Preparation for International Earth Science Olympiad (IESO) [Preparation Guideline]

Article I (Katherine Zhang)

Hello readers! I am Katherine Zhang from the United States of America. I was a Silver Medalist at the International Earth Science Olympiad 2016, Mie, Japan. In this article, I will suggest to the future participants of USA and around the world some preparatory guidelines based on my own experience. 

1. Start Early

The IESO covers a broad range of topics, including but not limited to: geology and mineralogy, sedimentology, meteorology and climatology, solar system astronomy, and remote sensing. You may not have even heard of nor studied some of these areas. Beginning early and establishing a schedule by which you’ll study is the basis for succeeding in the IESO.

2. Focus on application of material, as opposed to memorization

Of course, you’ll need to know the basics of every topic you study. And learning essential information may involve an initial period of memorization which precedes internalization of that information. But beyond that period, pure memorization won’t take you far; most of the competition is based on application of material. For example: rather than asking you to regurgitate the percentage composition of basalt, a question might ask you to identify a type of rock based on the nearby structural geology. Then (in multiple parts), it might ask you to use the information and data you’ve gathered to address real societal needs and concerns, such as disaster relief.

3. Use Practical Aides

Reading textbooks isn’t enough. Invest in kits, especially for rocks and minerals, to help you learn hands-on. The IESO competition involves identification of rocks and minerals samples, and your first-hand experience is vital in helping you complete those sections. Kits are not always available nor affordable, so if they’re beyond your reach, use visuals to aid you in your studying.

4. Search for application in your daily life in order to strengthen and supplement the information you’re learning

Hey, maybe I’m just a weird rock person, but I look for application of my knowledge wherever I go. Transfer the information from your computer screen to a tangible platform. Keep your eyes open; identify instances in your everyday life in which you can stop to visualize the information you’ve learned. For example, at the beach, you can see ripple marks in action. Pause to identify the rocks at the side of the road (or maybe in a safer place). Quite possibly, there’ll come a time in which you’ll recall vital information by remembering a specific time you applied your knowledge in a real-world setting.

5. Look at old IESO Tests

Refer to past tests to get an idea of the types of questions you’ll be asked. See the bottom of this post for links to those resources.

6. Recognize that the IESO is based in cooperation

Medals are great and shiny, but they represent only individual accomplishment. Team achievement is equally, if not more, important. During the IESO, you will participate in the International Team Field Investigation and the Earth Science Project. Both of these require you to work in a group. If you refuse to recognize that the basis of your success in these portions of the competition is your ability to compromise and connect with your global peers, then you’ll have walked away from the competition with a fraction of the knowledge and benefit you would have otherwise gained. This focus on international camaraderie is what will get you not only titles in the competition, but also bring you into a global network of friends that you’ll come to treasure, and that will take you farther than any medal will.

A list of books that I’ve used

Smithsonian Fossil Guide
Meteorology Today by C. Ahrens
The Complete Guide to Rocks and Minerals by Hermes House
Syllabus: Link Past Tests/Papers: Link

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Article II (Fahim Rajit Hossain)

I am Fahim Rajit Hossain, and recently I have won Bronze Medal at the International Earth Science Olympiad 2017 held at France. I am writing this article in order to help the future participants of International Earth Science Olympiad. First, let's start with the National Earth Olympiad.

Although the organizing committee recommends "High School Earth Science" book from wiki-book which is freely available and easy-to-understand, I'll suggest the Stephen Marshak's book "Earth: Portrait of a Planet" (Click here to Download) for a comprehensive introduction to Geology. Here, I'm taking the opportunity to share that one of my seniors, Samen Yasar (won Silver at IESO 2016), prefers "Understanding Earth by John P. Grotzinger and Thomas H. Jordan" (Click Here to Download) instead of my suggested book. Both of the books are equally good and should be explored by aspirers for an IESO medal. 

For further practice, I recommend New York State Education Department's Regent Earth Science exams (Click Here to Download). If you want to clarify you understanding of different concepts, you can watch these videos from the YouTube playlist that I created while preparing for the IESO (Link). 

