17UK School Seismology ProjectPaul Denton 23Use of New Technologies in Monitoring GeohazardsDr Jennifer McKinley 26Which Science Specification Should You Choose for its EarthScience Content?Chris King and Elliott Hughes 31Earth Science Experiments CDMike Tuke 37Your Planet Earth – An Outreach InitiativeMike Benton 41EarthlearningideaPeter Kennett, Chris King and Elizabeth Devon 44The Rock Cycle – A New Resource for KS3Mick de Pomerai 46Reviews 48News and Views 51Diary 54Teaching Earth SciencesTeaching Earth Sciences is publishedbiannually by the Earth Science Teachers’Association. ESTA aims to encourage andsupport the teaching of Earth sciences,whether as a single subject, or as part ofscience or geography courses.Full membership is £32.00; student andretired membership £16.00.Registered Charity No. 1005331Interim EditorsMick de Pomerai – Copy EditorElaine Tilson – Production EditorEmail: tes.esta@gmail.comAdvertisingJane Ladson Tel: 01142 303 633Email: janeladson@tiscali.co.ukReviews EditorPete LoaderEmail: peteloader@yahoo.co.ukChair DesignateNiki WhitburnEmail: farfalle@btinternet.comSecretaryRos TodhunterEmail: rostodhunter@aol.comMembership SecretaryMandy Winstanley PO BOX 23672Edinburgh EH3 9XQ Tel: 0131 651 6410Email: mlw@lutonsfc.ac.ukTreasurerMaggie WilliamsEmail: maggiee.williams@tiscali.co.ukPrimary Co-ordinatorTracy AtkinsonEmail: tracy@kinson1.freeserve.co.ukSecondary Co-ordinatorChris KingEmail: c.j.h.king@educ.keele.ac.ukHigher Education Co-ordinatorMike TukeEmail: miketuke@btinternet.comContributions to future issues of TeachingEarth Sciences will be welcomed andshould be addressed to the EditorOpinions and comments in this issue arethe personal views of the authors and donot necessarily represent the views of theAssociationDesigned, typeset and printed in theUnited Kingdom by Hobbs the PrintersLtd, Totton, Hampshire, SO40 3WXWebsite: www.hobbs.uk.comFront Cover:Folding in Aberystwyth SouthCouncil OfficersChairmanDawn WindleyEmail: dr.dawn@virgin.netCOPY DEADLINESTES 33 2 30 June 2008 for publication in September 2008TES 34 1 31 December 2008 for publication in March 2009www.esta-uk.org Vol 33 No 1 2008 Teaching Earth Sciences 1

Looking forward toseeing you in LiverpoolIn the International Year of Planet Earth, Liverpool John MooresUniversity and Liverpool University are looking forward to welcomingyou to ESTA’s 41st Annual Course and Conference which will be heldin Liverpool between the 12th and 14th September 2008. This yearthe theme of ESTA’s conference is “Global Issues”.The main course and conference activities will be held at LiverpoolJohn Moores University in the James Parsons Building, which isthe base for the LJM School of Biological and Earth Sciences. TheSchool is situated on Byrom Street and is near Liverpool city centre.(Visit: www.ljmu.ac.uk/ for more information about the School ofBiological and Earth Sciences)Accommodation has been arranged at Liverpool University’s RankinHall of Residence on the Carnatic site, which is based near SeftonPark in the Mossley Hill area of Liverpool. Arrangements will bemade to transfer delegates from Rankin Hall to the main conferencevenue. Places have been booked for delegates on a bed andbreakfast basis for the Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights androoms will cost £35 (per person) per night. If you wish, an eveningmeal may be booked at Rankin Hall where a cafeteria service isavailable. At Rankin Hall bar facilities have been organized for theFriday and Saturday evenings. The Conference dinner will also beheld here at 8.00 pm on the Saturday and non-residents will be ableto attend. Rooms are single study rooms and have shared bathroomfacilities. (Visit: www.liv.ac.uk/ for more information about theUniversity and its facilities)For members who would prefer other types of accommodation thereare rooms available at local hotels, B&B’s and at a Youth Hostel.The responsibility for booking accommodation other than that atthe Carnatic site rests with you and you are advised to book earlyto avoid disappointment. (Visit: www.esta-uk.org and look at thesection dedicated to the conference for details of local hotels, B&Baccommodation and the Youth Hostel)On Friday 12th September there will be INSET courses andworkshops aimed specifically at post-16 (‘A’ Level) teachers, KS3 &4 and Primary teachers and also for higher education staff involvedin school liaison and/or recruitment and retention. For these sessionsspeakers/facilitators will include: Sarah Maguire (Ulster), Phil Murphy(Leeds), Chris King (Keele) and Peter Kokelaar, Dan Faulkner, DaveHodgson & Richard Worden (all at Liverpool).For the main part of the Conference to be held on Saturday 13thSeptember we will welcome Professor Bill Maguire (Benfield-Greig Hazard Research Centre at UCL) and Professor Jim Marshall(University of Liverpool) as our two key note speakers. Bill Maguirewill talk about mega-tsunamis and super-volcanoes as a cause ofdestruction on a global scale. (Visit: www.benfieldhrc.org/people/cvs/cv_bm.htm for more information about Bill)Jim Marshall will talk about climate change and deal with theimpacts of climate change over geological time. (Visit: www.liv.ac.uk/researchintelligence/issue32/midges.htm for moreinformation about Jim’s recent research) On the Saturday there willalso be a series of lectures on other global issues (e.g. glacial lakeoutburst floods and remediation, recent climate change and problemsoils). In addition, a range of other activities have been arranged.Activities will include: investigating virtual fieldwork packages, usingpractical ideas for teaching at different levels, exploring the scopeof forensic geology exercises, creating geophysics simulationsand working with Earth science experiments suitable for ‘A’ Levelgeology students. At the end of Saturday’s events and activitiesESTA’s AGM will be held.On Sunday 14th September a series of field visits have beenorganized. These will depart from Rankin Hall at 9.15 am and mostwill return there by 1.30 pm. Theses will include visits to Brymbo tosee a fossil forest, to the Wirral to investigate its coastal defences orto study various Triassic environments and to Liverpool city centre tolook at building stones. There will also be opportunities to visit eitherthe Clore Natural History Centre at the Liverpool World Museum, theWilliamson Tunnels under Liverpool city or the Ness Botanic Gardenin Wirral to see its living plant fossils, a pingo and have splendidviews across the Dee estuary. (You may even have the opportunity tovisit John Lennon Airport to see the fossils there!)Liverpool, already well known for maritime heritage, architecture,music, literature, the arts and sport, had its bid for World Heritagestatus, based on its world famous waterfront and cultural buildingsapproved by UNESCO in 2004. Having been placed firmly on theglobal map the city is now celebrating its year as European Capitalof Culture 2008. Although nearly two million extra visitors will beexpected to attend the many world-class festivals and events takingplace in the run-up to and including 2008, we are particularly lookingforward to seeing you in Liverpool to celebrate the International Yearof Planet Earth with us. Visit: www.visitliverpool.com orwww.liverpool08.com/ for more information about Liverpool.Maggie WilliamsDepartment of Earth and Ocean Sciences,Jane Herdman Building, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GPEmail: hiatus@liverpool.ac.ukHazel ClarkSchool of Biological & Earth Sciences, Liverpool John MooresUniversity, James Parsons Building, Byrom St., Liverpool, L3 3AFEmail: H.E. Clark@livjm.ac.uk2 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 33 No 1 2008 www.esta-uk.org

EditorialFrom Adrian Pickles, Outgoing Editor…and from Mick de Pomerai and Elaine Tilson,Interim Editors…Outgoing EditorHere is a new bumper issue with an updated, newlook! The focus is on articles arising from the ESTAconference 2007, and new ideas and good practicefrom around Britain on how to spread the word about,and teach Earth science within, a school curriculumthat seems to be ‘squeezing’ Earth sciences.Meanwhile, beyond the school system the RIGS movementcontinues to fl ourish and new terms, such as ‘Geodiversity,’are catching the attention of government conservationbodies and NGOs. The BBC shows exciting programmesabout the impact of Earth science on everyday life aroundthe world, but children in many schools don’t know whatrocks they are standing on!So where do we in ESTA come in? Simply, we take partin a number of different activities that collectively makea difference. For example, ESTA council members haveparticipated in Natural England stakeholder meetingsand joined the consultation processes with the Real EarthScience campaign. Many of us also do help our studentsfi nd out about the rocks beneath their feet, and some ofus voted for Earth science projects on popular television. Ifwe make the effort to look, we will fi nd that, despite theconstraints in curriculum, there is a lot going on for us toget involved in—the overall picture is encouraging for 2008and beyond.2008 will likely bring changes for many of us. I am,unfortunately, standing down as Editor of TES, as othercommitments have meant that I have been unable todevote the time to the role that it required. Mick dePomerai and Elaine Tilson have predominantly worked onthis issue and I give them my thanks for their efforts ingetting this edition out.I would also like to thank all those who have supported mein my brief reign in post.Interim EditorsAs Adrian has mentioned, he has unfortunately had to stepdown as Editor at the end of 2007. We would like to takethis opportunity to thank him for the work he has done inthis role.Looking forward into 2008, we hope you enjoy the ‘newlook’ TES, printed with our new printers, ‘Hobbs thePrinters Ltd’. This more modern looking TES has beendesigned to make it easier and more enjoyable to read.In keeping with the changes to the look of TES, theESTA council has also followed the line of many otherpublications, and decided to produce this publication twicea year, instead of quarterly. Our aim is still to producea similar number of quality articles per year, but not toinundate our busy members. This should also help toreduce the annual production costs of TES, enabling moreto be spent on other ESTA activities. As ever, we continueto welcome new articles, news, views, reviews,diary events and so on, submitted by our readers.Our next deadline for contributions is June 2008, forpublication in September.As 2008 is the UNESCO International Year of Planet Earth,in the UK, we see the launch of several new and excitingEarth science initiatives, including the Earth LearningIdeas website; the launch of the new Geological Societyeducational web-pages on the Rock Cycle; the ‘Your PlanetEarth’ initiative by GSL and the GA; and the Natural HistoryMuseum’s ’Real Earth Science’ initiative. All of these arereferred to in more detail elsewhere in this edition of TES,which is very much centred on recent developments inteaching our subject, and new resources for doing so.We hope you fi nd all the articles in this edition of value. Wewould particularly like to draw your attention to a reviewby one of Pete Loader’s students. So often the studentvoice can get lost in academic discussion: Wouldn’t it beAdrian PicklesOutgoing Editorwww.esta-uk.org Vol 33 No 1 2008 Teaching Earth Sciences 3

wonderful if, in every future issue of TES, we could have atleast one article written by a student, whether at school,college or university? These could include descriptionsof fi eld courses, reasons why they chose geology, careeraspirations, website reviews—the list of possible subjectsis endless. If you can’t think of anything to write for TESyourself, perhaps you could encourage your students tocome up with an idea and get writing!Whether it is you, or a student writing; whether it is anarticle on International Year of Planet Earth or any otherissue of Earth science teaching we would love to hear fromyou.Mick de Pomerai and Elaine TilsonInterim EditorsEmail: tes.esta@gmail.comTeaching Earth Sciences: Guide for AuthorsThe TES Editorial Team welcomes original articles on topicsrelated to Earth science education, sent to tes.esta@gmail.comwith the author’s full name, title and address and email address.Copy deadlines:30 June for September publication and 31 December forMarch publicationWord length:Up to approximately 2,500 wordsGraphics:• Please ensure all graphics are of a high resolution (atleast 300dpi).• It is also important to remember that images will bereproduced in black & white, so please do not send usimages where colour is important to it making sense.(For example, there is no point using a graph with acolour key for a black & white print).• Please do not use scanned images.• Please send all graphics as separate fi les.• Figures, tables and photographs must be captioned andreferenced in the textScientific units:Please use SI units throughout, except where this isinappropriate (in which case please include a conversiontable).Format:• Abstract of approximately 100 words (unless the article isa review)• Appropriate headings to signpost the structure of thearticle• ReferencesReferences:Please use the Harvard Referencing System. Examplesbelow:Articles:Mayer, V. (1995) Using the Earth system for integrating thescience curriculum. Science Education, 79(4), pp. 375-391.Books:McPhee, J. (1986) Rising from the Plains. New York: Fraux,Giroux & Strauss.Copyright:• There are no copyright restrictions on original materialpublished in Teaching Earth Sciences if it is required foruse in the classroom or lecture room.• Copyright material reproduced in TES by permission ofother publications, rests with the original publisher.• Permission must be sought from the Editor to reproduceoriginal material from Teaching Earth Sciences in otherpublications and appropriate acknowledgement must begiven.4 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 33 No 1 2008 www.esta-uk.org

From the ChairDawn WindleyWelcome to our fi rst ‘new look’ edition of TeachingEarth Sciences. We hope you like the updated formatproduced by our new printer – Hobbs the Printers.An immense amount of effort has gone into theproduction of this issue and a number of key peoplehave to be thanked for all their hard work in ensuringthat it has reached you.Thanks go fi rst to former ESTA Chair Martin Whiteley whoinstigated the move to Hobbs; Mick de Pomerai and ElaineTilson, who after volunteering to help out as part of theeditorial team at the last ESTA conference found themselveshandling pretty much the whole production! Both Elaineand Mick are to be commended for their efforts withoutwhich this issue would not be in front of you today. Andfi nally, thanks to the many contributors, some of whompresented at the ESTA conference in Belfast and had theirarms twisted by Jane Ladson, our Advertising Officer, towrite their talk up for the magazine.Whilst Elaine and Mick have done a fantastic job inproducing this issue and whilst Adrian put in a lot ofwork producing previous issues (Thank you Adrian!), weare looking at developing the production of TES further,helping to streamline the way the magazine is producedand reducing some of the workload on the willingvolunteers that help make it happen. One of the ways wehave decided to achieve this, is to have two larger issuesper year, rather than four. We do need help on the editorialfront, so if you fancy gaining some valuable experience orwould like to be involved in the future development of themagazine, and could help by being part of the editorialteam, please do get in touch (dawn.windley@thomroth.ac.uk or at tes.esta@gmail.com).In my capacity as ESTA Chair, I spent the latter part of 2007representing ESTA at a number of key meetings, whichincluded the Earth Science Education Forum at the Instituteof Materials, Minerals and Mining (IoM3) and the AllParty Parliamentary Meeting at the House of Commons inDecember. The meeting at the House of Commons was theChristmas meeting and Chris Carlon from Anglo-Americanpresented a fascinating talk on ‘Minerals GeoScience – theMyths and Reality’ to an interested group of MPs andgeoscientists.I was also lucky enough to be one of the recipients of the‘free’ seismometers given away by the BGS at the LeicesterScience Learning Centre in December 2007. Along with25 other participants who took part in the course run byPaul Denton of the British Geological Survey, we now havea fully working seismometer in our college, continuouslymonitoring seismic activity around the world. We are nowjust waiting for the BIG event to happen! If you want tofi nd out more about the BGS Seismology project thenhave a look at: www.bgs.ac.uk/education/school_seismology/seismometer. The Science Learning Centresaround the country have a vast number of training andprofessional development courses, many of which are veryrelevant to Earth Science teachers. Check them out at:www.sciencelearningcentres.org.uk.The International Year of Planet Earth was launched inParis in February 2008 and our very own SecondaryCo-ordinator, Professor Chris King (ESEU) attended theLaunch. ESTA is hoping to promote IYPE at our 2008Conference to be held in Liverpool, the European Capitalof Culture 2008. Our conference will be listed under oneof the many events happening in Liverpool this year. To fi ndout more, please see: www.liverpool08.com andwww.yearofplanetearth.org. It is thanks to our sponsorsPESGB (The Petroleum Exploration Society of Great Britain)that our Annual Course and Conference remains asaccessible and successful as it does. PESGB also help tofund the regularly updated GEOTREX on the ESTA website.If you haven’t visited recently, then take a look at:www.esta-uk.org and don’t forget to keep thecontributions coming!You will also fi nd included with this TES issue a ‘free’CD-Rom – ‘Earth Science Experiments for A-level’. This isa culmination of over 15 years work by Mike Tuke (ESTA’sHigher Education co-ordinator) who has invented, tried andtested the many experiments included, before producingthis excellent teaching aid. Elizabeth Devon should also bethanked for reviewing the experiments along with PESGBwww.esta-uk.org Vol 33 No 1 2008 Teaching Earth Sciences 5

for providing the funding to enable this to happen. Otherprojects currently being funded by PESGB are also reachingfruition – they won’t be 15 years in the making though andwe hope to report to you very soon on developments withthese projects!Also in the pipeline this year for ESTA is a repeat of the verysuccessful A-level workshop day held in 2005, 2006 and2007 at the Science Learning Centre at Keele University. Inthe past, the workshop has resulted in the production ofmany new resources for A-level Geology teachers. The dayis to be organised by Pete Loader and will take place on the26th April, 2008. All are welcome!So, enjoy your issue of TES, but remember it doesn’t appearby magic…and if you are willing to get involved in any smallway, please do let us know!Dawn WindleyESTA ChairEmail: dr.dawn@virgin.net6 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 33 No 1 2008 www.esta-uk.org

