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An experimental exercise used to determine if Mississippi's science framework is adequately preparing high school graduates to make informed decisions about groundwater.

Article Excerpt
Abstract

According to the National Science Education Standards, eighth graders should possess appropriate knowledge about groundwater and its role in sustaining life on Earth. There were two groups of students studied, Mississippi eighth graders and earth science students at Mississippi State University. Both groups were tested to identify what types of ideas they possess about groundwater. This information can be invaluable information for high school and postsecondary science teachers in addressing students' prior conceptions. In addition, the data could provide science educators insight on where curriculum revisions in the science framework are needed. Both groups were given one multiple choice question and one drawing exercise. The multiple choice question and drawing were both scored by a rubric for evidence of understanding the formation, movement, and storage of groundwater. It is to be noted that from five Mississippi public schools, 92 percent of the eighth graders have naive conceptions concerning groundwater. Seventy-two percent of the undergraduate college students have naive conceptions concerning groundwater. These results show that there are some gaps within the secondary science curricula.

Introduction and Background

The aims of the present study are to show the importance of earth science in secondary schools. There is a need to make earth science more available and more relevant to the Mississippi Science Framework in 2006. So that students will be exposed to a wider variety of rigorous and relevant science activities within the science curriculum, a proposal was made during the Science Framework Revision Workshop of the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) in October 2005. Mississippi State University is taking the lead in promoting these changes to secondary science education with the Department of Geosciences as the resource for secondary teachers as the proposed change occurs. Currently, the science framework has some gaps so that many students are not ready for Biology I as freshmen. The geosciences could be the bridge for such a gap, because the geosciences bring together biology, chemistry, and physics and make those subjects more relevant to the students. In addition to integrating the natural sciences, they bring political, social, economics, and mathematics concepts to the minds of the students. Students' interest can be sparked and directed more to the sciences by bringing things together in such a way.

This study examines Mississippi eighth graders' understanding of groundwater and compares their understanding to that of earth science students at Mississippi State University. This will provide support for a science framework with...

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