TX-ESP and BC-ESP: A Collaborative Educational Seismology Project in
Texas and New England
Abstract
There is growing concern that the quality of science education today is
not adequate to provide students with the level of scientific literacy
they will need to be effective citizens in the 21st century. To address
this concern, Educational Seismology Projects (ESPs), such as the Texas
Educational Seismic Project (TX-ESP) and the Boston College (BC)
Educational Seismology Project (BC-ESP) promote inquiry-based learning
and investigative methods in Earth science classrooms, at public events,
and in after-school activities. TX-ESP is a 501c3 Non-Profit Public
Charity which focuses on educational seismology outreach and
collaborative research with BC-ESP. BC-ESP is operated by BC’s Weston
Observatory, a research and science education center of its Department
of Earth and Environmental Sciences. Our common goal is to enhance
science education by offering opportunities for students, teachers, and
the public to be directly involved with research scientists. Through our
educational partnerships, we make a difference in the lives of citizens
and students of all ages and in differing socio-economic circumstances
by engaging in hands-on learning opportunities and teaching science as
it is actually practiced. The science of seismology forms an excellent
foundation for this endeavor because: (1) it is an interdisciplinary
science that requires integration of many STEM concepts, and (2) it
teaches how the natural environment impacts our everyday lives. A
particular advantage of this collaboration is the locations of our ESPs.
BC-ESP is located far from plate boundaries, where students don’t tend
to record as many earthquakes as they do at TX-ESP, which is much closer
to plate boundaries and thus records more earthquakes, with stronger
signals, than BC-ESP. When BC-ESP students see the TX-ESP recordings (on
their own web-interface), they often find more subtle signals of the
same earthquakes on their New England seismograms. This provides
teachable moments for students at both locations to investigate seismic
wave propagation and attenuation, as well as differences in seismicity
between intraplate and plate boundary environments. Also, TX-ESP
students leverage a high-quality seismology curriculum through BC-ESP’s
research experience and its successful, long-term ESP presence in New
England.