essedesignguide.org - ESS and STEM Literacy

There are numerous pathways to comprehensive STEM literacy. Earth system science is presented here as one promising route, poised to make a significant positive contribution at all grade levels. ESS touches on all four STEM elements, and delivers accessible, relevant, compelling content that promotes STEM literacy.

Accessible – STEM literacy ranges from the simplest qualitative understanding of a state or process, to a deep quantitative or theoretical understanding of the nature of a phenomenon. The Earth system offers a complete range of processes as STEM examples.

Earth is all around us, offering accessible ways to improve STEM literacy
Relevant – We all live on Earth, and are daily exposed to Earth processes that impact our lives, from rain to tides to earthquakes to hurricanes. The Earth is a natural starting point for STEM studies at all levels, providing a means for students to learn STEM concepts by drawing upon common experiences and phenomena that are readily observed.

The Earth is a relevant starting point for STEM studies
Compelling – Earth system science involves local, regional and global phenomena, many of which can be tracked from space, providing spectacularly persuasive evidence for underlying processes and effects—evidence that has the power to spur student interest and actions.

What is learned compels us to action

Earth system science education is naturally positioned to make a positive contribution within the scope of many of the previously referenced policy recommendations regarding the need to increase STEM skills. These expanded skills resonate with the mission statement and objectives of ESSE programs and constitute much of what is taught in ESS courses.(Take, for example, the Global Change Courses at the University of Michigan). ESSE courses contribute to STEM literacy in several ways. Survey courses introduce students to basic ESS topics, while senior courses contribute more directly to the training of individuals who will pursue careers in STEM related fields.

Providing Pathways Into Science
An Interview with Eric Barron, The Pennsylvania State University by Gina Maranto (Eric Barron is now with UT Austin)
Courses provide pathways into science for students who might otherwise have shied away from it

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