Pioneer Middle School science teacher Sally Knipfer recently completed a four-day crash course in paleontology, geology, and evolutionary biology at the DIG Field School in eastern Montana.
DIG provides teachers with an immersive learning experience through a four-day professional development program at active field research sites in Montana or Arizona, as well as year-round educational resources, support, and engagement with authentic research at the University of Washington (UW) and Virginia Tech (VT).
Knipfer was among 32 teachers from across the United States who participated in the annual program, which is designed to give educators a hands-on experience in the field of paleontology.
Knipfer shared that she learned about the DIG School through a popular TikTok video made by a high school biology teacher. She applied after realizing that the experience would help her align the 7th-grade district curriculum to industry standards and provide work learning opportunities for her students.
When asked about her expectations from the experience, Knipfer expressed, "As a CTE teacher, your responsibility is to bring industry-related knowledge and skills to the classroom every lesson. This includes providing work learning opportunities for students to experience a career. As I was working on improving our 7th-grade district curriculum, I realized this was a great way to better align our lessons to industry standards. In fact, Paleontology is difficult to recreate in the classroom because you have to travel long distances to get field experience. This was a great opportunity to bring the 'field' to Pioneer 7th grade students in our Earth’s Systems unit."
As a DIG field school graduate, Knipfer now has access to special resources called DIG 'Burke Boxes', which connect the classroom to current UW field research in the Hell Creek Area of Montana. These resources include actual sediment and fossils for students to identify and contribute to UW research.
Reflecting on her experience at the DIG Field School, Knipfer spoke about highlights such as learning field skills, identifying fossils, and giving creative presentations on findings. She emphasized the passion of both the teachers and researchers to provide real-world learning experiences to students from across the country.
The DIG Field School is a program of the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, funded by the National Science Foundation and open to K-12 teachers from across the country.