Communicating Science:A Memorable EveningPeter KennetAbstractChris King gave his InauguralLecture as Professor of EarthScience Education at KeeleUniversity on 3rd October. Hisaudience included the Vice-Chancellor, fellow academics,PGCE students, family, andfacilitators from the Earth ScienceEducation Unit, ESTA members,and anyone else who knew thatthere was a free buffet at the endof it!Overview of the eveningThe Vice-Chancellor introduced Chriswith an account of his energeticinput to the Education Department atKeele, to ESTA, to the Earth ScienceEducation Unit and to internationalGeoscience organisations, to saynothing of his representations tohighly placed government officials onbehalf of Earth science education.Earth science parts of the NationalCurriculum with more accuracy andconviction. He paid tribute to theforesight of UK Oil and Gas (formerlyUKOOA) in funding the Unit and forenabling it to continue its good workand for ESTA’s ongoing support.The fi rst of Chris’ interactiveinvestigations consisted of BillSymonds, the loyal Keele technician,handing out dozens of pairs ofsmall Plasticene balls, for theaudience to weigh up – literally, andmetaphorically, as they considered therelevance to the Earth.Chris outlined the CASE approachto science education, during whichmany showed that they were stillat the concrete level of thinking, bycalling out the wrong colours as theyappeared on the screen! The methodwas then applied to an innocuouslooking fi sh tank standing on thelecturer’s bench, with a video cameralined up on it. Predictions were madeas to what would happen when abeaker of hot, red coloured waterwas added to the tank and wasfollowed by some appreciative ‘oohs’and ‘aahs’ when some realised thatthey had actually got it right, and thehot water stayed near the surface.Chris followed this with some bluecoloured cold water, which mostcorrectly predicted would sink to thebottom of the tank. What wouldThe title was ‘CommunicatingScience: interactive Earth sciencefor teachers, pupils and the public’.Chris told us that he would put usin the position of pupils and hopedthat we would learn something new,remember what he had presented,and be prepared to do somehomework. He didn’t mention thebehaviour of the class, which didindeed deteriorate somewhat duringthe evening, but only because of thedesire to become fully involved in the‘lesson’!Chris outlined the work of the EarthScience Education Unit in enthusingscience teachers to deliver theLand of Hope and Glory – Chris King with his patriotic colours in a fi sh tankwww.esta-uk.org Vol 33 No 1 2008 Teaching Earth Sciences 7

country, with a scruffy bare brickwall in the background (but actuallyshot at Keele!). These showed Quakeshake, where one ‘building’ subsidesinto sand as it liquefies when shaken,and When will it blow? – a simpledemonstration of a tiltmeter on a‘volcano’. The activities are freelyavailable on the wiki area associatedwith the site and members areencouraged to have a look, try outthe activities and then to commenton the associated blog.The homework for the audience wasto publicise www.earthlearningidea.com as widely as possible,especially through any overseaseducational contacts that we mayhave.Annette Thomas (UK Oil and Gas) weighs the evidencehappen to a beaker full of milk,however? The clever ones called outthat the ‘lipids’ in it would make itfl oat, whilst others thought it wouldsink. It actually fl owed along thebottom, producing what Chris hadcalled his ‘patriotic colours’, albeit notin the correct order!Chris explained that the applicationsof this colourful demonstration,called ‘bridging’ in the CASE jargon,enabled us to understand aspects ofthe circulation of ocean currents andof air masses in the atmosphere (seeTeaching Earth Sciences, vol. 26.4,2001, p131).Chris moved on to describe therecent development of another of hisbrainwaves, www.earthlearningidea.com. This is intended topromote Earth science in countrieswhere schools have very fewresources. One teaching activity willbe put on the website per weekthroughout 2008, which has beendesignated the UN’s InternationalYear of Planet Earth. In spite of earlypromises, absolutely no funding camefrom the UN, so the scheme is beingrun by Chris and two others, actingin a purely voluntary capacity. Somevideo clips were shown, purportingto have been taken in a Third WorldChris took some interesting questionsincluding one or two that elicitedthe standard teacher’s response of,‘Come to my lesson tomorrow andyou’ll fi nd out!’ During the welldeservedapplause, somebody heldup a ‘9’ card, which summarisedthe evening for all of those present.It was brilliant, and other aspirantprofessors will need to ensure theyhave all their faculties about themwhen it is their turn to give aninaugural lecture!The proof of the pudding for Chriswill be the length of time for whichhis audience can remember the event.This article proves that one person, atleast, could remember it for as muchas two days, but I hope that the littlegrey cells will remain active enough tobe able to recall it in years to come!Peter KennettEmail: peter.kennett@tiscal.co.uk8 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 33 No 1 2008 www.esta-uk.org

Education for SustainableDevelopment and Outdoor LearningMichael CrossAbstractThis paper puts the case for themaintenance and developmentof fi eld study opportunities inCentres, such as the MagilliganField Centre, to serve schools inN. Ireland and the wider UK, asvaluable educational facilitiesthat have a significant role inbenefiting students’ learningand fulfilling Education forSustainable Development aimsand objectives. The argumentpresented here is that outdoorlearning is a uniquely effectivemeans of contributing to thesustainable development messageand to make the case not onlyfor the maintenance of existingoutdoor education provision butto develop and broaden its use.IntroductionThe term sustainable developmentappears in nearly every currentgovernment policy. Governmentsfi rst committed to the concept in1992 at the Earth Summit in Rio.This was strengthened by the KyotoProtocol in 1997 and the WorldSummit on Sustainable Developmentin Johannesburg in 2002. Nationally,the government purports to push a‘green agenda’ as a policy priority.Sustainable development strategydocuments carry aspirations,targets and an ethos that is beingincorporated across governmentdepartments.In the UK, the SustainableDevelopment strategy, ‘Securingthe Future’ was published in 2005(HM Government, 2005) and DfESpublished its own SustainableDevelopment Action Plan ‘Learningfor the Future’ (DfES 2006). InN. Ireland the publication of asustainable development strategy(DOENI, 2006) was followed by animplementation plan at the end oflast year (OFMDFMNI, 2006).The realisation of SD is dependentupon top-down actions by thegovernment but also, crucially, relieson the behaviour of the public,namely, in their consumer and lifestylechoices. So much, therefore, dependsupon an effective communicationstrategy to convince the publicto make changes in behaviour.One way of communicating thesustainable development message isthrough Education for SustainableDevelopment (ESD).The importance of education as ameans of effecting attitudinal andbehavioural change in the promotionof sustainable development hasbeen recognised by the UN. TheUN decade of ESD, running from2005 – 2014 sets out to provide arationale and methodology for thedelivery of ESD on a global scale. Inkeeping with that, ESD has beenincorporated as a thematic unit in therevised N. Ireland Curriculum (www.nicurriculum.org.uk).ESDThere are a number of definitions ofESD. According to the UN (UNESCO,2004), ‘ESD is fundamentally aboutvalues, with respect at the centre:respect for others, including thoseof present and future generations,for difference and diversity, for theenvironment, for the resources of theplanet we inhabit. Along with a senseof justice, responsibility, explorationand dialogue, ESD aims to move usto adopting behaviours and practiceswhich enable all to live a full lifewithout being deprived of basics.’(p.4)The UN Decade for ESD expresses avision of ‘a world where everyonehas the opportunity to benefit fromeducation and learn the values,behaviour and lifestyles required fora sustainable future and for positivesocietal transformation.’(UNESCO,2004 p.4) This translates into anumber of objectives among whichare, to:• Give an enhanced profile to thecentral role of education andlearning in the common pursuit ofsustainable development.• Foster increased quality of teachingand learning in education forsustainable development.An Interboard guide for schoolsproduced in N. Ireland refers to ESDas ‘a process of learning how tomake decisions that consider the longterm future of the ecology, economyand equity of all communities.’(Interboard Education for SustainableDevelopment Group, 2005, p.4). Itrecognises that ‘ESD can help pupilsdevelop understanding, skills andvalues and empower them to make adifference.’ One of the aims of ESD,www.esta-uk.org Vol 33 No 1 2008 Teaching Earth Sciences 9

and instil a sense of responsibility ina setting that enhances a sense ofappreciation of the natural world.According to OFSTED (2004),‘Outdoor education gives depthto the curriculum and makes animportant contribution to students’physical, personal and socialeducation’. This report goes onto make the case that ‘….schoolsand centres should:…..ensure thebenefits of outdoor education can beexperienced by all students.’ (p.3)Figure 1therefore, is to ‘encourage learners tobecome active citizens in relation toSD issues on both a local and globalscale.’ (Ibid p.5)It seems then that a key messagein any discussion of ESD or SDE(Sustainable Development Education)(Scotland) or ESDGC (Educationfor Sustainable Development andGlobal Citizenship) (Wales) is thatit is a values-based topic and onethat requires a broad and innovativeteaching approach. The end result isto produce a generation who have anappreciation of the need for a moresustainable approach to ‘living’ andare motivated to make change toachieve that and who care enough toadopt behavioural change.Outdoor Education and ESDEducation outside the classroomcan prove to be a powerfulmeans of achieving many of theaspirations found in both nationaland international sustainabilitypolicy documents. Outdoor learningencompasses education in anyenvironment outside the classroom– informal and formal, includingfi eldwork and outdoor visits, outdooradventure education and schoolgrounds and community projects.There is very often a perception thatit is an excuse for a fun day, a ‘jolly’,that it is not a serious educationalopportunity – something to do in thesummer term as a treat for studentsand a break for the teacher. Reality,in the majority of cases, could notbe further from this perception.Quality outdoor education canresult in valuable teaching lessonsand educational opportunitiesand learning goals that cannotbe achieved in formal classroomsettings. Organising and running anoutdoor education experience is byno means an easy option but withappropriate resources and effectiveempowerment of classroom teachersto transfer learning to the classroomand students’ everyday lives there aremany educational gains.There is a significant body of researchevidence that highlights the specificbenefits that can accrue from outdooreducation (Nundy, 2001; Rickinsonet. al 2004; OFSTED, 2004; Houseof Commons Education and SelectCommittee, 2005). The main issueshighlighted are the potential foroutdoor learning to result in higherorder learning, to affect attitudesNAFSO too recognise that ‘fi eldworkstrongly supports the developmentof thinking skills’ (Nundy, 2001,p.4). The opportunities presentedby fi eldwork in terms of developingindependence, teamwork, confidenceand responsibility has, according toNAFSO ‘many impacts on youngpeople’s affective learning i.e. theirdevelopment, re-working, reflectionon, and embedding of personalattitudes and values, and theirunderstanding of the attitudes, valuesand ethics of others. (Ibid.p.4)Research elsewhere (Rickinsonet al. 2004) has highlighted thepositive impact of outdoor learningon long-term memory and for thereinforcement between affective andcognitive learning.Of particular importance is thevalue of outdoor education in thepromotion of SD objectives towardsthe environment. The strategydocument for ESDGC produced bythe Welsh Assembly recognises this;‘Other education activities such asoffering fi rst hand experiences of thenatural world, residential visits andpractical action bring ESDGC to lifeand embed the knowledge attitudesand skills that are integral to ESDGC.Opportunities for out of classroomlearning are essential…’ (DELLS,2006)In setting out to identify criteriaagainst which to assess the quality10 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 33 No 1 2008 www.esta-uk.org

of Outdoor Education, the OutdoorEducation Advisors Panel (2005)include ‘Environmental Awareness’as one of the outcomes with severalindicators directly linked to ESDnamely that young people ..• understand the impact of theiractivities on the environment• are keen to participate inconservation activities• develop an interest in wider issuesof sustainable development• appreciate and draw inspirationfrom the natural environment• experience and gain respect for thepower of natural forces.In summary therefore, outdooreducation is a valuable learningexperience that achieves higher orderlearning and can improve attitudestowards the environment. It provideslasting impressions that can enhanceknowledge, understanding andinfluence attitudes and behaviours.Research strongly supports the viewthat it should be an entitlement ofevery child.Despite this body of evidenceRickinson et al. (2004) note that‘... there is evidence that the amountof fi eldwork that takes place in theUK…is severely restricted, particularlyin science.’Finally, the Commons SelectCommittee on Education andSkills (2005) have recognised that‘outdoor learning supports academicachievement, for example, throughfi eldwork projects, as well as thedevelopment of ‘soft skills’ and socialskills, particularly in hard to reachchildren.’ The Committee wentso far as to recommend that theDepartment should issue a ‘manifestofor Outdoor Learning’ giving allstudents a right to outdoor learning.Such a manifesto has since beenlaunched (DfES, 2006b).Relating this to ESD it is evidentthat an educational theme which isFigure 2concerned with a behaviouralchange and the adoption of valuescan be given considerable supportthrough these types of learningopportunities i.e. that can provideboth affective and cognitive learningexperiences; that can achieve higherorder thinking; that can providememorable experiences and thatcan become lifelong learningopportunities.ESD and Earth ScienceESD is not a stand alone topic butshould be embedded as a themethroughout the curriculum and,in delivering outdoor education,basic principles of fi eldwork carrywith them sustainable developmentmessages e.g. leave no trace. Theopportunity presented by outdooreducation can also be developed toincorporate an ESD message throughthe delivery of most topics – forexample, mining and quarrying carrySD implications, climate change hasin the past resulted in the evolution ofgeological processes and formationsand projected climate change and sealevel rise carries implications for rockcycle processes.There is no doubt that there areobstacles to outdoor learning.The House of Commons SelectCommittee noted that outdooreducation ‘is a sector sufferingfrom considerable unexploitedpotential.’ In part, this may beexplained by a lack of understandingof the very real benefits to begained from outdoor education,not by subject teachers, but on thepart of management who facilitatedepartmental requests for time outof the classroom. For some, theadministrative burden that goes withthe arrangements necessary for thesewww.esta-uk.org Vol 33 No 1 2008 Teaching Earth Sciences 11

Figure 3activities, may be off-putting. A lackof training in fi eldwork and a fearof any potential litigation in whatis often perceived to be a high riskenvironment may deter others. Thereis therefore a need to convince thewhole school community (from Boardof Governors to the parents) of thevery real value of outdoor educationi.e. the huge benefits to learning andpersonal development.Many of these issues canbe effectively addressed. Inplanning outdoor educationactivities, Educational Visits Policydocumentation (DfES,1998,ELB, 2004) form very usefuldocumentation and guidelines tofollow from the planning to theimplementation of activities outsidethe classroom.ConclusionOutdoor education is an invaluablelearning experience of itself and forthe delivery of ESD alongside andthrough other subject based outdoorlearning experiences. The benefitsare well documented. Students donot get enough and provision isnot as easily accessed as it shouldbe. There has been a shrinkage ofquality outdoor education provisionin N. Ireland and many centresare under threat in England andWales (BMC, 2007, Guardian,2006). It is important to makeuse of these facilities and ensurethat they continue to be available.The Outdoor Education Manifestoproduced by the Department ofEducation & Skills (2006b) attemptsto encourage an appreciation of thebenefits of outdoor education andbuild a case for the retention andexpansion of provision. It is hopedthat the aspirations enshrined withincan be realised. Aspirations bythemselves however, do not maintaincentres as testified by recent closures.It has not been adopted in N. Irelandbut the vision is welcomed. A realisticlevel of support and recognitionfor outdoor education provision isneeded to support a curriculum thatpromotes ESD. Our schools should befacilitated in their pursuit of OutdoorEducation at a time when raisingachievement is a priority.ReferencesBMC (2007) Mountain Centre Facing Closurewww.thebmc.co.uk.news 31/7/2007DELLS (2006) Education for SustainableDevelopment and Global Citizenship– a strategy for action. Welsh AssemblyGovernment www.esdgc-wales.rg.uk/english/ESDreports/pdfDfES (1998) Health and Safety of Pupils onEducational Visits DfES Publications Sudbury.DfES (2003) Sustainable development ActionPlan for Education and Skills www.des.gov.ukDfES(2006a) Learning for the Future the DfESSustainable Development Action Plan 2005/06www.dfes.gov.ukDfES (2006b) Learning Outside the ClassroomManifesto DfES Publications, Nottingham.DOENI (2006) First Steps Towards Sustainability– A Sustainable Development Strategy forN. Ireland. DETNI www.doen.gov.uk/epd/susdev.pdfELB (2004) Educational Visits – policy practiceand procedures. www.welb-cass.org/site/cass/mfcGuardian Newspaper (2006) Pupils need to getout more Phil Revell November 28.House of Commons Education and SkillsCommittee (2005) Education Outside theClassroom. The Stationery Office Limited,London.HM Government (2005) Securing the Future– delivering UK sustainable developmentstrategy. The Stationery Office, London.Interboard Education for SustainableDevelopment Group (2005) Education forSustainable Development - good practice guidefor primary, secondary and special schools.Nundy, S. (2001) Raising Achievement throughthe Environment – the case for fi eldwork andfi eld centres. National Association of FieldStudy Officers, Doncaster.OFSTED (2004) Outdoor Education – aspects ofgood practice. www.ofsted.gov.ukOFMDFMNI (2006) A positive step NorthernIreland – a sustainable developmentimplementation plan. www.ofmdfmni.gov.ukOutdoor Education Advisors Panel (2005) HighQuality Outdoor Education, Southampton,OEAP.Rickinson, M; Dillon, J., Teamey, K., Morris,M., Young Choi, M., Sanders, D. & Benefield,P. (2004) A Review of Research on OutdoorLearning. National Foundation for EducationalResearch and King’s College London.UNESCO (2004) United Nations Decade ofEducation for Sustainable Development 2005-2014.Michael CrossAdvisory Teacher for Field Studies(WELB) based at Magilligan FieldCentre.Email: michael_cross@welbni.org12 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 33 No 1 2008 www.esta-uk.org

Geology in Schools –Where? How? With What Resources?David R WrightAbstractThis article argues that geologyshould be a vital element inthe school curriculum – primaryand secondary. But all too oftengeology is sidelined, neglected,or simply ignored. My concernis with the ordinary placeswhere millions of children andteenagers grow up, and wheretheir understanding of geologystarts [or doesn’t start], especiallywith Newark and Nuneaton;Northwood and Norwich, andall those other ‘nowhere’ placeswhich do not have spectaculargeology around them. In thoseplaces, thousands of teachersmight welcome help and advice,and tens of thousands of childrenand teenagers would benefit frommaking more sense of geologyin their local urban and ruralenvironments. By contrast, we cantrust National Parks and AONBs toexplain their impressive geology- they have scenery and staff;money and motivation. It’s theother 90% of us that need help.IntroductionGeology – the wonderfully variedgeology of Britain – is the foundationof our environment and is a vital basisfor History, Geography, and Science.Our distant ancestors understoodthe geology of light and heavy soils,the sources of water in rocks, thequalities of building-stones and thevalue of clay – even in pre-literatedays. Our landscapes and architectureare founded on geology, everyphotograph and every journey canbe enriched by an understandingof geology, whilst every hole inthe ground is pure geology. Inshort, geology is fundamental tounderstanding our locality, ourcountry, and our world.Geology in the Curriculum– where?In primary schools, science is muchstronger now than a generation ago.And ‘Earth science’ is one of the moremanageable elements of primaryscience. A few primary schools dogreat things with geology, but tomany it is an unknown topic. There isgreat scope for increasing geologicalunderstanding for young children,because the class teacher can linkscience, geography and history indeveloping an understanding of thelocal environment.Fossils – especially dinosaurs – area thriving topic in most primaryschools, but other aspects ofgeology are much less visible. Youngchildren love the complex names ofdinosaurs – and they can cope withmore than this! Overall, it wouldbe fair to say that there has beenprogress in primary schools, but anunderstanding of local geology is– all too often – absent. Yet it is thelocal ‘touch and feel’ that can be soilluminating and so valuable, whenchildren realise that geology is notjust another distant ‘school topic’: it isreal and it’s here.In secondary schools, geology, perse, is, and always has been, onlystudied by a tiny minority of studentsat GCSE or A-level. The big changehas been that science ‘claimed’ ‘Earthscience’ for the National Curriculum– even though most science teacherswere unfamiliar with this topic.Geology is a science, so it is only fairand reasonable for it to be part ofthe Science Curriculum. Where theapproach is practical, and studentshandle and analyse real rocks, andstudy their characteristics and uses,then there are major gains in movinggeology from its ‘traditional’ schoolhome in geography lessons. But theremay also be major losses by movinggeology ‘out of’ Geography.Geographers were not allowed todevelop their subject for the NationalCurriculum, until after the Sciencecurriculum had been agreed – andthey found that Science had already‘taken’ geology. So they had adilemma. Thirty years ago, Geographytaught about rocks and landscapes,especially when using OrdnanceSurvey maps. This theme was fadinga little, with increased emphasis onurban and global topics, so somegeographers [not me!] did not mindif it faded further – which it promptlydid. Those geographers who wantedgeology to continue to feature intheir teaching were able to link itwith the emphasis on the local area- a strong feature of the fi rst versionof the Geography NC. But there wasinsufficient support for local study,and strong criticism of ‘overload’,so the post-Dearing slimmed-downNC was widely welcomed. The localemphasis thus faded also – and localgeology with it. Have students nowwww.esta-uk.org Vol 33 No 1 2008 Teaching Earth Sciences 13

