Paleo Exploration Project  

   Paleo Exploration Project provides intensive professional development for 7^th and 8^th grade math and science teachers from northeastern Montana , an area that includes the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. The project focuses on the application of geospatial technologies, including global positioning systems (GPS), geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing, to understanding the rich fossil record of the Northern Plains, a subject of great scientific, economic, and cultural significance in the region.  Over the next 3 years, University of Montana staff will provide 60 teachers with technology-embedded content instruction in paleontology through a series of four winter workshops. Participating teachers will subsequently use the instructional materials in their classrooms to demonstrate concepts of measurement, algebra, and geometry, and to introduce concepts of scientific modeling, including descriptive, process, statistical, and conceptual models.  Teachers will also participate in a 2-week summer institute at the Fort Peck Field Station of Paleontology where they will develop various hands-on learning activities for their students.  Approximately 120 students are expected to participate in the summer institute, where they will reinforce concepts learned in class through hands-on use of geospatial technologies and, in doing so, learn about key geological and biological processes.  Students will participate in authentic paleontological research, contributing to the development of a geodatabase, and becoming producers rather than merely consumers of new information.  Students will also meet professionals who use geospatial technologies that relate to specific community and tribal issues and concerns.  A career video series highlighting young geospatial professionals, including women and minorities, in particular, will be produced and widely disseminated though the internet, conferences, and various training programs

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