ED21B-0061 0800h
Unique Partnerships: The Earth System Science Education Alliance
The Earth System Science Education Alliance (ESSEA) professional development program is a unique partnership involving over 19 colleges, universities, and other science organizations across the country, offering a trio of online, ESS graduate-level courses for K-12 teachers. Among the cadre of ESSEA organizations are three (3) Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU's) and one primarily Hispanic serving university; many ESSEA universities serve rural and disadvantaged communities. The inquiry-based courses are providing teachers with the content knowledge and tools they need to incorporate Earth system science into their curricula. Over 1000 teachers have completed at least one of the semester-long, graduate level courses. Additionally, teachers implementing ESS in their classrooms have commented that the cross-disciplinary nature of the courses positively impacts student learning across the board, not just in science. The primary goal of ESSEA team members is to reach K-12 students by instructing in-service teachers who will teach them. However, many ESSEA universities open their courses to undergraduate pre-service teachers as well as non-science majors, improving not only our students' scientific literacy, but also that of our citizenry.
ED21B-0062 0800h
The GLOBE Program: Partnerships in Action
The GLOBE Program is a worldwide science and education partnership endeavor designed to increase scientific understanding of Earth as a system, support improved student achievement in science and math, and enhance environmental awareness through inquiry-based learning activities. GLOBE began on the premise that teachers and their students would partner with scientists to collect and analyze environmental data using specific protocols in five study areas - atmosphere, soils, hydrology, land cover, and phenology. As the GLOBE network grew, additional partnerships flourished making GLOBE an unprecedented collaboration of individuals worldwide - primary, secondary, and tertiary students, teachers and teacher educators, scientists, government officials, and others - to improve K-12 education. Since its inception in 1994, more than one million students in over 14,000 schools around the world have taken part in The GLOBE Program. The GLOBE Web site (http://www.globe.gov) is the repository for over 11 million student-collected data measurements easily accessible to students and scientists worldwide. Utilizing the advantages of the Internet for information sharing and communication, GLOBE has created an international community. GLOBE enriches students by giving them the knowledge and skills that they will need to become informed citizens and responsible decision-makers in an increasingly complex world. Understanding that all members of a community must support change if it is to be sustainable, GLOBE actively encourages the development of GLOBE Learning Communities (GLCs) which are designed to get diverse stakeholder groups involved in a local or regional environmental issue. Central to the GLC is the engagement of local schools. GLCs go beyond individual teachers implementing GLOBE in the isolation of their classrooms. Instead, the GLC brings multiple teachers and grade levels together to examine environmental issues encouraging the participation of a broad range of community members who share a common commitment to supporting teachers and students in the implementation of GLOBE for the benefit of their community. A GLC might begin as a GLOBE Partner based at a university works with teachers and students from primary and secondary schools in the local school district, and then branches out to include parents, youth clubs, scientists, senior citizens, other colleges and universities, daycare centers, museums, businesses, government agencies and more. In the past decade, as the variety and diversity of partnerships within the GLOBE Program expanded, lessons have been learned that may be of use to other programs intent on implementing partnership programs to sustain systemic changes in K-12 Earth Science Education. This presentation will chronicle the GLOBE journey including results of annual program evaluations.
http://www.globe.gov
ED21B-0063 0800h
Engagement, Capacity, and Continuity: The Digital Library of Earth System Education and Diversity in the Earth System Science Workplace
Despite many targeted efforts, increasing the diversity of the science workforce has been an elusive goal for the Earth sciences. There have been numerous, highly successful intervention programs aimed at recruiting, retaining, or fostering diversity in K-12 science classes and university programs, but these efforts have not resulted in a significant increase in the numbers of college graduates in the Earth sciences. Increased diversity will remain elusive until we are able to create a seamless pipeline integrating and coordinating the individual efforts of outreach programs in a way that ensures that K-16 science education is supported throughout a student's academic career. The Digital Library for Earth System Education (DLESE) infrastructure design facilitates the coordination of outreach efforts. Limited funding for education and outreach sets practical limits on the scope and anticipated outcomes of independent projects, but science teams can build their independent efforts into a coordinated program where each of the three critical student success factors- engagement, capacity, and continuity- is addressed. Community networks coordinated through DLESE can ensure that once targeted, engaged students have continued access to programs that support the development of their interest and capacity in the Earth sciences.
http://www.dlese.org
ED21B-0064 0800h
DLESE Teaching Box Pilot Project: Developing a Replicable Model for Collaboratively Creating Innovative Instructional Sequences Using Exemplary Resources in the Digital Library for Earth System Education (DLESE)
Before the advent of digital libraries, it was difficult for teachers to find suitable high-quality resources to use in their teaching. Digital libraries such as DLESE have eased the task by making high quality resources more easily accessible and providing search mechanisms that allow teachers to 'fine tune' the criteria over which they search. Searches tend to return lists of resources with some contextualizing information. However, teachers who are teaching 'out of discipline' or who have minimal training in science often need additional support to know how to use and sequence them. The Teaching Box Pilot Project was developed to address these concerns, bringing together educators, scientists, and instructional designers in a partnership to build an online framework to fully support innovative units of instruction about the Earth system. Each box integrates DLESE resources and activities, teaching tips, standards, concepts, teaching outcomes, reviews, and assessment information. Online templates and best practice guidelines are being developed that will enable teachers to create their own boxes or customize existing ones. Two boxes have been developed so far, one on weather for high school students, and one on the evidence for plate tectonics for middle schoolers. The project has met with significant enthusiasm and interest, and we hope to expand it by involving individual teachers, school systems, pre-service programs, and universities in the development and use of teaching boxes. A key ingredient in the project's success has been the close collaboration between the partners, each of whom has brought unique experiences, perspectives, knowledge, and skills to the project. This first effort involved teachers in the San Francisco Bay area, the University of California Museum of Paleontology, San Francisco State University, U.S. Geological Survey, and DLESE. This poster will allow participants to explore one of the teaching boxes. We will discuss how the boxes were developed, the conditions that engendered successful collaboration and high-quality results, lessons learned, and potential adaptations for networks of user communities, for example, in ocean education or seismology.
