Date Approved
8-8-2022
Graduate Degree Type
Project
Degree Name
Education (M.Ed.)
Degree Program
College of Education
First Advisor
Sherie Klee
Academic Year
2021/2022
Abstract
Many high school students are disengaged with science curriculum. This continues to be a major need across the STEM subjects as there is a lack of students who are interested in higher level STEM and in STEM careers, which comes at a time when the need is increasing. Earth Science remains a subject that is not heavily emphasized in school curriculum but plays an important role in the current and future lives of students as it covers content such as sustainability, recycling, being responsible with resources and climate change. In order for engagement to increase in STEM learning, a more holistic approach to learning is needed, which calls for more hands-on activities and more inquiry-based learning. I-STEM has been shown to be an effective way to address this as students can learn in the same way they will in the real world when they need to cross over to other disciplines. An important way to address the current issues with Earth Science curriculum is to create content that has an impact on their lives. Specifically with the topic of climate change there remains a large gap between societal and scientific understanding of climate change. For students in Grand Haven, MI, learning about climate change means learning what changes their community will need to make in the future.
ScholarWorks Citation
Vlietstra, Nick, "Making Earth Science More Relevant to the Lives of High School Students" (2022). Culminating Experience Projects. 197.
https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/gradprojects/197
