TEACHER
ON BOARD IN THE BRANSFIELD STRAIT
The Precursor
to UTIG's TTIF Pilot Project
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Texas Teachers In The Field Project |
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As
a precursor to UTIG's proposed Texas Teacher In The Field(1) project,
Stanly Treanor, a teacher from Merkel High School (Merkel Independent
school District), Merkel City, Texas, is sailing aboard the R/V
Nathaniel B. Palmer as a member of a UTIG science party. UTIG
Senior Scientist, Jamie Austin,
is the Chief Scientist of the Bransfield Strait cruise (April 6, 2000
to May 5, 2000). Ian Dalziel,
Yosio Nakamura, and
Gail Christeson are Austin's co-PIs for the NSF (Office of Polar
Projects)-sponsored project entitled, "The
Young Marginal Basin as a Key to Understanding the Rift-Drift Transition
and Andean Orogenesis: OBS Refraction Profiling for Crustal Structure
in Bransfield Strait, West Antarctica," The PIs believe that
Bransfield Strait is a young extensional environment that is in transition
from extension to seafloor spreading. The scientific objectives of
the cruise are to [1] develop a detailed crustal velocity model of
the rift on the basis of OBS profiling; [2] determine the changes
in the crustal thickness associated with presumed NE-to-SW rift propagation;
[3] document the degree to which the deep velocity structure corresponds
to along- and across- strike crustal segmentation; and [4] assess
the structural relationships between the South Shetland Islands "arc"
pedestal, and the Bransfield Rift. |
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Kathy
Ellins (UTIG Program Manager) and Karen Ostlund (Professor of
Science Education) and oversee Stanly Treanor's participation in the
Bransfield Strait cruise. Ellins and Ostlund selected Treanor, who
is a high school physics and computer science teacher, because of
his strong physics and mathematics background, his computer skills,
and his previous professional experience in the military (200 combat
flights in Vietnam) and in business (CEO of several small businesses).
His interest in web page development, multimedia presentations, and
videography add to his credentials, as they provide a means of disseminating
his experience to colleagues and students. |
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Before
the Bransfield cruise, Treanor visited UTIG four times to receive
training and to interact with members of the science party. Using
his videography skills, Treanor documented portions of his visits
to UTIG on
his personal web page. Dan
Barker, a post-doctoral fellow at UTIG, is Treanor's direct supervisor
at sea. As a full-fledged member of the science party, his responsibilities
include deployment of OBS instruments, downloading and processing
of OBS data, initial shipboard data reduction, and, time permitting,
one-dimensional profile modeling. |
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While
at sea, Treanor is maintaining an electronic journal. He forwards
his entries and photos to UTIG for posting on the UTIG and Dana Center
web sites. Journal entries cover three themes: a) "life in the field,"
b) general summary of science activities aboard ship, and c) updates
regarding Treanor's own shipboard responsibilities.
Sammantha Magsino, a Research Scientist Associate III at UTIG,
is serving as a liaison between Treanor and his high school students,
forwarding communications to and from the field. She also has primary
responsibility for maintaining the
UTIG "Teacher on Board" web site. |
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Within
one month of his return from sea, Treanor will develop, with the help
of Ellins, Ostlund, and Magsino, the foundations for three sets of
inquiry-based activities and associated curriculum materials based
on his experience. The materials will be finalized by August 2000
so that are available for the 2000-2001 school year. We will post
all curriculum materials that Treanor develops on the UTIG,
Dana Center,
and UT Arlington Science Education Center web sites for use by the
K-12 education community. Treanor, who is a videographer, will also
make video documentation and multimedia presentations suitable for
web site posting and presentations at education conferences. Treanor
anticipates completion of his video documentary of the Bransfield
cruise by May of 2001. |
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Treanor
will participate in the June 2000 TEXTEAMS2 Geology, Meteorology and
Oceanography Leadership session in Austin to disseminate newly gained
knowledge based on his experiences. Ellins will assist Treanor in
the preparation and dissemination of the scientific results of the
Bransfield project. Treanor's will present his video documentary and
multimedia projects at education conferences. |
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1)
TEXAS TEACHERS IN THE FIELD: Special Professional Enhancement Opportunities
Involving Participation in UTIG Field Projects - A proposal submitted
by Kathy Ellins and Hilary Olson to NSF's Directorate of Geosciences
under the category of Geoscience Education: Awards to Facilitate Geoscience
Education (NSF 00-38). 2) TEXTEAMS is a comprehensive system of professional development based on the Science Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). High school institutes include Geology, Meteorology, and Oceanography (GMO). Details on TEXTEAMS. UTIG is conducting TEXTEAMS training for the GMO course. |
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