Geology is the core discipline that an earth science teacher must know to be successful. Geology is the study of planet Earth that is concerned with its origin, composition, form, evolution, history, and the processes that acted and continue to act upon it. One geology course is insufficient for an earth science teacher to truly master the material, because the high school curriculum covers the field broadly. A minimum of three to four geology courses are recommended to gain mastery of the curriculum . Many states, such as New York and New Jersey, require 30 credits of coursework in a specific science field to confer a teaching certificate.
Students will want to understand why continents and coastlines are shaped the way they are. One of the most important topics an earth science teacher must cover is plate tectonics, or the study of the movement of Earth's tectonic plates. A good physical geography course also includes the study of geomorphology, which discusses how physical features on Earth are shaped, and hydrology, the study of how water changes a physical landscape.
About 25% of the New York State high school earth science curriculum focuses on weather, climate, and its effects on physical features. Therefore, the earth science teacher must gain a basic understanding of climatology and how factors like wind, rain, snow, and heat change the physical landscape. Atmospheric science also gives us insight into how soils are formed around the world, which is another major piece of the high school earth science curriculum.
Even if you are the most knowledgeable geologist in the world, if you are unable to explain yourself in a concise manner, your students will tune you out. There is more to teaching than just knowing the material. Classroom management courses will give you the first insight on how to develop structure within your class, both for lecture and laboratory activities. It will also help you whenever a student is thinking about throwing a rock at another student!