How do high school students teach geosciences to elementary students?

Abstract

<p>I am Biology and Geology teacher in a high school and I teach for students between 15 and 18 years old. Geosciences are not very easy to understand because the concepts are complex. I try to interest my students by using different pedagogical materials including hands-on. At the end of the course, to make sure that they have a good understanding, I sometimes organize a meeting between my students and the children of a primary school. It is a way to assess them because if they are able to explain some geological issues to young children, they must before understand them.</p><p>Before the meeting, the elementary school teacher and I did an educational notebook for young children. We have planned 5 activities on the topic "plate tectonics"</p><ul><li>Explosive and effusive volcanism : children identify different types of volcanism by watching two short videos</li> <li>Study the volcanic rocks : children observe the rocks and look under a polarizing microscope</li> <li>Earthquake-resistant buildings: children use a model to understand how a building can withstand an earthquake</li> <li>The different kind of faults: children use a model to create different types of faults.</li> <li>Identify the movement of Plate tectonics: children use software to do this exercise</li> </ul><p>The meeting lasted two hours. It was a great moment for all the students. My student's job was to help the youngest to answer the questions on their notebooks. They had to explain clearly and simply and it was a very interesting exercise for them because they needed knowledge to do it. Young students asked a lot of questions, they were very curious and interested in this topic.</p><p>Here is an article in French. http://svt.spip.ac-rouen.fr/spip.php?article396</p><p> </p>