lost the local understanding thatonce characterised good geographyteaching at all ages? Geographycertainly now seems to have lessgeology than in the past, exceptperhaps for some students aged16-18.BOX 1What spark ignitedyour interest in Geology? Forme, it was:Age 9 – digging a cave in thechalk in the back gardenAge 14 – fi nding a fossil on thebeach at Lyme RegisAge 18 – cycling across theWoolhope dome with the1:625000 geological map.The ‘impenetrability’ of GeologyTo many younger students, geologyseems inaccessible, irrelevant, anduninteresting. I suggest we needmore facilitators, child-centred people- teachers, lecturers, educationauthors, even media people - tomake geology more accessible,comprehensible, relevant, andinteresting. This is a major challenge;what follows are some proposals forfurther thought:One of the fi rst challenges is to tacklegeological vocabulary. There is noobjection to experts using obscurelong words, provided we – thefacilitators - are permitted to say‘No: only use these words with adultspecialists’. We must increase the useof short Anglo-Saxon words instead.We need this point not merely to beaccepted, but welcomed – and stillseen as ‘real’ geology. Any teacherwho has tried to explain that faciesare not the same as faecies, andnappes are not the same as nappies,will know the problem. In these cases,a rude laugh is a welcome element ina lesson. But the problem of complex,confusing, impenetrable vocabulary ismuch deeper than that.Over 100 years ago, classicallyeducatedgentlemen liked to inventlong pseudo-Latin words; it showedtheir erudition and strengthened therespectability of the new subject.This did not matter when educationwas for the elite only, but today it isa major problem. Take, for example,arenaceous (sandy) or argillaceous(clayey) – do we need to use suchwords at all with school students?BOX 2 What was your fi rstqualification in Geology?I am a Geography graduate andteacher. At 27, I still had noscience qualifications. However, Iasked my Lower Sixth Geographystudents if anyone wanted tohave a go at O-level Geology– some said yes, and I joinedthem in sitting the exam! It wasan excellent move – a real sharedchallenge. And I got my fi rst-everA grade.ResourcesTo any geologist, one of the mostimportant aids in understandingthe world around him (or her) is thegeological map. Geological mapsemphasise rock age. This is, of course,vital for understanding structure, sowe cannot avoid ‘age’. Fortunately,kids love the mnemonic for theGeological Column ‘Camels Often SitDown Carefully – Perhaps Their JointsCreak’. These 9 geological periodsare sufficient except, perhaps, forthe London and Hampshire Basins,where subdivisions of the Tertiaryera are useful (so the mnemoniccontinues: ‘Early Oiling May ProvePositively Helpful’). But rock type ismuch more important – for schools,for understanding landscapes, forindustry. A simple set of rock nameswill more than suffice.For igneous rocks, I suggest we limitthe initial classification to just 2 types:intrusive – e.g. granite (mainly rockswith large crystals); and extrusive(volcanic) – e.g. basalt (mainly rockswith small crystals). In the UK, alligneous rocks are hard, and formthin, acid soils – but we need toexplain that volcanic rocks can be richand fertile in hotter countries – hencethe vines and bananas of Madeiraand the Canary Islands.For metamorphic rocks, we wouldneed slate, and perhaps marble to beunderstood.For sedimentary rocks, we needto fi nd ways of encouragingunderstanding of the 3 main types ofrock – sandstone, limestone and clay– and the varieties within these rocks.To this we might add coal. In someareas shale and perhaps ironstonewould need to be understood. Afterthat, variations in the major rocktypes can start to make sense – hardimpermeable sandstones, or weakerpermeable sandstones, etc.With this basic understanding of rockage and rock type, diagrams, crosssectionsand geological maps canstart to make sense – but there is stilldifficulty and confusion because mostmap colours for sedimentary rocksrepresent rock age, not rock type. Thehard deltaic sandstones of the NorthYorkshire Moors may be shown in thesame colour as Cotswold limestone.Some maps even lump Jurassic clayswith these two rock types, all in thesame colour. We need a map whichshows rock type as well as rock age.Figure 1 shows a scheme I havedesigned whereby one colourrepresents one type of rock, and thestrength of that colour representsrock age (older = darker, younger =lighter). I used the traditional names,as on older editions of the 1: 625 000map. For example, darkest brownwould be Precambrian sandstone;lightest brown would be Cretaceoussandstone; there would be up toten shades. Limestones could beorange/yellow, with cream for chalk.Clays could be blue. Igneous rocks14 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 33 No 1 2008 www.esta-uk.org

Figure 1: New scheme for Geological Maps © David R Wright, 2008Table 1SANDSTONES brownAge Name New map tones %Cretaceous Greensand Lightest brown 10Cretaceous Hastings Beds Very light brown 20Jurassic Deltaics Light brown 30Triassic New Red Sandstone Mid-light brown 40Permian New Red Sandstone Mid-brown 50Carboniferous Pennant Grit Mid-dark brown 60Carboniferous Millstone Grit Dark brown 70Devonian Old Red Sandstone Very dark brown 80Pre-Devonian - Darkest brown 90Table 2 LIMESTONES orange and yellowAge Name New map tones %Cretaceous Chalk Off-white 10Jurassic Portland & Purbeck Pale yellow 20Jurassic Corallian Mid-yellow 30Jurassic Oolites Dark yellow 40(Triassic)(Absent)Permian Magnesian Limestone Light orange 60Carboniferous Carb. Limestone Mid-orange 70Devonian - Dark orange 80Pre-Devonian various Darkest orange 90Table 3 CLAYS blueAge Name New map tones %Post-Eocene various Lightest blue 10Eocene London Clay Very light blue 20Cretaceous Gault Clay Light blue 30Cretaceous Weald Clay Mid-light blue 40Jurassic Kimmeridge Clay Mid-blue 50Jurassic Oxford Clay Mid-dark blue 60Jurassic Lias Dark blue 70Triassic Keuper Marl Very dark blue 80Pre-Triassic various Darkest blue 90IGNEOUS ROCKSExtrusive: magentaIntrusive: redMETAMORPHIC ROCKSPink [except for slate - grey]would be red for intrusive; magentafor extrusive, again with the darkestshades for the oldest rocks. Thisproposal means that we cannot fi t inwith international colour conventions– but most BGS maps predate thesecolours anyway – they are based onthe colours of Victorian paintboxes.In pre-computer days, such a colourscheme would have been difficult toimplement; today it could transformpublic understanding of geology.What about the small matter ofDrift geology (note that I use theAnglo-Saxon rather than the complexand misleading term ‘superficialdeposits’)? Most homes and schoolsare built on drift geology. If weneglect drift geology, most studentswill feel that geology does notrefer to their own local ‘real’ world.Volcanoes take up far more lessontimethan the whole of drift geology!Here is a suggested basicclassification:Clay Drift. Clay is the single mosttype of drift, and needs to bedistinguished from the clays of solidgeology (Oxford Clay, Weald Clay,etc.). North of the M4, most driftclay is glacial boulder clay [‘till’]. Theboulders were brought from farawayplaces by icesheets, and can makea fascinating study. Soils are heavyand sticky – check the playing-field inwinter! South of the M4, clay-withflints is important on chalk; otherclays are of local importance.Sand and gravel. Sand and gravelconstitute a multi-million poundindustry – could they contributemore to education? Again, north ofthe M4, most are of glacial or fl uvioglacialorigin and, in some areas,dominate the landscape. River gravelsare also important. River terracesare a vital topic for understandingearly settlement – yet anothertheme which makes sense if onlypeople understand the geology andgeomorphology.www.esta-uk.org Vol 33 No 1 2008 Teaching Earth Sciences 15

Peat. The lowland peat areas, whichbecame some of Britain’s best soil forfarming, need to be distinguishedfrom acid moorland peat. This is asimplification, but local details can beadded to this base.We also need to show these driftdeposits on maps, in a way thatadds to understanding, rather thanadding to confusion and complexity.Fifty years and more ago, ‘quarterinch’‘solid-with drift’ maps werepublished for the British Associationmeetings in Bristol and Cambridge,and perhaps elsewhere too. Dots,dashes and circles etc. to representtypes of drift were superimposed inblack or red, on the colours of thesolid geology, and the result was veryhelpful indeed. For schools, excellentsolid-with-drift ‘county supplements’were published pre-war by Geo Philipand inserted in the county editionsof the Elementary School Atlas; somewere still available in the 1960s. Theyare still one of the best sources forgeological understanding, but longout-of-print. How extraordinary, withcomputers everywhere, and millionsof pounds devoted to geology, thatthis paragraph still had to focuson maps published before most oftoday’s teachers were even born!At the very least, please could theseold resources be reprinted – they arefascinating now for history as well asinvaluable for understanding geology.ConclusionsThere are great opportunities forincreasing the understanding ofGeology in schools, but there aremany obstacles.I believe that we need a DavidBellamy for Geology – an enthusiasticadvocate, with charisma, and a UKbasedTV series on Geology: withspin-off DVDs for use in schools.We need books to inspire us. AETrueman’s (1938), ‘The Sceneryof England and Wales’ was amasterpiece in its time, but is longout of date, and lacks the colourphotos and diagrams that are vitaltoday.The Geologists’ Association‘Rockwatch’ (a club for children)reaches too few people; theirmagazine deserves to be knownmore widely. ESTA’s help-sheets forprimary teachers also need to bemuch better known. Could otherorganisations, such as BGS, theGeologists’ Association, GeographicalAssociation, and the GeologicalSociety contribute more? Canindustry, too, take a more activerole in sponsoring the educationalinitiatives that we need?BOX 3 The Geological mapwith 9-year-olds in Norwich.The class was very pleased tobe able to see and touch thelocal 1:50,000 geological map. Irealised that they were likely tothink that the blue was the sea– in fact it shows boulder clay. ButI was completely ‘thrown’ whenMandy pointed to the blue colourand sweetly asked me ‘Is tha’ thesky?’David R Wright, MAFormer lecturer in Geographical andEnvironmental Education, Universityof East AngliaCo-author of Philip’s Children’s Atlasdandjwright@hotmail.comwww.dandjwright.co.uk16 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 33 No 1 2008 www.esta-uk.org

Investigating Earth Science or‘What has the British GeologicalSurvey Ever Done for Teachers?’Dr. David BaileyAbstractOutreach activities have been partof the British Geological Survey’s(BGS) mission from its earliestdays. In recent years, improvedliaison and dialogue withorganisations like ESTA and ESEU,alongside initiatives from centralgovernment, such as the Scienceand Engineering Ambassadorsscheme, has raised the profile ofeducational activities within theorganisation and helped us tofocus more clearly on teachers’requirements.The aim of this article is to discussthe BGS’s perspective on geoscienceeducation, review how the BGS issupporting earth science education,and outline what the future mayhold. I hope also to show some ofthe benefits that a geological surveyorganisation gains by promotingEarth science education. Finally, I willlook ahead to potential developmentsand ask what else we can do.The museum eraThe Geological Survey of Great Britainwas established in 1835 and verysoon afterwards its fi rst Director,Henry De la Beche, persuaded theChancellor of the Exchequer that itwould be to Britain’s advantage ifthere was a museum for the displayof economically important rocksand minerals. The suggestion wasapproved by 1837, and the ‘Museumof Economic Geology’ opened in1841 in Whitehall. In May 1851 thecollections were rehoused in JermynStreet, where there was more space,under a new name, the ‘Museumof Practical Geology’. However, thisbuilding had been badly constructedand eventually had to be demolished,so the Geological Museum moved toSouth Kensington in July 1935.The Survey in Scotland was controlledfrom London until 1867, whenan Edinburgh headquarters wasestablished in the Museum of Scienceand Art, later the Royal ScottishMuseum.The Survey’s close association withmuseums in our early days waspart of the great Victorian traditionof public education. Importantcollections of geological materialswere displayed alongside theindustrial products derived fromthem, and the latest scientificinterpretations and discoveries.Museums continue to be valuableeducational resources, but themaintenance of permanent, publiclyaccessible collections is an expensivebusiness. When the Survey fi nallymoved out of London in 1985, theGeological Museum was transferredto the Natural History Museum,along with its mineral and gemstonedisplays and some other collections.This marked a significant change inBGS’s approach to education andoutreach and the end of an eralasting nearly 150 years.ResourcesEducational outreach is recognisedas an important element of BGS’smission. The range of our activitiesis constrained partly by our budgetand partly by our relative lack ofexpertise in teaching, especiallyin schools. After all, most of ourscientific staff are recruited for theirresearch abilities. But the abilityto communicate our science injargon-free language is a skill that isincreasingly valued. And the need toengage with all our ‘stakeholders’,including teachers and learners, hasnow been recognised as a duty forall our staff. On the positive side wehave excellent resources: an unrivalledpool of geoscientific expertise andnationally important collections ofrocks, minerals and fossils assembledover more than 170 years.‘Traditional’ publicationsThe traditional means ofcommunicating BGS science,established over many decades,has been through geological maps,memoirs and reports. However, it hasbeen said that less than half a percentof the population can understand ageological map! It is undeniable thatour memoirs and reports are aimedchiefly at the professional geologist,while regional guides are suitable foradvanced students, well informedamateur geologists, and professionalgeologists seeking an overview of aregion. None of these publicationswas designed for the educationalmarket.Popular publicationsIn the 1990s it was realised that ourpublications were reaching only anarrow sector of the population andthat we were mainly communicatingwww.esta-uk.org Vol 33 No 1 2008 Teaching Earth Sciences 17

with other geologists. This failure toaddress a broad range of audienceswas exacerbated by the major declinein the number of students takingsciences and, in particular, geology.Several geology departments inBritish universities were closed,while others became attached togeography departments, degreecourses changed, and the graduatesdid not necessarily have the skills thatthe BGS required. Our source of newgraduates was disappearing.We began to publish popularpublications on fossils, the geology ofpopular holiday destinations, bookson volcanoes and earthquakes anda magazine, Earthwise, aimed at apopular market, in addition to ourhigh-level academic and professionalprint products. The aim was notaltruistic. We hoped to encourageyoung people to consider science,particularly geology, as a career,ensure the future competitiveness ofUK industry and to broaden our ownpool of recruits.Unfortunately, despite thesepublications being well received,sales could not match thosepublished when we had a steadystream of museum visitors andproved insufficient to justify thecosts of publication at a timeof tight budgetary constraints.New publications would only becommissioned where sales orsponsorship could be guaranteedto cover the costs. The exception isEarthwise magazine, which is stillpublished and distributed free ofcharge in print and on our website(www.bgs.ac.uk).others to express their concernabout the numbers of studentstaking up science in schools and atuniversity. There are fears for theeventual impact on scientifically andtechnologically based industries andtherefore, ultimately, the economy(All-Party Parliamentary Groupfor Earth Sciences / Earth ScienceEducation Forum for England andWales. 2004).The BGS has formal liaisons withseveral national organisationswhich share a common interest inpromoting the Earth sciences. Asyou will be aware, the ESTA AnnualConference was held at the BGSheadquarters in Keyworth in 2002.That conference was a very positiveexperience for the BGS scientistsinvolved, and was a timely reminderof the role of the education sector asan opinion-former and stakeholder inthe earth sciences.The renewed sense of partnershiparising from the 2002 conferenceled to the signing of a memorandumof understanding between the BGSand ESTA for mutual support and thesharing of ideas, best practices andresources. The ESTA archive is nowpermanently housed in the NationalGeoscience Data Centre at Keyworth.The BGS has been represented onthe Scottish Earth Science EducationForum (SESEF) and the Earth ScienceEducation Forum for England andWales (ESEF), since their inceptionin 2001 and 2002, respectively. Webecame a corporate member of theScience, Engineering, Technologyand Mathematics Network (nowknown as STEMNET) in 2003 todemonstrate our support for theiraim ‘to ensure that there is a fl owof well-motivated, high qualitypeople from school who have aninterest in, and understanding of,STEM’.National schemesThe BGS participates in a number ofnational schemes such as NationalScience and Engineering Week, theEngineering Education Scheme, andCreativity in Science and Technology(CREST) awards.At Keyworth the annual ‘Fossil andRock Show’ has been a regularScience Week event for many yearsand attracts up to 1000 children atKey Stage 2 from across the EastMidlands. Rockwatch are regularcontributors to this event and forseveral years we have supplementedthe schools event with a family daybranded as a Rockwatch event.Formal liaisonsToday the need to educate thegeneral public, and especiallyto inspire young people aboutEarth sciences is, if anything, evenmore acute. In recent years thegovernment departments responsiblefor science education, have joinedwith industries, universities andEngineering Education Scheme: Students from Loughborough Grammar School explaining their prototype soilprocessordesign to judges at an Engineering Education Scheme celebration event.18 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 33 No 1 2008 www.esta-uk.org

Recent years have also seen ‘WaterDetectives’ events for children atKey Stages 2 and 3 at Wallingford(in conjunction with the Centre forEcology and Hydrology).We have mentored several successfulprojects under the EngineeringEducation Scheme. Much of ourscience depends on developingnew equipment and techniquesand sixth-form students have hadthe opportunity to design and buildprototype equipment that mayeventually be used in major researchprogrammes involving internationalcollaborators. In other words, theseare not hypothetical exercises dreamtup to occupy students, but canrepresent substantial contributionsto our science. We also providementoring and projects for studentswith Nuffield Science Bursaries.Science & EngineeringAmbassadorsThe Science and EngineeringAmbassadors (SEAs) scheme isanother national initiative, and isSTEMNET’s fl agship programme.SEAs are enthusiastic, vettedvolunteers who work with youngpeople and teachers in schools.The BGS has been involved in thescheme from the initial consultationphase and has a growing team of‘Ambassadors’ – currently morethan 70 based at our Keyworth,Edinburgh, Wallingford and Exeteroffices and also at GSNI.The scheme is a high priority elementof our outreach programme andprovides a framework for eventsintended to inspire young people andprovide scientific role models. Webelieve that staff benefit as much asthe young people involved from theexperience of motivating, enthusingand communicating. SEA activitiesinclude hands-on demonstrationswith a geological fl avour through tointerview skills workshops, and thedevelopment of enterprise skills, suchas team-building and project planning.Our most popular enterprise activity isa role-play exercise in which studentsdiscuss the geological, economic andsociological consequences of theeruption of the Soufrière Hills Volcanoon Montserrat. Students take on theroles of key personalities in the event,such as scientists at the MontserratVolcano Observatory, governmentofficials, and members of the public.The scenario is that the volcano isrestless, the island’s Governor is dueto be briefed in an hour and theymust decide whether to evacuate thearea and close the airport.In 2006 both ESTA and the ESEUgenerously provided training forour SEAs in communicating scienceto schools (see Bailey, King andWhitburn 2007). This was a valuableexample of the benefits of workingin partnership and one which wehope to repeat. ESTA’s expertiseat the ‘chalk face’ is of particularvalue to us. Our scientists havemuch to learn from your experiencein communicating science to themost challenging and questioningaudiences.Most of our face-to-face interactionwith schools is, naturally, relativelylocal to our offices although we dotry to provide a service at a regionalscale. This is mainly provided by SEAsvisiting schools to facilitate activitiesfor children, running work experienceplacements and providing adviceat careers events. Schools are alsoinvited to visit our offices, for instanceduring our annual Schools Weekat Murchison House in Edinburgh,or under visits organised throughthe Industrial Trust. Such visitsoften do not have an overtly Earthscience theme, but are designedto complement ITC or Chemistryelements of the curriculum, thougha geological component is alwayspresent, albeit in disguise.Students at Grove School, Newark plan the evacuation of Montserrat during an SEA Enterprise dayA relatively recent initiative is aprofessional development workshopon Hazard Mapping for geographyteachers, providing an update onnew techniques and discoveries. Thepilot, held in 2006, was organisedin partnership with Education Leeds,who arranged travel and teachingcover for delegates. The workshopreceived excellent feedback, forinstance: “An excellent day. One ofthe best courses I have been on in along time”, and “Very useful…Greatexamples. Great for coursework”.As a result of this positive response,we held a further three workshops in2007, two of which were organisedthrough the East Midlands RegionalSTEMNET (through the Lincolnshirewww.esta-uk.org Vol 33 No 1 2008 Teaching Earth Sciences 19

