[irised] Classroom Seismographs

[ChrisAtUpw at aol.com]

In a message dated 2006/11/04, JohnJan at lahr.org writes:

> Dear IRIS Teachers,
> Alan Kafak and others have published an article in the Seismological 
> Research Letters on the use of classroom seismographs, which I think 
> you will find interesting, informative, and possibly controversial. 
> See Eduquakes @
> http://www.seismosoc.org/publications/SRL/SRL_77/srl_77-6_eq.html
> 
> I'm also curious how you feel about the Seismographs in Schools 
> program. How can IRIS encourage advancement beyond the "wow-level" of 
> seismology to the engagement in basic inquiry, systematic observations 
> and true scientific inquiry? Is there interest in developing communications 
> between students at different schools across the country, perhaps in 
> terms of comparing seismograms?

Hi Everyone,

       May I add a few initial comments as an interested outside observer?

       Quoting the final paragraph from above:

Barnett M, & AL
       Scientists and science educators face major challenges in encouraging 
a culture of scientific inquiry in K–12 classrooms (e.g., National Research 
Council 2000). Here we have described some of our efforts to use classroom 
seismographs as a medium for addressing this issue and for introducing K–12 
students to the world of scientific research. Unfortunately, the culture of the 
educational system in our society, the demands of the classroom, and the current 
emphasis on standardised tests are all impediments to creating a classroom 
environment in which curiosity about how the world works is valued. Nonetheless, we 
have been very fortunate to work with a number of K–12 teachers who do a 
great job of bucking this trend and encouraging curiosity and a culture of inquiry 
in their classrooms. Inspired by these teachers, we are optimistic that, 
given the right guidance and encouragement, K–12 teachers and their students can 
reach higher levels of inquiry (and in the process enjoy science more).

       I found reading through the Science Education Report also quoted:- 
Weiss & Al http://www.horizon-research.com/insidetheclassroom/reports/looking/ 
rather depressing. It suggests to me inadequate leadership, support and 
performance by the various educational governing authorities.

       If you want to standardise what is taught in state schools - and there 
may be significant advantages in doing this - you do it by providing fully 
scripted and supported lessons. This reduces the workload on teachers and leaves 
them time to provide better pupil backup support, or to modify / adapt the 
official lessons - even the least able can then provide satisfactory lessons. 

       If you don't provide your able students with a challenge and the means 
to succeed, you will continue to get mediocre performance. Get them actively 
involved in a particular project that they regard as 'their own'! Give them a 
free but guided hand and they will likely succeed far beyond your 
expectations! Remember that US educational standards are about two years behind those 
expected in Europe.
 
       There seem to be concerns over curriculum time and testing. By no 
means all pupils will be interested in seismology, or competent to use a 
seismometer. So you start up a 'seismic club' with say 6 'interested' pupils, three 
'pros' from final year and three 'learners' from the year before. The pros, each 
with the help of a 'learner' have the responsibility of scanning the drumplot 
traces, extracting quake signals, analysing, plotting and recording them in a 
log. There will be additional workload for the teachers at the start of the 
first year of operation, but after this it should be mostly monitoring the 
operation and progress. 

       This could be extended to monitoring great earthquakes and other major 
disasters on a world wide scale using the Internet. Knowledge and practice of 
'foreign' languages may be a help. You can learn a lot about geography, 
agriculture, communication systems, foreign aid, political systems.... this way. A 
lot of the follow up work could be done using student's home computers.

       You will need a method of extracting information from other school 
stations to compare accurate seismic arrival times. This should help students to 
plot quakes world wide.

       A MK II seismometer with a hermetically sealed case and with increased 
sensitivity would be a considerable advantage. This need not add 
significantly to the overall cost. One problem / limitation of vertical seismometers is 
their relatively high sensitivity to air pressure changes and to wind noise. You 
may need to exclude this noise before you can usefully increase the gain.

       So what do the students get out of it apart from 'an interesting 
hobby'? They get a two year record of doing real scientific seismic work for their 
CVs. They will also  learn to touch type! They should also get extensive 
experience of using the Internet / News services in many countries in several 
languages.  I would expect this to be a considerable benefit when applying for a 
University place / a scholarship. 

       The seismic club idea could be extended to a weather monitoring and 
forecasting activity. With additional sensors this could be extended to 
monitoring the conditions suitable for growing crops in agricultural areas and disease 
warnings.  
       How about hurricane warnings -> using seismic and infrasound signals? 

       Regards,

       Chris Chapman MA
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