LITERACY FRAMEWORKSLITERACY FRAMEWORKS

Kevin KloeselKevin Kloesel

College of Atmospheric and College of Atmospheric and Geographic SciencesGeographic Sciences

longhorn@ou.edulonghorn@ou.edu

A DefinitionA DefinitionAtmospheric Science Literacy Atmospheric Science Literacy the scientific the scientific knowledge and understanding an individual knowledge and understanding an individual must have to meaningfully communicate about must have to meaningfully communicate about Earth’s atmosphere and climate and make Earth’s atmosphere and climate and make informed and responsible decisions informed and responsible decisions

For organizational and practical purposes, the For organizational and practical purposes, the required knowledge and understanding are required knowledge and understanding are expressed in terms of a few overarching expressed in terms of a few overarching Essential Essential PrinciplesPrinciples and a limited number of supporting and a limited number of supporting Fundamental Concepts Fundamental Concepts

In The Beginning …In The Beginning …

• Natural philosophy in the late 1700s Holistic; no formal disciplinary boundaries

• Geology: early 1800s – the parent earth science

• Meteorology: mid-1800s, but “modern” meteorology post-WW I; expansion began post-WW II with growth of air service

• Oceanography: mid-1800s, but “modern” oceanography in the mid-1900s, growing with onset of the cold war

Reductionist Period – 1945 to ~1990Reductionist Period – 1945 to ~1990• Focus narrowly on components of Earth System to

build the knowledge base research driven

• Development of narrow subspecialties Continued proliferation for last 50 years

• Much, much progress in both understanding and applications, but … Loss of connection to the life sciences Loss of perspective of the whole:

POINT: Modern science education, independent of particular discipline, has evolved to be largely reductionist in structure, with early specialization

Now - A Turn Toward IntegrationNow - A Turn Toward Integration• View from space View from space Again seeing Earth as whole Again seeing Earth as whole• Knowledge base has reached stage where again Knowledge base has reached stage where again

need to consider Earth’s two fluid envelopes need to consider Earth’s two fluid envelopes surrounding a solid earth as an integrated surrounding a solid earth as an integrated system system Earth System ScienceEarth System Science; such a ; such a perspective required to address:perspective required to address: Environmental QualityEnvironmental Quality Water IssuesWater Issues Climate ChangeClimate Change Evolution of lifeEvolution of life

• Bio-geoscienceBio-geoscience formal reconnection to the life formal reconnection to the life sciencessciences Life an integral part of the Earth SystemLife an integral part of the Earth System

• Scientific foundation for sustainabilityScientific foundation for sustainability

1

Example from Ocean Literacy Example from Ocean Literacy 1 The Earth has one big

ocean with many features

a The ocean is the dominant physical feature on our planet Earth — covering approximately 70% of the planet’s surface. There is one ocean with many ocean basins, such as the North Pacific, South Pacific, North Atlantic, South Atlantic, Indian and Arctic.

b An ocean basin’s size, shape and features (islands, trenches, mid-ocean ridges, rift valleys) vary due to the movement of Earth’s lithospheric plates. Earth’s highest peaks, deepest valleys and flattest vast plains are all in the ocean.

Essential Principles “Big Ideas”Essential Principles “Big Ideas”

• Is a pithy statement that Is a pithy statement that captures the essence of a captures the essence of a systemsystem

• Organizes more detailed concepts into a coherent Organizes more detailed concepts into a coherent wholewhole

• Stands alone Stands alone Would never fit “under” another Would never fit “under” another concept or principleconcept or principle

Each Essential Principle …

Fundamental Concepts “Important Details”Fundamental Concepts “Important Details”

• Supports one or more Supports one or more Essential PrinciplesEssential Principles• Represents foundational knowledge without which it Represents foundational knowledge without which it

would be impossible to understand an would be impossible to understand an Essential Essential Principle Principle and possibly even other and possibly even other Fundamental Fundamental ConceptsConcepts

• Can be deconstructed (unpacked) into sub-concepts Can be deconstructed (unpacked) into sub-concepts that must be introduced at age- and developmentally that must be introduced at age- and developmentally appropriate times (grade levels) in order to lead to appropriate times (grade levels) in order to lead to an understanding of the fundamental conceptan understanding of the fundamental concept

Each Fundamental Concept …

II. Education In The Atmospheric Sciences: The Present

II. Education In The Atmospheric Sciences: The Present

• Entering a Golden Age?

