Sourcing Practitioner Journals:
Minerals Resources Education Program of British Columbia
Ruth You Ree Kim
Professional association:
Mineral Resources Education Program of British Columbia
Website URL:
http://www.bcminerals.ca/index.html
Mandate of the association:
The Mineral Resources Education Program of British Columbia (MREPBC) is a partnership program between teachers and the minerals industry in B.C. It was created to assist teachers in their development of educational materials to support teaching about minerals, mining and geoscience in the classroom. MREPBC's goals are to foster a well-informed public through school education based on accurate and balanced minerals information, and to stimulate young peoples’ interest in minerals industry careers.
Projects:
Workshops:
· K-3 Integrated Resource Unit: Kids and Rocks, VSB, Oct. 22, 2010
- MREPBC`s fun, hands-on workshop for primary students held at the VSB this fall.
· Gr 5 Integrated Resource Unit on Mining, PITA, Surrey, Oct. 22, 2010
- For intermediate teachers intending include a mining unit this year.
· K-3 Kids and Rocks and Grade 5 Mining Workshops, Fraser Lake, Nov. 26, 2010
- The MREPBC in cooperation with the School District 91, is presenting informative and hands-on in-service workshops for MREPBC's two teacher-written elementary resource units - K-3 Integrated Resources Unit: Kids and Rocks and Grade 5 Integrated Resource Unit on Mining in Fraser Lake as part of the District Pro-D Day on November 26, 2010.
Fieldtrips:
· Copper Mtn. Mine Field Trip, Oct. 22, 2010
- MREPBC is partnering for the first time with Copper Mountain Mining Corporation (CMMC) to provide a professional development field trip for teachers (Princeton area, west Kootenay, and Lower Mainland districts) to the soon-to reopen Copper Mountain Mine located 15km SW of Princeton BC.
· Career Educator Field Trip to Highland Valley Copper, Oct. 22, 2010
- Highland Valley Copper is hosting this special, professional development field trip for career educators to familiarize them with the scope of a modern mining operation and the breadth of skilled workers and career opportunities in this growing sector.
· Sea to Sky GeoTour, Oct. 22, 2010
- As featured outreach of National Science and Technology week GSC geoscientists will lead an all day pro-d field trip for teachers to explore the interesting and complex natural history of the Sea to Sky geologic landscape.
MREPBC funders:
This school program began in 1991 and its earliest initiatives were supported by the Mining Association of BC (MABC). As the education program grew and demand from teachers increased a separate, registered charitable organization was established in 1994 to garner the financial support to continue to develop and deliver the program province-wide. Since that time the BC minerals industry, including many MABC member companies and individuals, has raised more than $4.9 million dollars for the charity in support of this school program and its Endowment Fund. This support has made it possible for MREPBC to assist more than 7,300 BC teachers who are estimated to have taught more than 650,000 students mining-related topics in their classrooms.
Personal links to teaching:
I found out about this organization from my Social Studies cohort instructor who informed us of their great (and often free) yearly geosciences fieldtrips held in October. My interest was piqued as I majored in Human Geography at UBC, and always wanted to gain more information about physical geography topics, such as rocks, minerals, and geosciences. Most of the geography taught in BC high schools tends to revolve around physical geography topics, so I found this website to be extremely helpful in introducing to me some of the rich resources available for teachers wanting to incorporate information about minerals into their classrooms in a practical, relevant and enjoyable manner. As Geography tends to be taught as a singular and non-binding unit in most Social Studies courses, I found the various resources and tools on this website to be very helpful in suggesting ideas on how to incorporate geographical thoughts and skills into daily lessons in an interesting and engaging manner.
Other related organizations:
- The BC Social Studies Teachers’ Association
- The Mining Association of British Columbia
Resource review:
I have reviewed the resource package, “Social Studies 10/11 Mining in BC”. The 89-page document outlines 9 unit lessons that is a curricular match to the “Resource” section in the Potential Learning Outcomes for Social Studies 10 and 11. The Resource Unit is intended to increase the base knowledge of students about the minerals industry in BC, and review the overall process of and issues around mine development. This kit includes a teacher resource binder including lesson plans, black line masters, slides and other materials (in PDF format), samples and activities, supplementary resources, teacher poster and resource pack and the small booklet, Mining Explained. Various exercises and worksheets are included, which engages students to increase their knowledges and skills relating to mining topics. I have personally found such resources to be very helpful and insightful for use in future classes. The easy accessibility of such resources also makes it appealing for regular use.
Pedagogical Strategy:
I would assign my students a project which has them choose one natural mineral resource found naturally in British Columbia, and create a six-panel brochure that reflects their research about their mineral. The pages should introduce the mineral and include information on where it is found, how it is mined, who mines it, and what its uses are. A short diagram of how the raw material travels from the site of production to the site of consumption at by the consumer should also be included. A discussion of the environmental effects and impacts of mining this particular mineral should also be noted, as well as a page dedicated to the references noted during the student’s research.
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