Education
Environmental Studies
August 18, 2017
Dr. Robert Butler, Professor Emeritus of Environmental Studies at the University of Portland, has developed a new online course, “Cascadia Earthquake Education,” designed for K-12 educators and others who teach children about the Cascadia Subduction Zone and the science behind the earthquake that could someday devastate the region.
Presented by the University of Portland’s STEM Education and Outreach Center, the new self-paced, on-line course is the only course of its kind offered online to K-12 educators in the Pacific Northwest. Organized into four modules, the course introduces plate tectonics and earthquakes, then connects this general knowledge specifically with Cascadia earthquakes and tsunamis.
Within each chapter, a video lecture (or series of video lectures) introduces the topic, along with additional video lectures and animations. Most chapters contain lesson plans for classroom activities and demonstrations. These lesson plans were designed for middle school students, but can be adapted to elementary and high school levels. Each lesson plan specifies the Next Generation Science Standards addressed. Most lesson plans have an accompanying set of supporting resources such as student worksheets and answer keys.
The course is provided free of charge as a professional development opportunity. Although it is self-paced, the course is estimated to take about 28 hours to complete, so educators who successfully complete the course will receive a receiving a certificate for 28 PDUs.
Educators and others who are interested in taking the program can send an email to Dr. Patricia Morrell, director of the STEM Education and Outreach Center, at morrell@up.edu.
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