GEOSCIENCE IN EDUCATION    4000W

Geoscience covers a wide range of subjects that fall into the groupings of geology, environmental science, astronomy, atmospheric science, and oceanography. With recent hurricanes striking the east coast, the current state of global climate change, and the worsening state of our environment, it is more important now than ever that the public understands the natural world and the powerful working relationship we have with it. 

With such a large effect on our lives, it is concerning as to why geoscience is not emphasized to the same degree as chemistry, biology, and physics in schools. Earth science education needs to be equally emphasized as other sciences for students to obtain a strong foundation in science and make educated decisions on the major environmental issues that are facing the world.

In the past 26 years, the percentage of high school students taking courses in Earth Science has never surpassed 25% (Betzner & Marek, 2014). This is an incredibly low percentage when one can assume that close to 100% of all high school students will take a biology or chemistry course at some point in their