We are now funding the roll-outphase in partnership with the ScienceEnhancement Programme and withsupport from a number of industrialand academic partners.Pupils taking part in ‘Celebrity Rock Idol’, a Royal Society Partnership Project’ visiting the BGS laboratories inKeyworth to view their samples under the scanning electron microscope, and sorting microfossil samplesand Rutland Education BusinessPartnership). This promises to be acost-effective way of transferring ourknowledge to many children via theirteachers and we hope to repeat thehazard workshop and to add newsubject areas, so please pass on yourideas.Celebrity Rock IdolAlongside our ongoing activities,such as SEA school visits, we alsorun special projects. In 2006 wewere successful in helping RichardBonington Primary School inNottingham to win a Royal SocietyPartnership Grant to support a projectcalled ‘Celebrity Rock Idol’. Thiswas designed to bring creativity tothe teaching of science projects toYear 5 children using a familiar TVshow format. Children chose a rockto ‘idolise and adore’, researched itand worked with BGS scientists toreveal each rock’s special and uniqueproperties.The grant allowed the school to buysamples, microscopes and otherequipment and to visit our researchfacilities where they were able toview their samples in thin sectionand under the scanning electronmicroscope, and to carry out tests inthe engineering properties laboratory.The project fi nale was a series ofpresentations in which childrenmade the case for their rock to bethe ‘Celebrity Rock Idol’ throughimaginative presentations to theirpeers and an ‘expert’ panel. Oneof our SEAs, Sue Wheeler, playedthe ‘Sharon Osbourne’ role and theeventual winner was ‘Schist’.We have just been successful inwinning a further grant to repeatthe project in expanded form withother schools, and Richard BoningtonSchool has been able to buy resourcesthat they will be able to use for manyyears.UK School SeismologyThis project was launched at theInstitute of Physics in May 2007. Itis described in detail in another TESarticle by Paul Denton. In summary,it is designed for secondary schoolsand aims to establish a network ofschools with their own seismometers.Students will be able to measuremajor earthquakes occurring aroundthe world and exchange and comparetheir data with other schools andprofessional seismologists. Theproject was established with a grantfrom the National Endowment forScience, Technology and the Arts(NESTA) with support from the BGS.‘Quarry or Not?’ Challenge DayIn July 2007 BGS hosted a ChallengeDay for Year 12 students fromacross the East Midlands. Studentswere presented with a fi ctitiousscenario that involved the proposeddevelopment of limestone quarryclose to a National Park. The aim wasto heighten students’ awareness ofhow society makes difficult decisions– in this case, balancing the need forraw materials such as the mineralswe need to maintain our economyand lifestyle, with the need toprotect our environment. Theexercise involved teamwork, timemanagement, critical thinking,analytical, numerical, comprehensive,presentation and debating skills. Theday culminated in a real life planninginquiry, in which group leaderspresented their case in front of apanel of three ‘inspectors’ – all reallife professionals working on mineralsissues.Working through partnershipsEducational networks provided bysuch organisations as local museums,the ESEU, the Workers’ EducationalAssociation and Rockwatch allow usto reach a larger and more diverserange of people over a much widerarea than would otherwise bepossible. An added advantage is thatthe input from such organisationsensures BGS resources and expertisecan be better tailored to therequirements of a particular or localaudience.Recent examples have included theOuter Bristol Channel project, cofundedwith other bodies includingthe National Museum of Wales,which included a CD-ROM ofeducational resources, Explore theSea Floor and exhibit at the museum’sgalleries in Cardiff.20 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 33 No 1 2008 www.esta-uk.org

Another example is the Xplore ActiveGallery at Mansfield Museum. Thisprovides hands-on activities aimedat children, especially school parties,exploring environmental issues suchas recycling and sustainability. Weprovided geological advice, coresamples and customised maps of thelocal geology to enhance the displays.A spin-off of this partnership was aninvitation to contribute geologicalinformation to displays at a visitorcentre in south-west England.Partnerships with publishers whoalready have access to mass marketsshould be an effective way of gettingearth science to a wider audience.Harvey Maps in collaboration theBritish Mountaineering Councilhave produced an excellent seriesof ‘British Mountain Maps’ whichhave won several awards. They areaimed at climbers and hill-walkersand, in addition to being waterproofand virtually indestructible, featuregeological maps and descriptions onthe reverse which have been speciallydesigned by the BGS. The Lake Districtmap has proved especially popular,having already sold out its fi rst printrun. Other maps in the series alreadyinclude Snowdonia, The Dark Peak,and Ben Nevis and Glen Coe.They also actively publish books, trailguides and other material intended tohelp stimulate geotourism, many ofwhich have been written by, or withinput from BGS experts.WebsiteThe growth of the Internet has givenus a vehicle with the potential forreaching an almost limitless audience.The BGS website currently receivesover 1.5 million visits each year andone of the most visited sections is thearea devoted to education and populargeology. These pages are aimedprincipally at schools, undergraduatesand amateur geologists. Whereappropriate, we have developed thecontent with the National Curriculum,but have not been constrained by itand include a broad cross-section ofgeological topics.Some sections arise as outputs fromscientific projects; others address anarea of general interest. Our plansfor the future include improving theinformation for teachers and makingthe links to the National Curriculummore explicit, as well as developingnew resources.Pages which have proved mostpopular include:• Make-a-Map, a simpleinteractive geological map ofthe British Isles• a geological timechart, basedon the recommendations of theBGS’s stratigraphical committee• a multimedia, interactiveGeological Timeline• Ask-about-Geology, a freeenquiry service aimed speciallyat schools• sections on volcanoes andearthquakes.The focus of our mapping activities isnow on the development of threedimensionalgeological models. Aspart of a commercial partnershipwe now have the capability toview these models with softwarethat allows the user to rotate themodel through 360 degrees andautomatically generate cross-sectionsor borehole logs. A sample viewer,containing a model of the ThamesGateway area around Thurrock, canbe downloaded from our website. APDF fi le of the ‘LithoFrame’ 3D modelGeoparks and geotourismThe BGS is pleased to havecollaborated in the successful launchof several Geoparks in the UnitedKingdom. One example is FforestFawr Geopark in South Wales, whichjoined the UNESCO global network inOctober 2005. Fforest Fawr Geoparkhas an excellent geological landscape,with Devonian and Carboniferousrocks, a geomorphology that wascarved out during the last glaciationand the Welsh National Showcaves. Itis therefore important for its scientificquality, attractive landscapes forgeotourism, and educational value.Geoparks organise events throughoutthe year which provide a platform forour educational outreach activities,allowing us to reach new audiences.Training for BGS Science Ambassadors: Chris King leading a workshop on communicating science to schools andthe public.www.esta-uk.org Vol 33 No 1 2008 Teaching Earth Sciences 21

for Great Britain is also available forfree download. The latest versions ofthe free Adobe Reader software allowusers to rotate the model, viewing itfrom any angle.A recent addition to the website isour Digital Map of Great Britain dataat 1:625 000 scale (DiGMapGB-625),which can be downloaded and usedfree of charge for teaching purposesin ESRI® and MapInfo® formats.Feedback from any teachers whoare using the data would be mostwelcome: how useful are they andhow are you using them (email us atbgsdata@bgs.ac.uk).In fact, we have recently simplified theterms of use of all our publications,including material published onthe web, for educational and othernon-commercial purposes. In mostcases it is no longer necessary toobtain a licence, providing the correctacknowledgement is given. Thecurrent conditions can be seen under‘terms of use’ on the BGS website (see‘useful links’ at the end of this article).Future developmentsNew technologies are opening upfresh opportunities to explain ourscience in creative ways. For instance,our in-house capability now allows usto develop realistic three-dimensionalanimations. These could be realisticrepresentations of dinosaurs andother extinct fauna, recreations ofancient volcanic eruptions, or ‘flythrough’videos of photo-realisticlandscapes and geological maps.A new initiative that should be ofconsiderable benefit to earth scienceeducators everywhere is OneGeology,launched at an event hosted by theBGS in March 2007. OneGeology isperhaps the largest, most extensiveand ambitious mapping project everundertaken. Supported by UNESCOand six other global umbrellabodies, it will create dynamic digitalgeological map data across thesurface of the Earth.Leading scientists from more than55 countries around the worldare involved, from as far apart asAustralia and Brazil, Canada andRussia, Namibia and Japan. Overthe next two years, geologists willagree and plan the details of a globalproject that will ultimately see eachnation provide data on the WorldWide Web about the rocks fromtheir territory – effectively putting inplace their piece of the biggest jigsawpuzzle ever.The OneGeology project will seenational geological surveys across theglobe make a tangible contributionto the UN International Year ofPlanet Earth 2008 by developing thegeological map data and convertingit to a new international standard – ageological exchange language knownas ‘GeoSciML’. Increased use of thisnew language will allow geologicaldata to be shared and integratedacross the planet. It will also transfervaluable know-how to the developingworld, hence shortening the digitallearning curve.In conclusionThe BGS runs a broadly basedprogramme of activities that has seensignificant expansion, particularlyover the past two years. The benefitsare two-way: the organisation has ahigher and more positive profile inthe wider community and is helpingto broaden the recruitment pool byinspiring the geoscientists of thefuture, and our staff gain confidencein communicating their science andmotivating students.Although we are a nationalorganisation, there will always belimitations to the extent of our‘reach’. But initiatives like SEAs allowus to contribute to a nationally basedeffort and learn from good practicedeveloped elsewhere.Partnerships will be increasinglyimportant in helping us to reachnew audiences. We hope that ESTAwill continue to be a key partner inhelping us develop and improve oureducational resources.Finally, I would be particularlyinterested in hearing from any ESTAteachers who are already using digitalgeological data (or can see a use forit in the future). Or contact me if youhave any views on what else youwould like BGS to deliver.David Bailey publishes with thepermission of the Executive Directorof the British Geological Survey.References:All-Party Parliamentary Group for EarthSciences / Earth Science Education Forum forEngland and Wales. 2004. Conference Report:Improving the Effectiveness of EducationResources for Earth Science and Industry. Houseof Commons, 19 October 2004.Bailey D., King C. and Whitburn N. (2007)Communicating Earth Science — ESTA,ESEU and BGS, Teaching Earth Sciences, Vol.32.1,12–15.Useful web links:• British Geological Survey– www.bgs.ac.ukPopular Geology and Educationsection– www.bgs.ac.uk/educationEarthwise magazine– www.bgs.ac.uk/earthwiseDigMapGB 1:625k geologicalmap data, and Thurrock andGB LithoFrame 3D modeldownloads www.bgs.ac.uk/freeTerms of use of published BGSmaterials– http://www.bgs.ac.uk/about/copyright/published.html• STEMNET www.stemnet.org.uk• OneGeology– www.onegeology.org• The Industrial Trust– www.industrialtrust.org.uk• Harvey Maps– www.harveymaps.co.ukDr David BaileyHead of Outreach, British GeologicalSurveydeba@bgs.ac.uk22 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 33 No 1 2008 www.esta-uk.org

UK School Seismology ProjectPaul DentonAbstractThe sheer destructive powerof earthquakes has alwaysheld a fascination for children.This project capitalises on thisnatural interest by making useof earthquakes and seismologyas a unifying theme in a set ofsimple classroom activities thatteach a range of basic scienceconcepts. The project also createsa ‘wow’ moment in the classroomby enabling schools to operatetheir own seismic recordingstation which is sensitive enoughto record signals from largeearthquakes that have happenedon the other side of the world.Actually detecting signals fromevents of global significance has adramatic effect on school children,making them realise that scienceis not a set of abstract ideas, butrather, a way of understandinghow the real world actuallyworks. The project completed itsdevelopment phase in May 2007,and is rolling out across schools inthe UK during 2007-8. This articleoutlines the project thus far, andhow schools can participate.AimsThis project has ambitious aims and isone of a number of national projectsto improve science education in theUK. It is a long term project whosesuccess will be judged in 5-10 yearstime when students who are nowaged 11 make decisions about whatsubjects to study at A-level andUniversity. The principal aims are:1. To make science moreinteresting for students aged11-16Table 1: Some of the classroom activities developed by the projectActivity Resources required Learning OutcomesWhat is an earthquakeBrick, bungee andsandpaperThe role of models inscience, elastic reboundtheory.Seismic waves Slinkies Wave propagation, P, Sand surface wavesBuilding a simpleseismometerLocating earthquakesThe effects ofearthquakesSprings, magnets, coilsCompass, paper(Microphones and PC)Shake table and modelsInertiaSimple harmonic motionElectromagneticinductionVelocity anddisplacementResonance2. To improve the participationrates in physical sciences forstudents aged 16+3. To influence curriculumdevelopment in the UK andpromote the inclusion ofseismology and earth sciencetopics into the science (andphysics) syllabuses. The bestway of doing this is to developand support high quality andexciting classroom resources forteachers.4. To raise awareness ofgeoscience as a scientificdiscipline for pre-universitystudents.Specific Objectives1. Develop a set of hands-onclassroom activities thatsupport the teaching of basicphysical science concepts usingearthquakes and seismology asa unifying theme.2. Develop a simple schoolseismometer system that can beused by schools to detect andrecord signals from distant largeearthquakes.3. Set up a website where schoolsare able to access teachingresources and exchange andcompare data from recentearthquakes that they recorded.4. Promote and facilitate linksbetween UK schools andschools in other countriesthat are also recording signalsfrom large earthquakes (oreven experiencing the actualearthquakes).www.esta-uk.org Vol 33 No 1 2008 Teaching Earth Sciences 23

schools of the system (seismometerand amplifier digitiser) is £290.Figure 1. Is this the world’s cheapest seismometer? A junior hacksaw blade, a button magnet and a coilconnected to a PC soundcard enables students to do simple seismic experiments.School Seismology Website.Integral to this project is a mechanismfor schools to exchange and comparedata that they have recorded fromthe same event. For this project, BGShave developed a website for schoolsto exchange data on and which hostsmaterials and resources relevantto the project, (www.bgs.ac.uk/schoolseismology).Pivot pointsRigid suspension armMagnet and coilvelocity transducerBrass MassUK Dissemination PlanA booklet of classroom activitieshas been distributed free of chargeto over 2500 teachers in the UKthrough the SEP (www.sep.org.uk) associates scheme. A setof very inexpensive simple practicalequipment items to support theseactivities is being marketed throughMiddlesex University TeachingResources (www.mutr.co.uk).In addition support materials andresources are freely available toteachers through the SEP and BGSwebsites.Figure 2 The SEP seismometer system is a very open design in which each component can be clearly identified andits purpose explained.The Classroom ActivitiesThe project has developed a set ofclassroom activities and associatedteacher’s notes to cover the wholenarrative of earthquake science (seeTable 1). Some of these activitieshave small amounts of equipmentassociated with them, some arestand-alone or paper based exercises.The SEP School SeismometerSystemThe seismometer developed forthis project is a modification of atraditional Shaw-Milne or Lehmandesign for a horizontal motionseismometer combined with amodern amplifier/digitiser system.The UK seismometer is designed toMagnetic eddy current dampinghave an adjustable natural periodof 10-20 seconds, adjustableeddy current damping providedby rare–earth magnets and anelectromagnetic velocity transducer.The electronics package is of modernsurface mount construction and usesa 16 bit digitiser chip which can feeddata directly into the freely availableAmaseis recording and analysissoftware on a PC (initially developedfor use with the AS-1 instrument).The sensor is sensitive enough todetect signals from earthquakeslarger than magnitude 6.5 anywherein the world. The long natural periodallows it to clearly record the arrival ofP waves, S waves and surface wavesfrom distant events. The retail cost toExperience from the US schoolseismology project has shown thatschool seismometer systems arebest used when their distribution isaccompanied by a training sessionin how to set-up and use them andcontinued support in how to interpretSpecial projects: School Seismology project24 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 33 No 1 2008 www.esta-uk.org

Seismometers and training for thefi rst 50 schools are being providedfree of charge thanks to industrialsponsorship by:• Petroleum Geoserviceswww.pgs.com• TGS-Nopecwww.tgsnopec.com• GGS-Spectrumwww.ggs-spectrum.com• Exxon-Mobilwww.exxon-mobil.comIf your school is interested in takingpart in this project please email:schoolseismology@bgs.ac.uk.Figure 3 It works ! Three large earthquakes in Sumatra (M8.4, M7.9 and M6.5) within 24 hours recorded on aSEP seismometer system in Keyworth, near Nottingham.the resulting data is provided. During2007-8 BGS are running a numberof training events around the countryto teach teachers how to install andoperate the SEP seismometer system.AcknowledgementsFunding to develop the resourcesused in this project came from NESTA,BGS and SEP. BGS are supporting therollout of this project during 2007-8.Unless otherwise stated BGS©NERC2007. All rights reservedPaul DentonSchool Seismology Project Leader,BGSp.denton@bgs.ac.ukwww.esta-uk.org Vol 33 No 1 2008 Teaching Earth Sciences 25

