P. Speranza E.P. Metzger P. Stoffer P. Messina 2003 <p><span>The geosciences have traditionally been viewed with less “academic prestige” than other science curricula. Among the results of this perception are depressed K-16 enrollments, Earth Science assignments to lower-performing students, and relegation of these classes to sometimes under-qualified educators, all of which serve to confirm the widely-held misconceptions. An Earth Systems course developed at San José State University demonstrates the difficulty of a standard high school Earth science curriculum, while recognizing the deficiencies in pre-college Earth science education. Restructuring pre-college science curricula so that Earth Science is placed as a capstone course would greatly improve student understanding of the geosciences, while development of Earth systems courses that infuse real-world and hands-on learning at the college level is critical to bridging the information gap for those with no prior exposure to the Earth sciences. Well-crafted workshops for pre-service and inservice teachers of Earth Science can help to reverse the trends and unfortunate “status” in geoscience education.</span></p> application/pdf 10.5408/1089-9995-51.4.424 en Taylor & Francis The ongoing educational anomaly of earth science placement article