Northern Illinois University

Liberal Arts & Sciences External Programming


Northern Illinois University Dept. of Geology and Environmental Geosciences
in collaboration with the
College of Lake County Dept. of Geology
announce:

GEOL 504 Institute for Science Teachers: A Three Course Sequence

beginning with:

Geoscience Fundamentals I: Environments, Life and Global Cycles


Limited Space!


INSTRUCTOR:  Dr. Xiaoming Zhai, CLC

CREDIT:  Four hours of graduate credit from NIU.

PREREQUISITES:  A current State of Illinois Teaching Certificate. No additional math or science pre-requisites are expected beyond those to become certified in the state of Illinois.

CONTACT:  Dr. Xiaoming Zhai, CLC, (847) 543-2504 or Dr. Kathy Kitts, NIU (815) 753-5990 before August 1, 2007 if you are interested and wish to reserve a spot.

OVERVIEW:  This is the first course in a three-course sequence, which will provide certified teachers the necessary background to become endorsed in Earth and Space Science. Additional courses include:

  • Geoscience Fundamentals II: Earth Composition, Structure, and
  • Dynamics and Geoscience Fundamentals III: Field Experiences and Applications.

Geoscience Fundamentals I: Environments, Life and Global Cycles is a four hour graduate level course which includes lectures, demonstrations, laboratory and field experiences designed for the classroom teacher seeking an accelerated program targeting the fundamental concepts in geoscience. Subject topics include and examination of:

  1. the geologic record to learn how to reconstruct past environments, study environmental change and discover the major events in the history of life on Earth,
  2. the origin and evolution of the atmosphere and oceans and
  3. how the biogeochemical cycles of carbon, oxygen, sulfur and nutrients impact and are impacted by humans.

This course is not for graduate credit in the M.S. or Ph.D. programs but maybe used as an entrée into those programs at NIU.

SCHEDULE:  This course will meet on Wednesdays from 5 pm to 8:30 pm from August 29, 2007 to December 5, 2007 with the final exam on December 12, 2007.

The course will include one Saturday field trip the date to be decided by the participants during the first class meeting.

LOCATION:  Classes will meet at the University Center on the campus of the College of Lake County in Grayslake, IL 60030.