Use of New Technologies inMonitoring GeohazardsDr Jennifer McKinleyAbstractThe material discussed in thispaper was originally presentedas part of the Earth ScienceTeachers’ Association 40thAnnual Conference, held atStranmillis University College,Belfast Northern Ireland on 14September 2007.Introduction – Natural Hazardsand Human ActivityUltimately, the interest in monitoringgeohazards stems from theirimpact upon human activity,including potential loss of life andthe economic cost. In the UnitedStates alone, natural hazards areresponsible each year for hundreds ofdeaths and cost billions of dollars indisaster aid, disruption of commerce,infrastructure and destruction ofhomes. The economic cost of disasterresponse and recovery is increasingyear on year, with the vast costexperienced by the United States onlysurpassed by Japan. At this point, it isuseful to define a disaster as an eventthat causes intense negative impactson people, goods and services and/orthe environment that is greater thanthe affected community’s internalcapability to respond (Donnelly 2006).Natural hazards that have thepotential to cause a disasterare wide ranging in their form,comprising fl ooding, hurricanes,landslides and wildfires. Howeverit is earthquakes and volcanoesthat are discussed here, and theirresultant features. As a result, it iscrucial that we endeavour to increaseour understanding of the naturalprocesses responsible for geohazards.This, in turn, will enable us to identifyand evaluate the effectiveness ofhuman strategies to predict andmonitor geohazards. In doing so,we need to appreciate both thebeneficial and detrimental outcomesof geohazards.Ultimately, our goal is to reduce thedetrimental impact of geohazardsin the developed world, which asdiscussed, is increasingly becoming aneconomic cost, but moreover in thedeveloping world, where substantialloss of life remains a major concern.New Technologies in MonitoringGeohazardsThe use of new technologies hasbecome central to this over thelast decade. Sourcing spatial datathrough remotely sensed and grounddata collection has enabled greatervisualisation and hence a greaterappreciation of the geographicalextent of the effects of geohazards.The two main technologies involvedin spatial data collection compriseremote sensing, through airborne andspace data acquisition, and GlobalPositioning Systems (GPS), consistingof a system of satellites and receivingdevices used to compute positions onthe Earth.GP Systems were originally developedand supported by United StatesDepartment of Defense. This passivesystem (involving radio broadcastsonly) comprises three 3 segments– the constellation, consisting ofup to 24 satellites or space vehicles(SV) in orbit 20,200 km above theearth, a ground control station andthe user (receiver). Each GPS satelliteis identified by a unique identifiernumber. Determining the length of theradio wave and the time the wave leftthe SV is the fundamental calculationneeded to determine the range to thesatellite. GPS is extensively used in thecollection of spatial data, includingthe movement or deformation oflandforms (natural and engineered),topographic surveys, mapping andterrain visualisation. Geologists use anarray of GPS receivers to monitor platemovement where displacements ofmilimetres per year can be detected.Relative plate movement at presentare recorded to occur at rates of about1-15 cm per year.Remote sensing can be defined as ameans of acquiring information usingairborne equipment and techniquesto determine the characteristics ofan area by recording spectral orcoordinate information. Technologiesinvolved in monitoring geohazardsinclude aerial sensors, satellitesensors, airborne Laser altimetry(LiDAR), true colour, multi-spectral,hyper-spectral, thermal scanningand interferometric syntheticaperture radar (InSAR) (whichprovides information on groundmovement). The joint USGS andNASA initiative, Landsat, representsthe world’s longest continuouslyacquired collection of space-basedremote sensed data with more than30 years of collected images of theearth. Landsat’s Global Survey mission26 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 33 No 1 2008 www.esta-uk.org

is to repeatedly capture images ofthe earth to support observations ofchange. This is especially applicablein monitoring geohazards. Notablegeohazard events captured in thehistory of Landsat data collectioninclude the 1973 Avalanche in Peru(Landsat 1), the eruption of MountSt Helens in 1980 (Landsat 2) andthe aftermath of Hurricane Katrina(Landsat 7) in 2005.Remote imagery actually beganin Paris in 1859, when GaspardTournachon released the fi rst balloonwith a camera attached (Figure 1).Later developments were militarydriven from the United States CivilWar to the use of aerial imagery asplan position indicators in World WarsI and II. Nevertheless it was weatherobservations that led to the fi rstsatellite systems in Europe, the UnitedStates and World-wide (Figure 1).A set of tools called GeographicalInformation Systems (GIS) have beendeveloped to collect, store, manage,map and, more specifically, to analysespatial information. It is the analysisfunctions of GIS that distinguishesit from cartographic mappingsoftware, which is used to makemaps. Integration of information frommultiple sources (remotely sensedand ground data collection throughGPS) pertaining to geohazards can becollected, stored, managed, analysedand ultimately presented within a GISframework.Understanding the dynamicnature of eventsAn understanding of the dynamicnature of crustal movements andthe fundamentals of plate tectonicsis central to studying the causes ofearthquakes and volcanoes and,consequently, in attempting tomonitor the effects and predictionof natural hazards. Alaska, themost earthquake prone state withinthe United States, is one of mostseismically active areas in the worldand experiences a magnitude 7earthquake almost every year. Thelargest earthquake (magnitude9.2) ever recorded for the UnitedStates occurred in Prince WilliamSound on the 28th March 1964.An understanding of the tectonicprocesses of island arc subductionresponsible for this seismically activityprovides a greater awareness ofthe potential for earthquakes andthe necessary preventive measuresto minimise human and economiclosses.The well-researched complex natureof the tectonics of the San AndreasFault in California has enabled thedevelopment of seismic systemsthat focus on the faults most likelyto rupture and monitoring of theurban areas at greatest risk. Followingthe magnitude 7.1 earthquake thatdevastated parts of San Francisco inOctober 1989, the headline in the LosAngeles Times (November 5th 1989)read ‘Waiting for the Quake – TheBig One: due to hit with Vengeance’.However, the destruction of theSan Francisco earthquake was quitelimited in aereal extent; it affectedthe Bay Area most severely anddemonstrated that the magnitudeof the earthquake is not the mostimportant factor in determining theimpact of an earthquake. Whilesome older homes and buildingswere destroyed by the earthquake,most modern structures in the samearea suffered minimal damage. TheLos Angeles Basin area comprisesa complex system of surface andsubterranean faults, some of whichhave long been inactive, but someolder faults are still capable ofdelivering destructive earthquakes.Acquiring systematic multi-spectralimagery, radar interferometry andLiDAR data, temporally repeated,provides advanced knowledge of thetime dependent nature of earthquakeprocesses that can enable forecaststhat focus on those faults that aremost likely to rupture in the nearfuture.It is not only the United States thatexperiences seismic activity. On the30th of August 2007, the BritishGeological Survey (BGS) receivedreports from residents in theManchester area, of a seismic eventat approximately 05:46 BST. Thereports described ‘a weak-moderateshaking, enough to make beds andwardrobes rattle, and faint rumbling’.The earthquake (magnitude 2.2) wasFigure 1 Timeline of historical overview of remote sensing and a European perspectivewww.esta-uk.org Vol 33 No 1 2008 Teaching Earth Sciences 27

located in the same region as fi veother events which occurred earlier inthe month between 10-23rd August;the largest event having a magnitudeof 2.5. The BGS recorded how allthese events were located in the sameregion as a series of 150 events thatoccurred between October 2002 andJanuary 2003. The largest event inthat series, with a magnitude of 3.9,occurred on the 21st of October 2002and was felt throughout the region.So, was the sudden increase in thenumber of small earthquakes along afault segment a possible precursor toa large earthquake in the Manchesterarea? There are several factors whichsuggest that this was not the case.Intra-plate earthquakes account for5% of earthquake energy in oneyear. Almost all of these are shallowfocus and represent faulting in thecrust that occurs along ancientfault zones. The theory behind thisdescribes how force applied at theboundary of tectonic plates causesthe interior of the plate to break atzones of weakness. The upper crustthen readjusts to the load. The UKis on the Eurasian plate and receivescompressional stresses due to theridge-push force generated by theMid-Atlantic ridge in the NorthAtlantic. These stresses are releasedthrough motion on pre-existing faultswhen the structure can no longerresist the stresses. Geologically,the Manchester and Salford areastraddles the southern part of theCarboniferous South LancashireCoalfield and the northern part of thePermo-Triassic Cheshire Basin. Thenortheastern margin of the CheshireBasin is heavily faulted. Coal miningceased in this part of the coalfield inthe late 1970s. Donnelly (2006) statesfrom 1990 to 2005 there are 227recorded cases of fault reactivation inthe UK. Therefore it would seem thatthe Manchester sequence of seismicevents appears to be an earthquakeswarm related to intraplate tectonicsand fault reactivation and, as such,does not represent a possibleprecursor to a large earthquake in thearea.Monitoring earthquakes and theirdetrimental outcomesThe secondary effects of earthquakesinclude destruction of infrastructure,the spread of disease andearthquake-generated tsunamis. InDecember 2004, a tsunami, reachingheights of 65 to 100 feet in Sumatra,killed more than 200,000 peoplein 11 countries from Indonesiato East Africa and registered ontide gauges across the world. Thischaracterises a history of human lossdue to tsunamis: in 1964, in Alaska,a tsunami led to 110 deaths, anearthquake and tsunami in PuertoRico, in 1918, killed 118 people.Moreover, as early as 1700 a tsunamioriginating along the Washington,Oregon, California coasts, overranNative American camps andcaused damage as far as Japan.Effective strategies in predicting andmonitoring the potential for tsunamisincludes identifying tsunami sources,modelling tsunami generation andincorporating this knowledge intoprobabilities of tsunami hazards indifferent areas.The web-based digital Earth system,Google Earth, in combination withthe United States Geological Survey(USGS), provides earthquake updatesevery fi ve minutes. However, this maynot be accessible to the countriesor people at most risk from thedevastating effects of the tsunami.The Pacific has had a warning systemfor 40 years, while others are plannedfor the Atlantic, Mediterraneanand Caribbean. Nevertheless a keyobjective must be to reduce theimpact of geohazards in both thedeveloped and developing world.Eighteen months after the 2004tsunami, the Asian Tsunamis warningsystem was put in place, overseenby Unesco’s IntergovernmentalOceanographic Commission. Thesystem comprises 26 nationaltsunami information centres receivinginformation from three deep-oceansensors and 25 newly locatedseismographic stations. Nonetheless,the requirements for a successfulsystem in such a varied and vastregion involve more than technology,and depend on coordination betweendifferent nations and increasedawareness and education for localpeople to know how to respond toan event.Monitoring and predictingvolcanoesWhen the violent energy of a volcanois unleashed, the results are oftencatastrophic. The impact on humanactivities and the risk to life, propertyand infrastructure from volcanoes areescalating as more and more peoplelive, work and travel in volcanicregions. Recording the evidence frompast volcanic eruptions is crucial topredicting the potential scale andnature of future events. In AD79, thetown of Pompeii was buried in6 metres of volcanic debris fromMount Vesuvius. Unfortunateinhabitants were found buried by ash,crouching for protection.An eye-witness account by a soldierserving in Italy during World WarII, described the 1944 eruption(Figures 2 and 3). He records ‘whenit was completely dark the mountainpresented a truly fearsome spectacle.From the crater, fl ames shot a coupleof hundred feet in the air and thered hot ash fell quite a way downthe side of the hill.’ This eruption,although not in the same order asthe AD 79 eruption, was not withouthuman cost.The important role of newtechnologies is ever increasing inthe monitoring and prediction ofvolcanoes. The eruption of MountSt. Helens in Washington State onthe 18th of May 1980 led to 57deaths but this fi gure would havesignificantly increased without theintensive monitoring of the volcanoand the movement of subterranean28 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 33 No 1 2008 www.esta-uk.org

Figure 2 Vesuvius 1944, before the main eruption (copyright J. McKinley);Figure 3 The eruption of Vesuvius 1944 (copyright J. McKinley)www.esta-uk.org Vol 33 No 1 2008 Teaching Earth Sciences 29

magma. Remotely sensed Landsatimages recorded the sudden andviolent sideways eruption of thevolcano. Gas, rock, steam and ashwas erupted over an area of 600 sq.kms and the subsequent landslidecovered 3 cubic kms on the north sideof the mountain. Monitored events,such as Mount St. Helens, providelarge amounts of data generatedfrom remote sensing and groundsurveys, which are available to fl ow inreal time to observatories for analysisand interpretation. Remotely sensedimagery can be used to produce mapsof lava fl ows, study the evolutionof individual eruptions while theytake place, make observations ofheat emitted during eruptions anddistinguish active lava fl ows fromolder ones that have begun to cool.Continuous monitoring with GPScan provide frequent (daily or hourly)high-precision locational informationfrom receivers. Interferometricsynthetic aperture radar (InSAR)provides temporal informationof ground movement. All thesetechnologies of data collection can beintegrated and analysed in a GIS andcan alert scientists to rapid groundmovements that may accompany themovement of subterranean magma.Evaluating the effectiveness ofhuman strategiesIn an evaluation of the effectivenessof strategies to monitor and predictnatural hazards, the essential role ofmaps and geospatial data becomesevident. This underlines the needfor up-to-date data, maps andimagery. The generation of spatialdata through remotely sensedimagery (airborne and space) andground surveys and the subsequentintegration, management and analysisof data in a GIS environment hasbecome standard practice. Althoughsome limitations to this approachmust be stated: the fi xed orbits andtimetable of satellites - Landsat 5 and7 orbit at a fi xed altitude of 705km,and each Landsat satellite has a 16day orbit cycle offset by eight days.This allows an eight day repeatcoverage for Landsat imagery butthis may still leave a significant timeinterval between the geohazard eventand data collection. Overall, however,new technologies have significantlyincreased the potential to monitorthe effects, and to enable predictionand prevention of geohazards anda greater awareness of these newtechnologies needs to be addressedin the education curriculum.Suggested Resources:Books:• Keller, E. A. and Blodgett, R.H.(2006). Natural hazards: Earthprocesses as hazards, disastersand catastrophes. PearsonPrentice Hall 395pp.ISBN 0-13-030957-5.• Marshak, S. (2001). Earth:Portrait of a planet. W.W.Norton & Company. 735pp.IBSN 0-393-97423-5.Article:• Donnelly, L.J. (2006). A reviewof coal mining inducedfault activation in GreatBritain. Quarterly Journal ofEngineering Geology andHydrogeology, 39, 5-50.Websites: BGS and USGS• http://www.earthquakes.bgs.ac.uk• http://www.earthquakes.bgs.ac.uk/recent_events/uk_special/alert_info_uk.htm• http://www.usgs.gov/,http://www.education.usgs.gov/,http://landsat.usgs.gov/• http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/yvo/,http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2006/5276/Dr Jennifer McKinleySchool of Geography, Archaeologyand Palaeoecology,Queen’s University BelfastEmail: j.mckinley@qub.ac.uk30 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 33 No 1 2008 www.esta-uk.org

Which Science Specification ShouldYou Choose for its Earth ScienceContent?Chris King and Elliott HughesAbstractThis paper looks at the resultsof the Earth Science EducationUnit survey into the Earth sciencecontent of science specifications,now and in the past.BackgroundThe Earth Science Education Unithas surveyed the nine current GCSEscience specifications against theEarth science-related statements inthe Qualifications and CurriculumAuthority (QCA) ‘GCSE Criteria forScience’, and compared the resultswith previous surveys. The resultshave been published in the ESEUreport, ‘Comparisons of the Earthscience-related content of GCSEScience Specifications in England,Wales and Northern Ireland.’ (King& Hughes, 2007) – available free ofcharge from the ESEU. The fi ndingsof the report were checked withthe Awarding Bodies (Exam Boards)concerned before publishing and aresummarised below.Comparison with the currentscience criteriaThe current National Curriculumfor Science (QCA, 2004) and theQCA ‘GCSE Criteria for Science’(QCA website) both have the samecontent wording and so arestatutory for England and are metby science GCSEs in Wales andNorthern Ireland too. They containstatements relating to Earth sciencein two areas:• part of the ‘applications andimplications of science’, section:‘b) how and why decisionsabout science and technologyare made … and about the …environmental effects of suchdecisions.’• and part of the ‘environment,Earth and universe’ section:‘a) the effects of human activityon the environment can beassessed using living andnonliving indicatorsb) the surface and theatmosphere of the Earth havechanged since the Earth’s originand are changing at present’.Following previous methods used tosurvey science specifications, thesestatements were subdivided intoseven sub-statements and each ofthe specifications was compared witheach of the statements – judgementsbeing made on whether the coveragewas:• ‘Comprehensive coverage’– covering the statement in fulland, on occasion going beyondthis• ‘Basic coverage’ – providingminimum coverage of thestatement• ‘Less than basic coverage’ –not covering the statementproperly• ‘None’ – statement not coveredat all.Meanwhile, any Earth science-relatedmaterial beyond that in the ‘GCSEcriteria for science’ was recordedas ‘extras’, whilst any ‘errors/misconceptions’ were also noted.One of us did the fi rst evaluation ofall the specifications and this wasmoderated by the other.Comparison with the currentscience criteria – results anddiscussionThe three ‘Applied Science’specifications performed similarly inthe survey, and less well than mostof the other specifications, and soare discussed separately. The resultsfor the six ‘science’ specifications aresummarised in Figure 1.This shows that all the current‘Science’ specifications cover theEarth science-related statements inthe QCA science criteria at basic orcomprehensive level, apart from:• EDEXCEL GCSE in Science (2101),which badly underperformsagainst all the otherspecifications, with four of thestatements not covered at all;• CCEA GCSE Single Award inScience and OCR 21st CenturyGCSE in Science A - J630, whichboth fail to cover one of thestatements.WJEC Science does less well than theother remaining specifications, unlessWJEC Science and WJEC AdditionalScience are considered together,when they are comparable with theother remaining specifications.Thus the specifications which thissurvey shows perform best are:www.esta-uk.org Vol 33 No 1 2008 Teaching Earth Sciences 31

Figure 1. Tabulated numerical results from the specification survey – omitting Applied Science specifications.SpecificationAQA Science A (4461) forexamination in 2007.CCEA GCSE Single Awardin Science (amended May2007).EDEXCEL GCSE in Science(2101) (First examinationNovember 2007, fi rstcertification November2007)OCR 21st Century GCSE inScience A – J630OCR Gateway GCSE inScience B – J640WJEC GCSE Science; (forexamination from 2009)WJEC GCSE Science; WJECAdditional Science (forexamination from 2009)Averages (omitting WJECScience – single)Coverage of 7 QCA science criteriaEarth science-related statements‘Comprehensive’‘Basic’‘Less thanbasic’‘None’No. of teachingpoints ‘extra’ toscience criteria4 3 0 0 2 04 2 0 1 4 21 2 0 4 1 03 3 0 1 3 13 3 1 0 5 12 3 2 0 1 04 3 0 0 1 03.2 2.7 0.2 1.0 2.7 0.7No. of ‘errors/misconceptions’Note: In all specifications, apart from WJEC science, the content of the science criteria is covered by the single sciencespecification, whereas in WJEC science, it is covered by the double science specification. The averages above include WJECdouble but exclude WJEC single science.• AQA Science A (4461)• OCR Gateway GCSE in Science B– J640• WJEC GCSE Science with WJECAdditional ScienceHowever, all the specificationsperformed better against theenvironmental science-related andatmosphere-related aspects ofEarth science and poorly againstthe distinctively geological scienceaspects. Overall coverage of thegeological science aspects isgenerally at basic level and is rarelycomprehensive. Exceptions are OCR21st Century GCSE in Science A -J630 (two comprehensive aspects) andCCEA GCSE Single Award in Science(one comprehensive aspect). TheEDEXCEL GCSE in Science (2101) doesnot cover the geological aspects at all.The three Applied Sciencespecifications, shown in Figure 2,are all worse than the other sciencespecifications (except EDEXCEL).However, they are similar to oneanother in their coverage.It was notable that all specificationshad at least one ‘extra’ and somehad as many as four or fi ve (Figures1 and 2). This is probably a responseto the ‘lighter touch’ of the newQCA criteria allowing more fl exibilityof content. Meanwhile the overallerror/misconception level was low,compared with specifications inprevious years. This very pleasingresponse may be due to pressure forimprovement by ESTA and ESEU inthe past.The comparison therefore shows that:• relatively good broad coverageof Earth science is given by AQAScience A (4461), OCR GatewayGCSE in Science B – J640 andWJEC GCSE Science with WJECAdditional Science;• relatively good coverage ofgeological science is providedby OCR 21st Century GCSE inScience A – J630 or CCEA GCSESingle Award in Science;• very poor coverage is given byEDEXCEL GCSE in Science (2101)and poor coverage is givenby the three Applied Sciencespecifications (AQA, OCR andWJEC).The survey went on to comparecurrent GCSE science specificationswith those of previous years, asdescribed below.32 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 33 No 1 2008 www.esta-uk.org