• A More Demanding Customer Base

• New Demands on Education

• Growing Interest In Education

Entering a Golden Age?Entering a Golden Age?• Knowledge base has grown to where we can begin

to understand the Earth as an integrated system Climate and climate change

• New tools and techniques promise unprecedented opportunities to explore the Earth System on a wide range of scales Now able to “see” phenomena in ways impossible only

a few years ago

POINT: Education must prepare all people for continuing major advances in understanding and in capabilities to monitor and prediction

A More Demanding Customer BaseA More Demanding Customer Base

• Atmospheric sciences rely on the support of society – government, industryShrinking discretionary budgetsIncreasing Accountability

• Utilitarian Perspective of Science Applications to Decision-Making Support to decision makers in

government and industry Establishment of a global society

sustainable in long term

New Demands on Science EducationNew Demands on Science Education• Knowledge base is large and growing

Making sense of what we know frameworks

• Ability to use wisely an ever-growing range of technical tools – skills vs. knowledge The WEB, search engines, digital libraries healthy,

informed skepticism for sorting wheat from chaff Computing tools necessary to utilize the data streams

-- GIS, MIS

• Prepare students for life-long learning Personal re-invention several times during a career

POINT: Educational programs should be flexible, adaptable to prepare students for a rapidly evolving personal and professional environment

Two Goals for Tomorrow’s Teachers and StudentsTwo Goals for Tomorrow’s Teachers and Students• Development of integrated understandings of

Earth processes that combine measurements from observing systems with numerical simulations/prediction models

• Development of skills for accessing, manipulating, and analyzing massive data streams, converting “data” into “information” for decision-making

POINT: Tomorrow’s educational programs must prepare students to live in a very complex, very challenging world

What we need from you!What we need from you!

• Know the basic physical, chemical, and life science principles that govern the functioning of the Earth System (what scientists have come to know -- “facts”, theories, models -- about Earth processes as reflected in observable events) Quantitative as well as qualitative

appreciation of the natural world and the events that occur within it

Interconnections of Earth’s major subsystems Earth history: Evolution over long time

- Origin, composition, and structure of the planet- Co-evolution of life and the planet

What we need from you!What we need from you!

• Understand that science is a systematic method for exploring the natural world (how scientists have come to know what they know - processes, methods) Development of scientific “habits of mind”

critical thinking, arguing from data, mathematical and reasoning skills, and problem solving experiences

What we need from you.What we need from you.

• Able to apply knowledge and understanding to the solution of novel problems Uses a suite of appropriate “technology” – IT, GIS,

GPS, visualization – in problem solving Accesses relevant parts of the accumulated body of

knowledge about the natural world Recognizes, quantifies uncertainties and risks

POINT: Foundation for further study, living and working a hi-tech world, informed decision making, life-long learning

Special Place for Atmospheric Sciences EducationSpecial Place for Atmospheric Sciences Education

• Readily accessible natural laboratory; many interesting phenomena with short time scales

• Inherent natural interest of students in atmospheric phenomena Some students born to be meteorologists!

• Only geoscience with its own 24-hour TV show: The Weather Channel

• Combination of science/high technology with the out-of-doors

• Environmental concerns• Community building – weather connects us all

Closing - Challenge to the Atmospheric Science EducatorClosing - Challenge to the Atmospheric Science Educator

• Teaching environmental ethics and values; humankind as part of an integrated environment; students prepared to contribute to development of a sustainable society.

• Development of an entrepreneurial spirit with regard to science education, breaking with traditions of last 100 years Recognize that excitement as well as content must be

communicated; emphasize critical thinking and problem solving skills

Re-orient to serve the needs of the work place

Questions and Activities!Questions and Activities!