Science

Over and Under

By E. Merle Watkins — December 21, 2005 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Graham Dey's honors research students start their study of the stars by looking at the earth.

Searching the ground for distant planets and suns only sounds backward if you haven’t taken Graham Dey’s honors research class. Its highlight is a 10-hour, four-wheel-drive trip from West Salem High School in Oregon to a place in the state’s desolate eastern deserts where rocks are covered with ancient paintings and carvings of the night sky.

Dey and his charges make the annual trip to study the petroglyphs—made at least a thousand years ago by what is now the Paiute tribe—by day and the dome of space, free of urban light pollution, by night. With the help of grants, his students now have access to high-tech equipment, including Global Positioning System devices, which help them locate ancient village sites and rock art left over from when the desert was dappled with lakes. When the light fades, they use telescopes and special cameras to take pictures of deep space galaxies, globular clusters, and nebulae.

It’s not often that students at any level, let alone those still in high school, get to combine field archaeology and astronomy, and Dey says his kids appreciate the opportunity. It’s fascinating to look at “the night sky reflected in another group from a long time ago,” Dey says—especially the depictions that may document the supernova of 1054.

Anne Marie Dougherty, a senior, recalls that examining the petroglyphs and walking through the remains of ancient settlements made her feel like a “little Indiana Jones.” “That’s the really great thing about his class—you’re learning about things you wouldn’t normally learn in your lifetime,” she says.

But the rigorous, eight-day fieldwork schedule is just part of Dey’s reason for bringing the class to the middle of nowhere. “One of my goals is just for them to bond as a group,” he says. Senior Stefanie Price reports that they did just that: “You’re really tired, you’re really dirty. You’re together all the time, and you just naturally bond with everyone.”

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the January 01, 2006 edition of Teacher as Over and Under

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Equity & Diversity Webinar
Classroom Strategies for Building Equity and Student Confidence
Shape equity, confidence, and success for your middle school students. Join the discussion and Q&A for proven strategies.
Content provided by Project Lead The Way
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Professional Development Webinar
Disrupting PD Day in Schools with Continuous Professional Learning Experiences
Hear how this NC School District achieved district-wide change by shifting from traditional PD days to year-long professional learning cycles
Content provided by BetterLesson
Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Science If Climate Change Education Matters, Why Don’t All Teachers Teach It?
Climate change education in schools is sporadic and limited, despite student interest and the urgency of the issue as temperatures rise and weather patterns become more severe.
6 min read
Photo of a child working on a save the planet poster.
E+ / Getty
E+ / Getty
Science Will Restrictions on Teaching 'Controversial' Issues Target Science Classes?
Proposals that target the teaching of evolution aren't new, experts say. But they're changing shape in the current political moment.
5 min read
Antique copy of On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin, first published in 1859 it is considered to be the foundation of evolutionary biology
Duncan Walker/E+
Science 5 Ways to Make Computer Science More Accessible to All Students
There is a persistent income gap among students taking computer science classes in high school and those who aren't.
5 min read
Students in a computer class with worksheets and laptops.
iStock/Getty Images Plus
Science How to Teach Climate Change: Your Questions, Answered
Two EdWeek reporters answered educators' questions about climate change education and combating feelings of hopelessness among students.
10 min read
Close up of child holding seedling during school science project.
Drazen Zigic/iStock