Figure 2. Tabulated numerical results from the specification survey – Applied Science specifications only.SpecificationAQA Applied Science(double award) (4861) forexamination in 2007.OCR GCSE in AppliedScience (Double Award)– J649WJEC GCSE in AppliedScience (Double Award)2007/8Coverage of 7 QCA science criteriaEarth science-related statements‘Basic’‘Less thanbasic’‘None’No. of teachingpoints ‘extra’ toscience criteria2 2 3 0 1 12 4 1 0 4 12 3 2 0 2 0Averages 2.0 3.0 2.0 0.0 2.3 0.7No. of ‘errors/misconceptions’Figure 3. Tabulated numerical results from survey of current specifications against the proforma used in previous surveys, based on 22 statements.SpecificationAQA Science A (4461) forexamination in 2007.CCEA GCSE Single Awardin Science (amended May2007).EDEXCEL GCSE in Science(2101) (First examinationNovember 2007, fi rstcertification November2007)OCR 21st Century GCSE inScience A – J630OCR Gateway GCSE inScience B – J640WJEC GCSE Science; WJECAdditional Science (forexamination from 2009)Coverage of 7 QCA science criteriaEarth science-related statements‘Comprehensive’‘Comprehensive’‘Basic’‘Less thanbasic’‘None’No. of teachingpoints ‘extra’ toscience criteria8 1 2 11 3 05 2 4 11 5 25 5 0 12 2 08 3 6 5 3 17 5 4 6 2 15 4 1 12 1 0Averages 5.9 3.6 2.6 10.0 2.4 0.6No. of ‘errors/misconceptions’Comparison with previous surveysThe National Curriculum for Science(NCS), fi rst introduced in 1989,contained a significant amount ofEarth science and this remainedthrough a number of revisions. A fullsurvey of double award science GCSEspecifications was carried out in 1998against the version of the NCS currentat the time (DfE, 1995) and reportson the full survey were produced(King et al, 1998, 1999).The NCS was further revised as partof the ‘Curriculum 2000’ revision ofthe whole National Curriculum (QCA,1999 and ACCAC, 2000). Six GCSEdouble award science specificationswere prepared to refl ect the new‘Curriculum 2000’ documentation.Their Earth science content wasreviewed and compared with previousreviews by King et al. (2004).Current science specifications wereanalysed using the proforma usedfor the previous surveys, towww.esta-uk.org Vol 33 No 1 2008 Teaching Earth Sciences 33

give a direct comparison. In theprevious surveys, 22 NCS substatementsrelating to Earth sciencewere identified and the currentspecifications were compared withthese using the ‘Comprehensivecoverage’; ‘Basic coverage’; ‘Less thanbasic coverage’ or ‘None’ approach.‘Extras’ and ‘errors/misconceptions’were also recorded.The current single award scienceGCSEs were compared with previousdouble award GCSEs, since thecriteria must be covered by the singleaward specifications today (as theprevious criteria had to be coveredby the double award specifications).This is not the case with the WJECspecifications, which only cover thecriteria if the WJEC Science and WJECAdditional Science are consideredtogether.The current ‘Applied Science’specifications were not included,since ‘Applied science’ specificationswere either not analysed or were notavailable in previous years.Figure 4. Tabulated comparison between the current survey and the previous surveys.SurveyThis survey,2007Mean no.of sectionsproviding‘basic’ or‘comprehensive’coverage/22Mean no. ofteaching pointsextra to NCS9.5 2.4 0.62004 survey 17.2 4.8 0.81998 survey 12.5 3.4 2.6Mean no. of sectionsproviding ‘basic’ or‘comprehensive’ coverage/22Mean no. oferrors andoversimplificationsCoverage of the 22 Earth science-related sections of theNational Curriculum for Science by GCSE ScienceSpecifications201612840Figure 5. Graph of the ‘coverage’ results of Figure 4.1998 survey 2004 survey 2007 surveyComparison with previous surveys– results and discussionFigure 3 summarises the comparisonbetween each of the currentspecifications and the proforma basedon the previous version of the NCS.The ‘averages’ from these resultscan then be compared directly withthe results of previous surveys, as inFigures 4 and 5.Figures 4 and 5 clearly show that,whilst the Earth science coverageimproved considerably between 1998and 2004, in the recent specificationsit has shown a major weakening sothat it is now considerably worse thanin 1998. In particular, most referencesto rock-forming processes and rockdeformation have been removed.The only aspect that showed anyimprovement is the number of errors/misconceptions – down slightly from2004.This picture is reinforced if the ‘best’and ‘worst’ specifications in eachsurvey are compared, as in Figure6. If ‘comprehensive’ and ‘basic’coverage are considered together,the ‘best’ specification is muchworse than in the 2004 survey andworse than the 1998 survey aswell. Meanwhile, whilst the ‘worst’specification in 2007 did have slightlybetter coverage of those areas thatwere covered, than 1998 (but still farworse than 2004), it had 12 instancesof no coverage – much worse than inprevious years.A bleak conclusion – and aninconvenient truthThe results of the recent surveys areclear. The current GCSE specificationscontain a good deal less Earthscience-related material than inprevious years and the major loss is inthe geological material, where rockforming and deforming processes areusually absent. You can see the detailof what remains in Peter Kennett’ssummary of the Earth science contentof all the specifications (Kennett,2006).Whilst none of the currentspecifications provide particularlygood Earth science coverage:• better broad coverage of Earthscience is given by– AQA Science A (4461),– OCR Gateway GCSE in ScienceB - J640 and– WJEC GCSE Science with WJECAdditional Science; whilst,• better geological science isfound inOCR 21st Century GCSE inScience A - J630 andCCEA GCSE Single Award inScience.34 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 33 No 1 2008 www.esta-uk.org

Figure 6. Tabulated comparison of the range of coverage between the current survey and the previous surveys.Specification‘Best’ specification in 2007survey‘Best’ specification in 2004survey‘Best’ specification in 1998survey‘Worst’ specification in2007 survey‘Worst’ specification in2004 survey‘Worst’ specification in1998 surveyCoverage of 22 NCS KS4Earth science statements‘Comprehensive’‘Basic’‘Less thanbasic’‘None’No. of teachingpoints ‘extra’ toNCS8 3 6 5 3 118 3 1 0 8 15 12 5 0 4 25 4 1 12 1 02 10 4 6 1 02 7 13 0 1 6No. of ‘errors/misconceptions’Meanwhile, you would be welladvised to steer well clear of theEDEXCEL GCSE in Science (2101)specification, which seems not tomeet the QCA ‘GCSE criteria forscience’ at all, with no coverage ofmore than half the Earth sciencerelatedstatements. Representationswere made by ESEU and ESTA, toboth QCA and EDEXCEL, at the timeof the appearance of the EDEXCELspecification, but with no response.The Applied Science specificationsalso have poor coverage (althoughnot as bad as EDEXCEL) – but thisis perhaps not surprising because oftheir bias away from science content.This backward step for Earth scienceis very unfortunate following thework of the Earth Science EducationUnit across the country in recentyears. ESEU has provided teachersand trainee science teachers witheffective ways of teaching Earthscience at both KS3 (11 – 14 yearold) and GCSE level – and with thebackground knowledge to providethis effective teaching. Nevertheless,the ESEU has adapted its approachand now offers workshops coveringbroad Earth science tailored to eachof the specifications.The only possible ‘window ofopportunity’ in the overall gloomypicture is that the new ‘lightertouch’ science curriculum providesopportunity for pupils not to go downthe ‘double award science’ route (oftaking a ‘Science’ and an ‘AdditionalScience‘ GCSE) but of taking adifferent GCSE such as ‘Geology’ or‘Environmental science’. There mighteven be a ‘window of opportunity’for the development of a new ‘Earth/environmental science’ GCSE.However, it is a great shame thatthe Earth science content of sciencespecifications, which significantlyimproved in the 2000 specifications,has now taken a big step backwards.This seems particularly perverse at atime when understanding the Earthand its processes is becoming moreand more scientifically important,and is likely to have major impact onfuture generations. The governmentseems to be realising this, bysending a copy of Al Gore’s fi lm‘An Inconvenient Truth’ (ParamountClassics, 2006) to all secondaryschools, but an even more effectiveploy would be to significantly improvethe Earth and environmental sciencecoverage of the science curriculum!AcknowledgementsMany thanks to Peter Kennett for hiscomments on an earlier version ofthis report.ReferencesGeneral referencesDepartment for Education/Welsh Office (DfE)(1995) Science in the National Curriculum.London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office.Kennett, P. (2006) Comparison of the newGCSE science specifications for their Earthscience content. Teaching Earth Sciences, 31.2.28 – 35.King, C., Brooks, M., Gill, R., Rhodes, A. &Thompson, D. (1998) A Comparison of GCSEDouble Award Science Syllabuses and Examsfor their Earth Science Content, Accuracy andLevel of Demand. Internal report. London:Geological Society.King, C., Brooks, M., Gill, R., Rhodes, A., &Thompson. D. (1999) Earth science in GCSEscience syllabuses and examinations. SchoolScience Review, 80, 87 - 93.King, C., Edwards, N., & Hughes, E. (2004)Earth Science in GCSE Double Award ScienceSpecifications. pp. 12. Keele: The Earth ScienceEducation Unit, Keele University.King, C. & Hughes, E. (2004) Comparisonsof the Earth science-related content of GCSEScience Specifications in England, Wales andNorthern Ireland. pp. 27. Keele: The EarthScience Education Unit, Keele University.Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA)(1999) The national curriculum for England:science. London: QCA.Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA)(2004) Science: The national curriculum forEngland (Revised 2004). London: QCA.www.esta-uk.org Vol 33 No 1 2008 Teaching Earth Sciences 35

Qualifications, Curriculum and AssessmentAuthority for Wales (ACCAC) (2000) Sciencein the national curriculum in Wales. Cardiff:ACCAC.Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA)website. GCSE Criteria for Science.http://www.qca.org.uk/libraryAssets/media/11881_gcse_science_criteria_apr05.pdf(checked August 2007).Paramount Classics (2006) An inconvenienttruth. Paramount pictures (Film and DVD).Specification references• AQA Science A (4461) for examinationin 2007. http://www.aqa.org.uk/qual/pdf/AQA-4461-W-SP-07.PDF (checkedAugust 2007).• AQA Applied Science (double award)(4861) for examination in 2007.http://www.aqa.org.uk/qual/pdf/AQA-4861-W-SP-07.PDF (checkedAugust 2007).• CCEA GCSE Single Award in Science(amended May 2007).http://www.rewardinglearning.com/development/qualifications/gcse/docs/specs06_08/gcse_sa_science_spec_aut_2006_sum_2008_v3.pdf (checked August2007).• EDEXCEL GCSE in Science (2101)(First examination November 2007,fi rst certification November 2007)(http://360science.EDEXCEL.org.uk/VirtualContent/97389/UG018535_Science_2101_no_Biology_units.pdf)(checked August 2007).• OCR 21st Century GCSE in Science A- J630 http://www.ocr.org.uk/Data/publications/specifications_syllabuses_and_tutors_handbooks/Draft_Spec81724.pdf (checked August 2007).• OCR Gateway GCSE in Science B - J640http://www.ocr.org.uk/Data/publications/specifications_syllabuses_and_tutors_handbooks/GCSE_ScienceB_Second_Edition^Approved_Specification.pdf(checked August 2007).• OCR GCSE in Applied Science (DoubleAward) - J649 (http://www.gcse-science.com/file_downloads/pgd_files_205_1.pdf (checked August 2007).• WJEC GCSE Science; WJEC AdditionalScience (for examination from 2009)http://www.wjec.co.uk/uploads/publications/1089.pdf (checked August2007).• WJEC GCSE in Applied Science (DoubleAward) 2007/8 http://www.wjec.co.uk/uploads/publications/gvoc-spec-science-07-e.pdf (checked August 2007).The 27 page ESEU report,‘Comparisons of the Earth sciencerelatedcontent of GCSE ScienceSpecifications in England, Wales andNorthern Ireland’ is available free ofcharge from the ESEU Administrator,01782 584437 or eseu@keele.ac.uk.Chris KingProfessor Earth Science Education,Keele Universityc.j.h.king@educ.keele.ac.ukElliott HughesWJECESTA’s 41st AnnualCourse and Conferenceon ‘Global Issues’12 – 14 September 2008Liverpool John Moores UniversityFor more informationwww.esta-uk.org36 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 33 No 1 2008 www.esta-uk.org

Earth Science Experiments CDMike TukeAbstractHopefully, you have received,along with this edition ofTeaching Earth Science, a CD ofEarth Science Experiments – thisarticle will explain the CD andhow to use it. On the CD are 90experiments, nearly all of whichuse materials and equipmentthat will be found in most sciencelabs, or can be acquired cheaplyfrom hardware shops and gardenscentres etc. The experiments withtheir purpose are listed at the endof this article.The range of experiments covers mostaspects of geology. There are manyfor sedimentology and structuralgeology because it is easy to deviseexperiments to illustrate aspectsof these subjects, but fewer formetamorphic processes because it isdifficult to illustrate this subject withsimple experiments.These experiments were not designedas demonstrations but many ofthem can be used as such with littlemodification, providing that it is togroups of less than 15.You can either run the experimentsas they are simply by printing out theinstruction sheet or, better, you canmodify the instructions to suit yourown teaching.Any room with enough table orbench space is suitable. Someexperiments use mains electricityand therefore require a power point.Water is often needed and lab withrunning water and a sink is certainlyconvenient but all experiments couldbe done without this. Mains gas isnever needed.About the CDThis is a CD of experiments designedfor use by A-level and degreestudents. The purpose of theseexperiments is, above all, to helpstudents learn some geology, but it isalso for students:• to see geological processes orsimulations of them• to make deductions from thedata they have collected• to learn the experimentalskills of observation andmeasurement• to develop skills of evaluatingthe reliability, accuracy andvalidity of experiments.All the experiments have been triedand tested on A-level students ormature students on Access coursesor in evening classes, and some ondegree students. Some experimentshave been used every year for thepast 30 years and all have been usedon several occasions.Why do experiments?Experiments make students thinkand thus are an effective way oflearning, much more so than ‘chalkand talk’. They add variety to lessons.Discussion is a very effective way oflearning and experiments are, in myexperience, the most effective wayto encourage discussion in geologyclasses, both before on how to carryout the experiment and its geologicalrelevance, and after, in drawingconclusions and evaluating theresults.Experiments can be used toreinforce information given in classor can be used to lead into a topic.Students also generally enjoy doingexperiments.How to use this CDGeneralThese experiments are designed tobe done by pairs of students butmany can be done by individualstudents.The instructions assume that all theequipment is already put out and setup before the students start. I havefound this is the easiest way to workand saves time.All these experiments have workedwell for my students but it would bea wise precaution to try them outyourself before inflicting them onyour own students.Before the experimentIt is generally a good idea to discussan experiment with studentsbefore they start, to enlarge uponits purpose and to think aboutits geological relevance; what arethe variables and what aspectsare controlled, what needs to berecorded and how, the relevanceof the experiment to what is beingtaught in lectures and also any safetyaspects. Encouraging students todevise their own experiment to solvea particular problem is an effectiveway of keeping them interested andwww.esta-uk.org Vol 33 No 1 2008 Teaching Earth Sciences 37

making them think. They can then,after discussion, do an appropriateexperiment from the CD, andevaluate the pros and cons of theirown method and the one described.Students may sometimes be askedto write a hypothesis. If so, it shouldalways be supported by a rationale- otherwise it is simply a guess.After the experimentAt the end of every experimentstudents should be able to drawa conclusion or make a statementabout the results. They should alsoevaluate the results. Class discussionof the results and evaluation of theaccuracy, reliability and validity ofthe experiment can be veryproductive.It is not always necessary forstudents to write a full formal report.Depending on the circumstances youmay wish the students:• Just to write down theirconclusions• To write down the purpose,outline and conclusions with, orwithout, evaluation• To do a full formal report.(Topics which students mightaddress in a full report are listedin appendix 2 on the CD.)Getting students to answer questionsthat make use of their results is a verysuccessful way of ensuring they learnfrom the experiment. Many of theexperiments do have questions or anactivity at the end of the instructionsthat test what they have learnt.SafetyThere are no significant hazards withany of these experiments. I have nothad any injuries in my class afterteaching Geology for 35 years andhaving spent nearly half of manylessons doing practical activities.However, students should be awareof the dangers of boiling water, heavyrocks rolling off tables, blown sandand the danger of shock if electricalapparatus is not handled properly,especially in the presence of water.Experiments explainedEach experiment has severalheadings, as explained below.The fi rst page(s) are the studentinstructions. The teacher’s sectionfollows.PurposeThis is a simple statement to informthe student why they are doing theexperiment, and what they shouldfi nd out from it. It is very importantthat the student understands thepurpose of the experiment and how itrelates to the theory being taught inclass. Class discussion of the purposeand geological relevance is alwayshelpful.ActivitiesIn some experiments there is onlyone activity, whereas in others thereare several related activities. It is notnecessary for every student to do allthe activities for a given experiment.InstructionsEach activity has its own set ofinstructions. Where the instructionsfor the second activity are very similarto the fi rst then only abbreviatedinstructions are given to save space.The sheets give instructions for doingthe experiments but not on how itshould be written up.QuestionsSeveral sheets have questionsattached so the students can use theinformation they have found. This is agood way of reinforcing informationby showing students how it can beused.RequirementsThe list given is for one pair ofstudents. Most equipment shouldbe found in any reasonable Sciencelaboratory or be easily purchased.Where it is necessary to buyequipment then sources are given.(see also appendix 4 of the CD).Some pieces of equipment will needto be made (see below).Making the equipmentSome experiments require equipmentto be made. Where this involvesmore than cutting wood to size, thenseparate instructions are given underthis heading. Some techniques usedto make pieces of equipment usedin several experiments are given inappendix 1.NotesThis covers: hints on running theexperiment and problems that maybe encountered, alternative ways ofrunning the experiment or alternativepieces of apparatus and sources offurther information.ChecksThis gives the things that you needto check to ensure students’ success.These are only given if there issomething specific to that experimentor something I have found iscommonly done wrongly by students.It is expected that teachers will checkthat students are using the apparatuscorrectly and that they are recordingtheir data properly.ResultsThese are the usual results that mystudents have obtained and theyshould give you an idea of what toexpect. However you should expectsome variation. This section alsoincludes the important points thatstudents should mention in theirevaluation.CostThe cost is given of any item that youare likely to have to buy which costmore that £5 or so.TimeAll the experiments take between 15minutes and 75 minutes. The fi guregiven is the approximate time takenby students to do the experimentsand to record all necessary data. Thetime given does not include the time38 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 33 No 1 2008 www.esta-uk.org

taken to write up the experiment orto draw any graphs.ReferencesReferences are only given where thereis a useful source of information thatmay not be generally known about.Geological relevanceThis is an important aspect of anyexperiment, but has not been put onthe student instruction sheet becauseoften it is good for students to workit out for themselves.Original data sheetsOne of the difficulties of experimentalwork is getting the students to recordtheir data clearly, in sufficient detailand with all the units named. Unlesssupervised, students often producerough sheets, which they then rewriteto produce a neat (and sometimes‘massaged’) copy. This should beavoided, and students shown how toset up and fi ll in a proper data recordas they proceed.Thought experimentsYou can use this CD as a source ofthought experiments. This processoften leads to good discussions.Sources of experimentsSome experiments have beenadapted from articles in TeachingEarth Sciences or other sources withonly minor adjustments. In suchcases, I have credited the author.Most experiments are, however,original or adapted from otherpeople’s ideas.ThanksThanks are due to my wife, Jean,who has long accepted the triumphof geology over domestic life andwithout whose saintliness many ofthese experiments would not havebeen developed. She has coped, withonly the occasional outburst, withrocks in her freezer, variously colouredliquids in her fridge and experimentalapparatus cluttering the kitchen table.I am also grateful to Elizabeth Devonwho made many helpful suggestionsfor improvements to the draftversion of this CD and to my manystudents who have also suggestedimprovements.The production and distributionof this CD was made possible by agrant from the Petroleum ExplorationSociety of Great Britain.HelplineIf you have problems with anyexperiment you are welcome to emailme (miketuke@btinternet.com) withyour problem and or your telephonenumber and I will try to help.List of experiments on CDThe list that follows simply givesexperiment titles. The CD listalso outlines the purpose of eachexperiment. On the CD, use the ‘goto’ function under edit to reach thecorrect page.The fi rst page of each experimentoutlines, in more detail, the purposeand instructions for students. Theteacher’s section for each experimentlists the equipment needed andinstructions for setting up.MineralsAtomic mass and densityIgneousAlignment of phenocrystsCooling and crystal sizeCooling in a liquidCrystallisation of mixturesGravity settlingInvestigating the properties ofigneous rocksModal analysis and densitySpeed of cooling of an igneous bodySpeed of eruption.Speed of lava fl owsStudy of a slab of quartz porphyryThe porosity of pumiceVesicular basaltMetamorphic rocksAndalusite slateMetamorphic aureoleThe transport and deposition ofsedimentsDesert sandFalling grainsFlocculationMovement of grainsScree slopesSpeed of turbidity currentsTransport by windSedimentary rocksCompactionPurity of limestonesThe shape of pebblesThe sizes of pebblesSedimentary structuresImbricationMud cracksRain printsStructureArtificial outcropsFold wavelengthOmission and repetitionSimple shear ISimple shear IISlip between beds during concentricfoldingSqueezing plasticineStress and strainWavelengthPalaeontologyAmmonoid suturesAnterior marginCrenulationCrinoidal limestoneThe evolution of MicrasterEvolution using diceEvolution using screws and nailsExtinction and continental driftMeasuring bivalvesOrientation of belemnitesShaking shellsShells as way-up indicatorsSpineswww.esta-uk.org Vol 33 No 1 2008 Teaching Earth Sciences 39

