Project DiGERR

The Digital Geosciences Education Research & Resources (DiGERR) project in Australia engages and promotes science outreach through the professional development of science teachers. Curriculum and instruction are enhanced using analog studies of Australian landforms and landscapes with new information and communication technologies. Geoscience encompasses the fields of geology and geography.

Science Outreach Learning Package

In collaboration with the South Australian Government (Department for Education and Child Development) and the University of Adelaide, PSI has developed the DiGERR science outreach learning package for secondary science teachers. The learning package seeks to build capacity in comparative planetary science using earth observation and geographical information science technologies, and further promote the synergies between science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in schools.

Developed using the 5E instructional model for teaching and learning, the learning package consists of professional development workshops and digital geoscience educational resources in the form of classroom-ready science activities and investigations supported by digital data, freeware, and astrogeology kits (physical and virtual). This package consists of three topical learning modules:

• Outback and Beyond: Craters, Space Rocks, and Life

• Dust, Dirt, Sand, and Salt: Deserts, Records of Climate Change

• EO-GIS Toolbox for Teacher Scientists: Planet Earth and Beyond