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Lessons from Limestone field trip

Limestone is one of the most common rocks and you can teach almost anything about earth science using samples of limestone. Want to find out how? A great field trip is coming up this spring and you can get a $75 reimbursement for expenses if you are a K-14  teacher.

Here is the field trip announcement,, and I cannot say emphatically enough that it's going to be a very good field trip. I know the leaders and they are experienced and skilled educators. I guarantee any participants will learn a lot.


Teacher Grants Available for April 14 Geology Field Trip at SEGSA

K-14 Science Teachers in the Southeast are invited to apply by March 5 for funding to reimburse registration costs for the Saturday, April 14 NAGT-sponsored geology field trip, “Lessons From Limestone: How to Teach All Sciences with Limestone.” The trip follows the SEGSA meeting in Knoxville. To be eligible for reimbursement, you must both complete the application form and preregister for the trip by March 5.

The NAGT reimbursement following the trip will be $75. This covers $40 “Field Trip Only” registration for the April 12-13 Southeastern GSA meeting plus the $35 trip registration fee. (As a bonus, GSA lets K-12 teachers register for the full meeting for only an additional $5).

The link for the application is https://goo.gl/forms/lqPzFfpZUBE31aBj2 . Register for the meeting and trip at:

http://www.geosociety.org/GSA/Events/Section_Meetings/GSA/Sections/se/2018mtg/registration.aspx .

Michael Gibson (UT Martin) and Don Byerly (Emeritus UT Knoxville) will be leading the trip.
Participants will learn why limestone is ideal for teaching cross-disciplinary STEM subjects of biology, chemistry, and physics, along with history and culture. The trip will address Next Generation Science Standards related to chemical reactions, biological evolution, geochemical cycles, economic and environmental impact, and limestone’s historical importance to the fine arts.
Limestone, a nearly ubiquitous sedimentary rock, provides many lessons about Earth's systems (geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere), including the geochemical, hydrologic, and rock cycles. Additionally, limestone is ideal

for teaching cross-disciplinary STEM subjects of biology, chemistry, and physics, along with history and culture through its uses in society. It is a readily available commodity to teachers and students, thus is an ideal material for budget-strapped STEM education.

This field trip and accompanying materials address Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) including: using fossils to develop concepts of paleoecology and evolution; using limestone to reconstruct ancient geography (including plate tectonics); the relevance of limestone to our society as a building stone, medical uses, and as a potential hazard associated with karst (caves and sinkholes), including where, how and why limestone forms. Five cross-disciplinary content standards will be addressed in the proposed guidebook paper and during field instruction: (1) enhancement of the understanding of chemical reactions, (2) biological evolution, (3) geochemical cycles, (4) economic and environmental societal impacts, and (5) historical importance and fine arts use of limestone to society.

Limestone formations are important archives of biotic and abiotic Earth history, provide valuable economic resources, and can sometimes be the cause of environmental hazards. Deposits around the world provide data for reconstructing global climate change and recreating Earth’s changing paleoecology throughout geologic time, including human history. As a sink for carbon, carbonate rocks are Earth’s main long-term antidote to global warming.