VertebratesHuman evolutionDinosaur footprintsWeighing a dinosaur.StratigraphyEnvironmental interpretation of sandsHalf livesEconomic Geology: Ore depositsand prospectingBoreholesGaps caused by normal faultingOre gradePlacer depositsResistivity of rocks and mineralsEconomic Geology: Constructionand stability of the landAngle of restLandslidesLandslides and stressRoadstoneStrength of aggregateStrength of rocks IStrength of rocks IISubsidence due to clay shrinkageSubsidence due to miningEconomic Geology: EnergyHot rockWaterPorosity of sedimentDry porosityPorosity of rocksFlow of oil and waterCoefficient of permeabilityDarcy’s laws of permeabilityCapillary movementPurifying waterContaminated aquiferThe rise and fall of the water tableEarthEarthquakeThe effect of earthquakes onbuildingsThe shadow zoneIsostasyThe effects of isostasySea fl oor spreadingAccretionary prismOtherMeteorite cratersMike Tukemiketuke@btinternet.com40 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 33 No 1 2008 www.esta-uk.org

Your Planet Earth –An Outreach InitiativeMike BentonAbstract2008 is the UN Year of PlanetEarth, and one key theme iseducation. The Geologists’Association and the GeologicalSociety have just launched aninitiative that we hope willcontribute to getting the messageacross. This article outlines thisinitiative.Rocks for kidsAcross the country, hundreds ofpeople go out to schools to talkabout dinosaurs, volcanoes,mineral resources, climate change,and many other topics in the Earthsciences. And kids love these talks– maybe because of the noveltyof the subject matter, or perhapsbecause they are bored with theirregular teachers!The new resource is aimed atstudents, teachers, and others whowant to present talks on key Earthscience themes, and it is calledYour Planet Earth http://www.earth4567.com/. Note the webaddress: 4567 is the current bestestimate of the age of the Earth,in millions of years.Aims‘Your Planet Earth’ is an integratedcampaign that offers school childreninteresting talks on topics fromdinosaurs to volcanoes, postersthat captivate and inform, and aportal that provides links to teachingmaterial and information on the jobsand careers that relate to the Earth,its resources and stewardship.The key aims of the Your Planet Earthprogramme are to:• Promote informed debateamong children and theirparents• Use the Earth andenvironmental sciences as ameans to demonstrate theapplication of maths and basicsciences to real problems• Make teachers aware ofexisting organisations (e.g.ESEU) that provide support toimprove teaching and learningin science, particularly withinEarth and environmentalscience• Provide accurate and currentinformation on geosciencecareers.The programme is currently fundedby Shell, and its sponsors arethe Geologists’ Association, theGeological Society of London, andthe Earth Science Education Unit.The talksThe website is just the beginning.In its initial form, we offer fi vetalks, aimed at 14-15-year olds,on Volcanoes, Dinosaurs, Naturalhazards, Plate tectonics, and Climatechange. These talks were put togetherby Dr Jess Trofimovs, a volcanologist,at the University of Bristol (now at theUniversity of Southampton), and theyare available for anyone to use as theyare, or to edit in any way.The talks are standard Powerpointtalks, designed to last for 45 to50 minutes. Each is divided intothree segments – an introduction,with striking observations, and twoadditional themes. The two pausesin each talk allow the presenter toinsert discussion topics. For some ofthe talks, we offer simple calculationsor puzzles that the children can thinkabout and discuss in groups, beforethe talk resumes.We have made sure the talks arecopyright-free, so they can be usedfreely by anyone, in any form. Thephotographs have all come frompublic sources, or from individualsand organisations that are happy toshare their images freely. Most ofthe diagrams have been preparedspecially for the talks, so we simplydonate them to the world. Thismeans that educators and othersare free to edit the talks, personalisethem with their own logos oradditions, or even translate them intoanother language.The talks were carefully qualitycontrolled.They have been readby Dr Danielle Schreve of RoyalHolloway, University of London, akeen speaker in schools with interestsin Quaternary geology and fossilmammals, and Professor Chris King ofKeele University, Director of the EarthScience Education Unit. Together, Jessand her reviewers made sure the talkswere scientifically accurate and wouldwork with the target age group,namely 14- and 15-year-olds.We have contacted the heads of allgeology departments in universitieswww.esta-uk.org Vol 33 No 1 2008 Teaching Earth Sciences 41

The home page of ‘Your Planet Earth’, at http//www.earth4567.comand colleges, to encourage them touse the talks. Many departmentsrun ‘science ambassador’ schemes,where fi nal-year students andpostgraduates sign up to go intoschools. Others have slightly lessformal arrangements, but staff andstudents in all universities commonlygo into schools to give talks. Wehave offered the YPE talks as a basisfor these locally-based activitiesthroughout the country.In addition, there is a trainingmodule. If an Outreach/ EngagementCoordinator wants to train a groupof students to give effective talks inschools, we offer a short Powerpointtalk, with exercises, that can be usedfor training. This training module isbased on the combined experienceof people who have deliveredgeology talks in schools for manyyears. It reminds students of theneed to prepare, to be engaging,and to pitch the talk appropriately.There’s nothing worse than a poorlypresented talk: the children arekeyed up and excited about thevisiting speaker, and then they canbe badly let down if it is not welldone. Universities and colleges canhelp their students acquire valuablecommunication skills through such ascheme.The next stepsThe fi ve talks on the website andthe training module are just thebeginning. Our grant from Shell willcover the development of furthertalks through the early months of2008. In addition, we will translateeach talk into a form suitable for8-9-year-olds (at the moment theyare pitched at 14-15-year-olds). Aseach major addition is made, we willcontact interested parties.We will then develop a careerssection on the YPE website, usingexisting resources, and addingpersonal stories – young people whohave completed degrees in geologyand related topics, and who havegone on to interesting careers inthe public and private sector. Thesepersonal stories will encourage schoolkids to see the fascination of Earthsciences as a career for themselves,and they will stress the need for thekids to stick with science subjects toA-level.A further step, providing we cansecure additional funding, will beto send out posters to as manyschools in the UK as we can. Theposters will illustrate exciting andinteresting themes such as geologicaltime, origin of life, dinosaurs, platetectonics, how a volcano works,geology and landscape, climatechange, geohazards, fi nding oil,fi nding diamonds. These all relate tokey-stage specifications in Geography,Chemistry, and other science GCSEsyllabuses. They will present factualinformation and, in the case ofcontroversial topics, a balancedpresentation of the evidence.42 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 33 No 1 2008 www.esta-uk.org

Four slides from one of the talks, about volcanoes. These show the vivid illustrations, both original diagrams and copyright-free photographs. Important points are madethroughout about the science and about the human impacts.The posters will be designed todemand attention from teachers, witharresting digital artwork that tells thewhole story, and with quiz questionsand startling facts to attract children.The posters will contain a postcardsizedinset box with a web link and adifferent careers story.After 2008, and these developmentalsteps, we will seek ongoing fundingto keep updating the selection oftalks. We will hope to respond tosuggestions about additional themes,and these might range quite widelyover the area of geology and theEarth sciences. We will work withESEU to make sure we contact theappropriate cohorts of interestedpersons: the schools that want tobook talks, and the providers ofenthusiastic talk-presenters.We are so lucky in this endeavourthat the Earth sciences offer somany fascinating topics, and thatthese themes are well developedin TV programmes, even ifsometimes rather luridly. But theseTV programmes turn children ontovolcanoes, the weather, dinosaurs,the planets, the history of life, fi eldwork in exotic parts of the world,and many other such themes. Theemployers of geologists are cryingout for young recruits now, andthe government recognises thedisturbing trend in schools away fromthe physical sciences. These are allexcellent reasons to build on the hugeamount of schools engagement thatis currently happening. If you havebeen put off giving a talk in a schoolbecause of the effort required toprepare a talk – then look no furtherthan http://www.earth4567.com!Mike BentonPresident of the Geologists’Association (2006-8)Email: mike.benton@bristol.ac.ukwww.esta-uk.org Vol 33 No 1 2008 Teaching Earth Sciences 43

EarthlearningideaPeter Kennett, Chris King and Elizabeth DevonAbstractDid you spot the twoEarthlearningidea articles inthe last issue of Teaching EarthSciences (vol 32.3/4) – pages 10/11and 38? This article provides anupdate and offers you a chance tohelp.IntroductionEarthlearningidea is a new ventureaiming to deliver one Earth scienceactivity per week throughout the UN’sInternational Year of Planet Earth(2007-2009!). A free wiki website hasbeen established, and as the activitiesare posted, an associated blog invitescomment from readers and users ofthe ideas.Five activities were publicised duringthe autumn and by the time youread this another fi fteen or so willhave appeared. Many of the activitiesare familiar ones, but they have allbeen formatted to suit teachers indeveloping countries where resourcesare absolutely minimal. Although wecan expect an increase in the use ofcomputers in these countries, manyof them sponsored by the One LaptopPer Child project, our main targetis teacher education institutions, inthe hope that they will show theirtrainees, who will then be able totake the activities into schools.UpdateThe uptake so far (January) has beenmost encouraging and the wiki hasbeen ‘visited’ by over 1300 people.The blog has been ‘visited’ by nearly2000 people in 69 countries, rangingfrom Argentina, India, Nepal, SriLanka to Australia, Canada, Norwayand the USA. This shows that theproject is not only reaching its targetaudience, but is being taken up inthe more affluent countries too.Thanks to a very dedicated geologistin Argentina, the activities are beingtranslated into Spanish, and theseare being posted too, as soon as thetranslations are received.44 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 33 No 1 2008 www.esta-uk.org

education with whom youhave contact across the world,and email them to us at info@earthlearningidea.comThere are now 207 people who haverequested regular updates and thereare over 120 subscribers to the blog.The rate of increase in subscribers isshown by the graph above:How you can helpGiven that it is rather difficult forthree people, working voluntarilyfrom their spare bedrooms, to reachthe whole wide world (!) … your helpwould be much appreciated:a) Have a look at the wiki yourselfand see if you could use anyof the ideas to enhance yourown teaching. They are all free!– www.earthlearningidea.comb) Provide us with somefeedback on the blog – http://earthlearningidea.blogspot.comc) Help us to spread the word bysupplying the email addressesof any individuals or institutionswith an interest in schoolDo read the articles in the last issuefor more detailed information, andthanks in anticipation for your help.Peter KennettEmail: peter.kennett@tiscali.co.ukChris KingEmail: c.j.h.king@educ.keele.ac.ukElizabeth DevonEmail: elizabeth.devon@heleigh.org.ukwww.esta-uk.org Vol 33 No 1 2008 Teaching Earth Sciences 45

The Rock Cycle –a New Resource for KS3Mick de PomeraiAbstractAround eighteen months ago,the Education Committee ofthe Geological Society gatheredtogether a working groupwho were given the mission ofcreating an online resource for useprimarily by teachers and studentsof Earth science in schools. Thefi rst result of this endeavour, theRock Cycle web pages, will belaunched in spring 2008. Althoughit is aimed at KS3 Science andGeography, it will be useful to amuch wider audience; its contentsare explained in more detail in thisarticle. The intention is that thisis only the fi rst stage of a morecomplete geological educationresource that, in future, will coverKS4 and beyond.ContextWhen the National Curriculum forScience was fi rst introduced sometwenty years ago (can it really bethat long?), chemists, biologists andphysicists suddenly found themselveshaving to teach topics such as‘weathering-and-erosion’, with littleor no background in Earth sciences,and usually no training whatsoever.Although this situation has improvedover the years, Earth science is stillsomewhat ‘glossed over’ in manyschools, partly because of a lack ofgood visual, textual and practicalresources, and partly because itcurrently seems to play a fairly smallpart in the examinations process.Yet we live on a planet approachingthe limits of its physical andbiological resources – don’t ourstudents need to acquire someunderstanding of how that planetworks? We ask students to care forthe environment, yet how many trulyappreciate the beauty around them,or understand how it has come to beas we see it?Earth science not only helps us tounderstand the planet on which welive (global dimension and sustainabledevelopment; civic participation*), italso provides numerous examples ofhow the scientific process operates(scientific enquiry, collaboration*)and, of course, opportunities toget students learning out of doors(learning beyond the school*) as wellas in the laboratory. These are allkey aspects of the revised NationalCurriculum (NC), which includes anincreased emphasis on Earth andEnvironmental sciences. Another, andnot inconsequential aspect of thenew NC, is an emphasis on ongoingexploration of career opportunities*– in common with Physical Sciencesand Engineering, there is now ashortage of geologists in the UK,despite the fact that the subject offersa wide variety of well-remuneratedcareers that can take you around theworld!So, whether you’re still unsure of thedifference between weathering anderosion, or uncertain of the relevanceof Earth science or, if you are justkeen to fi nd better resources to aidyour teaching in this area (as either ascientist or geographer) then this maybe just what you are looking for – wecertainly hope so!ContentThe Rock Cycle web pages describethe many processes that make upthe rock cycle, in a manner thatshould be interesting and accessibleto students studying the topic as partof their science courses. Althoughbased around the English NationalCurriculum for Science at Key Stage3, the content does extend beyondthe requirements of that curriculumand should also be useful to sciencestudents at higher levels, as well asto geography students and teachers,and even to casual browsers withan interest in how our planet works.Pages that relate directly to theNational Curriculum for Science willbe identified as such, but we alsohope that teachers and students willfi nd the ‘extension’ pages interestingand useful too.The primary purpose in creatingthis ‘web module’ was to provide aresource that is visually stimulating,complete (but appropriate to learninglevel) in its explanation of processes,and free of scientific errors that,regrettably, still pepper the textbooks.We have tried to avoid excessiveterminology, and a full ‘mouseover’glossary will be included. Inaddition, it aims to provide resources* Italicised words above taken from the QCA website pages on the new National Curriculum.]46 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 33 No 1 2008 www.esta-uk.org

for teachers in the form of practicalexperiments (with follow-upsuggestions), sample test questions,and a variety of other quizzes andpuzzles for students that can be usedfor self-assessment or as possiblehomework tasks.The Rock Cycle will be based arounda ‘Hub page’ (we hope that, in thefi nal version, this will be animated)from which students can accessinformation on all of the mainprocesses and products of the rockcycle. Additionally, there will be aseries of pages, accessed via a map,which show examples of rock cycleprocesses and products from aroundthe UK, emphasising how these haveproduced the landscape in which welive and some of the resources uponwhich we depend.Visually and aurally impaired studentsshould also be able to accessinformation in large text or audioformats with explanations of pictures,animations and video clips.The Rock Cycle will be available onthe Geological Society website atwww.geolsoc.org.uk/rockcycle.When it’s up and running, pleaseexplore, enjoy, share with colleagues,and send your feedback!Mick de Pomeraisuemick@depomerai.comwww.esta-uk.org Vol 33 No 1 2008 Teaching Earth Sciences 47

ReviewsGeopix 2006 and 2007 ExamCommentaries (OCR & WJEC)by Stephen DaviesGeopix 2007.CD-rom: £3.50 for Summer exam sessions(2006 and 2007) and £2.50 for Winter exam session(2007) (available at www.geopix.org)Teachers of any subject will often comment that the bestway to prepare for examinations is to study past papers.For AS/A2 Level students, one useful resource is the ExamCommentaries produced by Geopix, which provide adetailed guide to answering questions from past OCRand WJEC exams. These commentaries develop from theexaminers’ published mark schemes and come in CD form(although soon to be accessible as a download), availablefor purchase on the Geopix website. Currently only the2006 papers are available (2007 in the pipeline).The content of this resource is separated at the titlemenu by Awarding Body, allowing access to individualmodules (viewed using Acrobat reader). Thus 6 modulepapers for the OCR compare with 8 for WJEC to includeall their optional Theme papers. Each exam question isaccompanied by a clear explanation that guides the readerfrom the basic geological principles and terminologythrough to words that will ‘get you the marks’. This makesthese commentaries useful for a wide range of students;for those who seek an improved understanding of thebasics, to students wishing to broaden their understandingwith a more in-depth exploration of individual topics. Theyare able to cater concisely for all these requirements, withlanguage at the right level and without patronising thestudent. It is not only the short answer questions that aregiven this treatment but longer prose questions as well,thus directing the learner to excellent model essay answersappropriate to their particular specification. Real examplesare given where possible and this is usually supplementedwith diagrams and or a photograph.The commentaries are augmented with excellent insightsfor students into the mind of the examiner. Using hisexperience of exam setting and marking, the authorStephen Davies frequently provides examples of the areasin which students had performed poorly in the past. Inaddition to this, there is some very practical advice on triedand tested exam techniques. They are complemented bythe study guides, and a Geology Dictionary, also availablefrom Geopix.Perhaps the best feature is the plethora of annotatedphotographs and diagrams, which give a good visualrepresentation of the issues at hand. They also provide thestudent with a basic understanding of how to annotate afi eld sketch; a very important skill to obtain both for theexam and for the fi eld.Indeed there are few negatives about this resource as itis so closely related to the exam papers. It is a pity thatpermission is not yet available to reproduce the BGS mapextracts as this detracts from the comprehensive coverageof one paper (WJEC Geological Record) and students maynot be able to readily obtain a copy of the map for homeuse.In all, this is an excellent resource; easy to use andreasonably priced so as to be affordable by individualstudents to work on their own. This has the potential tobe one of the most useful companions for any A-Levelgeology student.Matthew LoaderDepartment of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol48 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 33 No 1 2008 www.esta-uk.org