Last but not the least, Try to solve as many problems as possible from the past papers of the International Earth Science Olympiad. I have created a Google Drive for the past papers. You can download the papers from here. (Link). Here's the Cherry on top: My Collection of Study Materials for IESO (Google Drive Link) 

Also, don't forget to look at the resources available at the Science Olympiad Blog. (Link). All the best for your journey to winning a medal at the IESO. Cheers!

Article III (Lilian Schleret)

My name is Lilian Schleret, and I participated to IESO 2016 in Mie (Japan) as student where I won a Bronze Medal, and then to IESO 2017 in Nice (France) as volunteer. But I guess you’re not reading this post for the second part. Oh, by the way, thanks for reading!

So, I suppose you are here because you’re looking for advices. But I don’t really have books or movies to recommend. In my opinion, if you intend to win a medal, you will have to work on the syllabus and to work on yourself. My preparation for IESO was really simple. I just did something like 2 hours of work every week, and more if I was really willing to learn. So, that’s my first advice. It’s quite useless to learn too much. If you force yourself to study, it is more likely to get you bored. (Yeah, but we all agree that looking at stones is the most interesting thing in the world, right ? ;) )

But I learned a lot of interesting elements with « luck ». I really did win a few points with a subduction related question because 3 days before, I asked my science teacher 'how is this possible, and other points for a TV-broadcast that I watched for 5 minutes just 2 weeks ago. So here’s another advice: be curious. It’s clearly obvious but never hesitate to ask something, even if you think it won’t be such a help. Then, right after my selection for IESO (after the national olympiads), I gradually took it seriously. But I knew that I was used to recognize rocks (for example). But I had problems with astronomy (calculations in particular) and clouds.

So I focused on my weaknesses. Why? Just imagine that you can rate your knowledge on a precise subject. You are able to tell the name of every star in the sky except 5 of them, so you have 19 points on astronomy (the best being 20, that’s the french rating system). But you never saw a sedimentary rock for real, so you have like 3 points on this subject.

You can win 1 point on astronomy, or at least 10 points on sedimentology. What’s better ? Yeah, you guessed it. Focus on your weaknesses first, and after that you can improve your strengths if you want. I gave astronomy and sedimentology as exemples, but maybe your weakness is completely different. Maybe you are shy, maybe you don’t enjoy talking in English. It’s the same solution : face these problems and Trust In Yourself. I know it’s easier said than done, but try.

Finally, I recommend to communicate with others (with friends doing IESO too, or with older/younger students) in order to get a different view, to discover a new method. You have to be as objecive as possible, and this last advice should help you. Wait, I forgot the most important ! Have fun ! I hope these advices were helpful, if they weren’t, well. I am open to any question ! See you soon !

Article IV (Shahreer Zahan)

I was talking to Sohaima (the first Silver Medal winner from Bangladesh at the International Earth Science Olympiad) few months back and did ask her how she prepared for the National Earth Olympiad and International Earth Science Olympiad. She shared some important secrets. I hope this secret will help you to win a better position at National Earth Olympiad.

The suggested book for national earth olympiad is High School Earth Science. However the book doesn't offer an in-depth knowledge of the field and somewhat banal. Study.com's Earth Science 101 course offers an interactive introduction to Earth Science (Geology, Astronomy, Meteorology, and Oceanography). You'll learn almost everything you need to know for earth science olympiad and it'll be a gratifying experience for you. The course has a 5 days free trial. After 5 days, you've to pay for it. So if you are concerned about money, I'd suggest to register for the course when you'll have enough time in hand and you'll make the best use of it. 

Course Link: Earth Science 101.

After finishing the course, if you don't feel satisfied (which I believe won't be the case for those who went through the course materials by heart), you can get more study materials here.

Science Olympiad Blog is proudly sponsored by Adroit Education - a Boutique College Consulting Firm that aides the gifted STEM Students to become the Next-Generation Researchers, Scholars, and Innovators by attending the finest American Universities.