Fossil Revision Cards (2007)by Nicole Sloane and William LynCD is £10 (plus p&p) and is available from the authorsat roc_chic_nic@hotmail.com.had just fi nished Bivalves, as well as some visiting geologystudents from last year who unanimously were very positiveabout them. Their only criticism was the price, but theywould be quite prepared to spend £5, which they thoughtmight be possible for bulk orders.This pack of revision cards (the fi rst in a series) has beenproduced by Nicole Sloane and William Lynn. The packcomprises 24, A6 sized, double-sided cards, some of themin colour, all packaged in a sturdy clear plastic wallet with asnap closure.The subject matter on the cards covers the requiredknowledge for fossilization and macrofossils from thecurrent OCR A-level specification, as well as covering mostof the revised specification. They are suitable for revisionpurposes, rather than for initial learning and would be idealto have just to check prior to an examination.The fi rst four pages state what is meant by a fossil,followed by: modes of preservation, environmental termsand simple classification. It could do, however, with theinclusion of life and death assemblages.The subsequent pages provide summaries of the majorinvertebrate fossil groups and plants: Trilobites (4 pages),Graptolites (4), Brachiopods (4), Bivalves (4), Comparison ofBrachiopods and Bivalves (2), Gastropods (4), Ammonites(4), Belemnites (2), Corals (6), Echinoids (6), Crinoids (2),Plants (2).Generally, the sections covered for each group include:range, morphology (diagram with explanations), mode(s)of life, evolutionary changes and use or otherwise as apalaeoenvironmental indicator and/or zone fossil. For somefossil groups there is more specific information such astrilobite trace fossils and moulting.As is to be expected, most of the information is briefand sometimes scattered around the cards in order to fi teverything in. In addition some diagrams become a bit toosmall as a result, whereas others are much bigger. Thereare a few misleading sections and the odd spelling mistake.For example it is not made clear that some bivalves do nothave two valves of the same size or are asymmetrical (e.g.Pecten). On p22, substrate has become sub-straight. Thetable on p38 to help with distinguishing the three groupsof corals is perhaps too brief – for example, the number ofsepta is important.Most of the above are minor errors which any sensiblestudent should realize and then annotate the card.Otherwise, it is rather difficult to fault the cards whichprovide an ideal revision aid. On the day I received thecards, I tried them out on some current A2 students whoAny student with a reasonable grasp of the subject,however, would be able to use the information on thesecards in an appropriate way and gain benefit from usingthem.Peter CopleyGeology Department, Newcastle-Under-Lyme Collegepeter.copley@nulc.ac.ukAS/A2 Geology CD-ROM – InteractiveMultiple Choice (OCR & WJEC)Available from Curriculum Press (2007) at www.curriculum-press.co.uk and is £60 (plus VAT).This CD represents over 270 multiple choice questionsclaimed to test recall, interpretation and fi eld and practicalskills, all with feedback designed for the old OCR and WJECspecifications. However, despite appearances, this product,may not have the official backing of OCR, and is certainlynot recommended by the WJEC.One of the fi rst points I noted about this resource was howsimple it was to use. It begins with a menu for studentsto choose the level (AS or A2) then gives a selection ofrelevant topics. The programme also succeeds in that,as most of the questions require only knowledge to answer,the CD is a good way of learning by testing recall. Achoice is given as to whether the student wishes to accessthe correct answer immediately (learning mode) or testthemselves. When an incorrect answer is chosen, a reasonis given as to why it is incorrect. This means that mistakesare immediately corrected and a correct answer given asfeedback which, as a student, I fi nd one of the best waysfor learning.However, too many of the questions are of this verysimplistic type and do not test the higher skills ofinterpretation to anything other than a limited extent.Every question is accompanied by a diagram orphotograph, which often proves to be irrelevant to thequestion being asked. It often seems as though mostof the images are there for the sake of it (data stimulusrather than data recall) and do not help in answeringthe question. Indeed, some of the images are often verymisleading and can, in themselves, lead to an incorrectanswer.www.esta-uk.org Vol 33 No 1 2008 Teaching Earth Sciences 49

An example of this was a question regarding the angleof slope on the continental shelf. The four options givento answer this are 2°, 4°, 25° and 40°. The image showsa slope, without any scale dipping below sea level atwhat appears to be an angle of around 40°. I found thismisleading as the diagram was clearly not an aid andof little relevance to the data response questions I havestudied. Equally, questions such as, ‘Who proposed theconcept of sea fl oor spreading?’ are of little help in exampreparation, particularly as some answers weredebatable.In one particular test I chose ‘option D’ from the multiplechoice list for every question. This gave me a fi nal resultof 60%, a grade C at AS or A2. The programme alsocongratulated me on scoring 26 out of 60 (43%) which is avery low grade E. The comment, ‘Not a bad effort, just a bitmore revision needed.’, seemed to be entirely misplaced.I would suggest that a lot more revision would be neededif such a student has any hopes of being accepted by auniversity!In conclusion, I found that the CD does not support theway in which A-level students are currently trained forexams and does not offer any help in regards to examtechnique. There is also little here that tests interpretationor skills, despite the authors claim. I therefore suggest thatthe serious limitations do not warrant the very hefty pricetag and that past exam questions are far more beneficial tostudents.Michael YoungA level student – Geology Department, St. Bede’s College,Manchester50 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 33 No 1 2008 www.esta-uk.org

News and ViewsUKRIGS Education Project – Earth ScienceOn-Site12 sites now available on one CD - saves you downloading!E-mail: jr.reynolds@virgin.netPorter Valley on the MapAn ESTA member has recently been awarded a share ofthe Runner-up trophy in the ENI Geological Challengefor 2007 (sponsored by the Italian oil company, ENI). Thestated aim of the award is ‘To recognise the achievementsof individuals or groups in the fi eld of conservation,interpretation or fi eld geological education in the UK.’The award was gained by the Geology Group of the Friendsof the Porter Valley (Sheffield), led by Peter Kennett. Theentry comprised several strands: two full 45 page Reports(‘The Geology of the Porter Valley – what lies beneath ourfeet?’ and ‘Mining and quarrying in the Porter Valley -delving into the past’), two free leaflets with the sametitles, a 1:10000 geological map compiled by the groupfrom unpublished archive maps at the British GeologicalSurvey, several guided walks in the Valley and severallectures to local interest groups. For good measure, thegroup also threw in the previously published leaflet,‘Reading the landscape in the Porter Valley’, since itcontains a minor geological element.The other Runner-up was Paul Kabrna, of the YorkshireGeological Society for his recent book, ‘John Milne - theman who mapped the shaking Earth’. The organisers gavesuch short notice that neither Peter nor Paul could attendthe meeting of the Geologists’ Association to receive theirawards (January 4th, when the ASE Conference was in fullswing!).The overall winner of the Geological Challenge is aShropshire Geology group who have developed a websiteon the geology of the county.Are there any ESTA members involved in this group too?MetLink International Survey – a requestfrom Dr. Sylvia Knight, Head of EducationServices and Continuing Learning at theRoyal Meteorological SocietyPlease could anyone who teaches about any aspect ofweather complete the questionnaire they will fi nd at theweb-link below.The Royal Meteorological Society is currently reviewingMetLink International, its fl agship weather observation/data analysis project. They have created an online 2-minutequestionnaire, to ensure that the project serves UK teachersas well as possible in future years.http://rmets.org/survey/public/survey.php?name=MetLinkDevelopmentPlease pass the request on to other geography, maths,science and ICT teachers.Developments in the Black Country – anote from Bill Groves, a founder member ofESTA/ATGSince retiring from teaching geology fi ve years ago I havebeen working largely on a voluntary basis for DudleyMuseum in the West Midlands, as well as carrying outgeology outreach work with schools and colleges. Formost of the time I have been cataloguing and curatingthe important collection of fossils, many from the Wren’sNest. As you will no doubt know, the Wren’s Nest is a siteof worldwide importance for the Silurian Much WenlockLimestone, made famous in the 19th century by Sir RoderickMurchison. There are 600-700 different species found thereand 65% of the fossils that define the Silurian come fromDudley. 186 of the species were fi rst described from hereand 63 species are found nowhere else in the world.Over the last 50 years the Wren’s Nest has deteriorated.Rock faces have become unstable. Several areas are fencedoff and the Seven Sisters caves are fi lled in. Its future is inwww.esta-uk.org Vol 33 No 1 2008 Teaching Earth Sciences 51

doubt as a site for research and teaching, which will haverepercussions for many schools, colleges and universitieswho use the site.Strata project has been developed to stabilise and makethe area safe, including the vast underground workings.Not only would the geology be protected but the sitewould become an underground tourist attraction. This hasbeen developed into a Black Country project to create anURBAN PARK. Recently we bid for a big lottery grant of£50m. We competed with other projects from around theUK for this grant, which was decided by a public vote onITV.Unfortunately, we did not win this particular bid, but wewould like to thank all those who voted for the project.The detail about the Black Country Urban Park proposalscan be found on www.blackcountryup.co.uk.Price changes from the BGSIf you go to the BGS website you will see the following:We are repricing our Memoir series with effect from 7January 2008. Usually, ‘repricing¹ is another word for aprice increase, but instead, we are reducing our Memoirprices.Pre-1990 Memoir prices will be reduced by up to 50%,but all Memoirs have been individually re-priced torefl ect the age, size and scope of each title. TThe new prices are in the BGS Publications Catalogue 2008,which is also available for download from the BGS website.If you would like a print copy of the catalogue, send yourmailing address to Alan Clayton at arc@bgs.ac.uk.Real Earth Science and MuseumsThis area seems to be generating a lot of useful interestand consultation at the moment – watch out for an articlein the next edition. In the meantime here is the openingparagraph of a report on consultation so far:The Real Earth Science project proposes a nationalpartnership of museums with natural science collectionsto support the teaching and learning of earth science insecondary schools. Three consultations with stakeholdersin the fi eld of earth science were run as part of thesix month feasibility study for a three year projectcommencing in September 2008. This resulting reportshows that Earth ccience is a challenging area within thecurriculum and that there are strong advocates withinthis fi eld keen to further their support for teachersand learners. There are potential areas of developmentwithin the three strands of onsite (museum) resources,online and videoconferencing resources, and continuingprofessional development for teachers.If you want more information contact:Sarah Whittle, Formal Learning Programme Developer,Natural History Museum (s.whittle@nhm.ac.uk) or AndyLee, Project Manager, Learning, Natural History Museum(andrew.lee@nhm.ac.uk).Upcoming IGEO Conferences33rd International Geological Congress: Oslo, Norway,5th –14th August, 2008(the four-yearly international conference of theInternational Union of Geological Sciences, IUGS)This will include sessions focussed on geoscience educationand outreach. More details at: http://www.33igc.orgGeoSciEd VI Conference, 2010: Johannesburg, SouthAfrica in July/August 2010.(the four-yearly international conference of IGEO)Ecton is alive again!Two years ago, a news item in TES announced theimpending revival of courses for A-level geologists andchemists based in and around the old copper mines atEcton, in the Staffordshire Peak District. We forecast theywould begin in 2007.For once a forecast was reasonably accurate, and in thesummer of 2007 the training of new volunteer tutors forthe Ecton Hill Field Studies Association (EHFSA) took place,in parallel with the running of pilot courses for a fewschools to test out modifications to our long-establishedroutines. We now have a cohort of 17 volunteer tutors,covering chemistry, geology and, in the near future, physicsactivities. The aim is to link the courses as sensibly aspossible to the new A-level specifications. For geology inparticular, these can be matched to coursework assessmentif desired.For those who have yet to experience the magic of Ecton,the old copper mines date back to the Bronze Age (similarin date to the Great Orme mines), but reached their peak ofproduction in the late 18th century under the ownership ofthe Dukes of Devonshire, who made much of their fortunefrom these mines. They closed in the late 19th century, butthe competence of the limestone host rock has led to thesurvival in good safe condition of some of the accessibleold workings. Whatever the purpose of your students’ visit,a day at Ecton is always likely to involve an underground52 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 33 No 1 2008 www.esta-uk.org

visit into Salt’s Level, where the structural geology can beclearly seen and studied in 3-D. The range of mineralsfound in some of the old dumps is remarkable – historically,some 170 have been recorded – and A-level chemistsfocus on the chemical analysis of some of these. Ectonis believed to have been the fi rst mine in Britain to useexplosives (the remains of the 17th century trials have beendiscovered). Nearby, the dramatic complex folds at ApesTor can be related to the structures seen inside the mine.The Math You Need, When You Need It– Math tutorials for students in introductorygeosciencesThis is a series of student-centered web-based quantitativetopics that can be customized to and run concurrentlywith any introductory geoscience course. It aims to supportand promote students’ quantitative learning withoutusing valuable classroom time. The Math You Need,When You Need It, contains 5 modules (unit conversions,trigonometry, rearranging equations, density and thehypsometric curve).Please visit: http://serc.carleton.edu/mathyouneed/ tosee how the modules look like or contact Jen Wenner(wenner@uwosh.edu) and Eric Baer (ebaer@highline.edu)for further information.The 2008 season opens in March, and further details,including dates for courses this year, can be found on theEHFSA website: www.ectonhillfsa.org.uk (under continuingdevelopment, so keep returning!). In particular visit the‘Booking your visit’ page. Further enquiries and bookingscan be made through the Institute of Materials, Mineralsand Mining (IoM3).Mrs Anita HortonEducation Department, Institute of Materials, Minerals andMiningTel: 01302 380910 or email: Anita.Horton@iom3.orgwww.esta-uk.org Vol 33 No 1 2008 Teaching Earth Sciences 53

Diary26th & 27th AprilRock’n’Gem ShowNewark ShowgroundWinthorpe, Newark, NottsContact: www.rockngem.co.ukMAY2nd MayGeologists’ Association Lecture byProf Mike BentonExceptional preservation of skin andfeathers in birds and dinosaurs fromLiaoning, ChinaGeological Society,Piccadilly,LondonContact: www.geologist.demon.co.uk7th MayTeacher twilight session - Dino-ScientistsNatural History MuseumBooking required.Contact: +44(0)20 7942 55558th, 13th & 15th MayEarth lab workshopsSuitable for (KS3, KS4)Natural History Museum, LondonBooking required.Contact: +44(0)20 7942 555514th MaySchool workshop: Life from Deep Seato Outer Space: Astronomy WorkshopSuitable for (KS3, KS4)Natural History Museum, LondonBooking required.Contact: +44(0)20 7942 555521stMayGeological Society Lecture by SohanGhimire (Halcrow)Water risks & geomorphic hazardmanagement in Nepal HimalayaSchool of Earth, Ocean and PlanetarySciences,Main Building,Cardiff UniversityContact: margaret.mcbride@jacobs.com20th 21st, 22nd & 23rd MaySchool workshop: Earth science show- Rocks the HouseSuitable for KS3Booking required.Contact: www.nhm.org.uk28th MayShell London Lecture Series - MayLecture by Andrew CurtisExploring the Subsurface using theEarth’s HumGeological Society,Piccadilly,LondonE-mail:alys.johnson@geolsoc.org.uk30th & 31st MayRockwatch fi eld excursion to DurhamArea to look at Permian sequencesLeaders: Susan Brown and JonathanLarwoodBooking essential.E-mail: rockwatchatga@btinternet.com31st May & 1st JuneRock’n’Gem ShowNorfolk ShowgroundCostessy, NorwichContact: www.rockngem.co.ukJUNE3rd, 5th, 10th, 12th, 19th, 24th &26th JuneEarth lab workshopsSuitable for (KS3, KS4)Booking required.Contact: +44(0)20 7942 55554th & 25th JuneSchool workshop: Life from Deep Seato Outer Space: Astronomy WorkshopSuitable for (KS3, KS4)Natural History Museum, LondonBooking required.Contact: +44(0)20 7942 55556th JuneGeologists’ Association Lecture by DrAndy FleetNatural concentration: Mineralogy atthe Natural History Museum – morethan an Earth’s treasuryGeological Society,Piccadilly,LondonEmail: geol.assoc@btinternet.com7th & 8th JuneKempton Park RacecourseStaines Road East (A308),Sunbury on Thames,West London.Contact: www.rockngem.co.uk14th &15th JuneNewcastle RacecourseHigh Gosforth Park,Newcastle-upon-TyneContact: www.rockngem.co.uk54 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 33 No 1 2008 www.esta-uk.org

● Science Activities and Work Sheets .pages 7 - 16● Literacy Activities and Work Sheets . . . . . . . . .pages 17 - 26Teaching ResourcesThere are a number of web-based resources for the teaching and learning of Geology aimed atall levels of the National Curriculum. The major sources are listed below and they can all beaccessed from the ESTA website http://www.esta-uk.org/main.htmlResource Level/Age Link DescriptionGEOTREXESEUEARTHSCIENCEON-SITEAS & A2(16+ yrs)KS3 & KS4(11-16 yrs)KS2 – KS4(7-16 yrs)Geology Teacher’s Resource Exchange (GEOTREX) aims to facilitatenetworking and the sharing of resources and ideas, making teaching andlearning more effective for everyone.The Earth Science Education Unit (ESEU), based at Keele University, provides aprogramme of in-service training for KS3 and KS4 in England and Wales that isdesigned to raise staff confidence and enthusiasm in teaching about the Earth.KS3 topics focus on the QCA Scheme of work, whilst the KS4 topics focus onthe GCSE Science syllabus. In Scotland, the programme focuses on primaryand lower secondary teachers via the 5-14 Guidelines for Science and Materials.The UKRIGS Education Project, Earth Science On-Site, uses 12 former aggregates sitesin England to develop and publish examples of high quality Earth Science field teachingactivities for schools up to GCSE level. These are intended for non-specialists and may beadapted for use at other sites.NATURE FORSCHOOLSKS2 & KS3(7 -14 yrs)Natural England has developed more than 100 lesson plans that provide activities andinformation to help pupils better understand nature and the natural environment. There arealso suggestions for outdoor activities appropriate for almost all schools to use in their ownlocality. The resource pages support the National Curriculum at KS2 and KS3, with somematerial for KS1 (5-7yrs). Some of the KS3 resources could be appropriate for use at GCSElevel or above. The main subjects covered are Geography, Science and Citizenship.Primary LevelWorking with Soils: This pack includes a booklet, Waldorf the Worm, relating the storyof a family of worms, together with supporting activities and worksheets £6.00 + p&pWorkingWithSoilWorking with Rocks: This pack contains Christina’s Story, which tells the taleof a marble gravestone, together with supporting activities and worksheets.Sixteen full colour postcards depicting common building and ornamentalstones are also included £6.00 + p&pContents● The Map . .inside cover● Information . . . . . . . . . . . . .pages 1 - 3● How to Use the Work Sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page 4 - 6● Numeracy Activities and Work Sheets . . . . . . .pages 27 - 30AuthorsThis pack was wri ten and developed by members of the ESTA Primary Commi tee.Wall MapsUnited Kingdom Geology Wall Map (1:1 million, flat or folded) £4.00 + p&pGeological Map of the World (1:30 million, flat or folded) £6.50 + p&pThis Dynamic Planet – World map of volcanoes, earthquakes, impact craters &plate tectonics (USGS, 3rd edition) £11.65 + p&pWaldorf the WormPractical KitsFossils: Twelverepresentativereplica fossilsand data sheetin a boxed set£17.00 + p&pRocks: Reference setcomprising 15 large samples,with worksheets and notes£20.00 + p&p (c.£8)Rocks: Class Kit with 6 sets of15 medium-size samples,worksheets and notes£60.00 + p&p (c.£11)Enquiries and orders to: contact@esta-uk.org