ED21B-0065 0800h
Reaching Beyond the Geoscience Stigma: Strategies for Success
The geosciences have traditionally been viewed with less "academic prestige" than other science curricula. Among the effects of this perception are depressed K-16 enrollments; state standards' relegation of Earth and space science concepts to earlier grades; Earth Science assignments to lower-performing students, and sometimes even to under-qualified teachers: all of which simply confirm the misconceptions. Restructuring pre-college science curricula so that Earth Science is placed as a capstone course is one way to enhance student understanding of the geosciences. Research demonstrates that reversing the traditional science course sequence (by offering Physics in the ninth grade) improves student success in subsequent science courses. The "Physics First" movement continues to gain momentum offering a possible niche for the Earth and space sciences beyond middle school. It is also critical to bridge the information gap for those with little or no prior exposure to the Earth sciences, particularly K-12 educators. An Earth systems course developed at San Jos\'{e} State University is aligned to our state's standards; it is approved to satisfy geoscience subject matter competency by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, making it a popular offering for pre- and in-service teachers. Expanding our audience beyond the Bay Area, the Earth Systems Science Education Alliance courses infuse real-world and hands-on learning in a cohesive online curriculum. Through these courses teachers gain knowledge, share effective pedagogies, and build geography-independent communities.
http://geosun.sjsu.edu/
ED21B-0066 0800h
Retention: A Model
Bowie State University, one of six institutions, received a Model Institution for Excellence Award through the National Science Foundation and was funded by the National Aeronautic Space Administration - Goddard Space Flight Center. The primary goals for the Initiative are to increase Science Mathematics Engineering and Technology (SMET)student enrollment, retention and graduation rates and the number of minorities and women entering graduate school and SMET related workforces. Additionally, a satellite operations and control center was established at Bowie State University to provide training for students interested in space science. Thus far, the number of students entering the SMET domain has increase, the retention rate is up to 72-75%, graduation rate is up 80% and approximately 70 certifications have been awarded to students as Command Controllers, Spacecraft Analysts or Mission Planners as a result of their training in the Bowie State Satellite Operations and Control Center (BSOCC). The partnership between NASA and Bowie State University has been extremely beneficial to both and has established a model for the retention of science, mathematics, engineering and technology students.
ED21B-0067 0800h
Partners and Networks in the THEMIS Education and Public Outreach Program
NASA's MIDEX Space Science Mission, Time History of Events and Macroscale Instabilities during Substorms (THEMIS), has a large Education and Public Outreach (E/PO) program. Partners of this program include the Space Grant Consortium (SCG), Lawrence Hall of Science (LHS) at UC Berkeley, other NASA E/PO leads, the teachers involved in the THEMIS Geomagnetic Event Observation Network by Students (GEONS) program, the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS), and Cornerstone Evaluation Associates (CEA). The SGC in 8 states has helped the THEMIS E/PO program to find teachers who are committed to working with our program and sharing the science with their classrooms. Each SGC will also help to sustain the program through relationships with their own network of teachers in their state. LHS provides to the THEMIS E/PO a strong network of teachers across the country through their Great Explorations in Math and Science (GEMS) program. Through the LHS Planetarium Show Kit program LHS provides a strong network of planetaria around the country. Other NASA E/PO leads and the THEMIS E/PO team share discoveries and resources, as well as already established networks of educators. When we keep in weekly contact with the teachers, who are directly part of our GEONS program, they remain committed to helping create a sustainable curriculum that involves the THEMIS E/PO science. These teachers share their excitement not only with the students they teach but also the community in which they work and live. Working with a group, such as SACNAS, helps use learn from a well established network of educators and scientists who have concerns that are unique to a specific population. Since some of our GEONS teachers work with a significant population of Native Americans, working to connect GEONS with SACNAS allows for more meaningful interactions and helps to keep interest in the THEMIS program. The partnership with the CEA helps to keep us on track and remind us of our goal to maintain relationships with the educators we interact with so that we are effective in our education and outreach activities.
http://ds9.ssl.berkeley.edu/themis/
ED21B-0068 0800h
NASA missions CALIPSO and CloudSat partner with the GLOBE program to provide student opportunities for data collection to aid scientists researching climate change
NASA places great emphasis on developing partnerships with education communities, including collaborations with university scientists, K-16 science educators and students. Two universities contributing to this effort through their involvement with NASA satellite based research missions, CALIPSO and CloudSat, are Hampton University and Colorado State University. Both universities provide atmospheric research scientists for the missions and leadership for the Education and Outreach Programs developed for CALIPSO and CloudSat. These satellite-based research missions are co-manifested for launch during the spring 2004 and are included in the Afternoon Constellation also known as the "A-Train" satellite formation. The A-Train will consist of six missions flying in close proximity, providing combined detailed observations about the Earth's atmosphere allowing scientists to make better predictions related to climate change. CloudSat will use radar and provide a global survey of cloud properties to aid with improving cloud models and the accuracy of weather forecasts. CALIPSO will use Lidar to detect size and distribution of aerosols that will aid in improving our understanding of the role aerosols and clouds play in Earth's climate system. Each of the A-Train missions has a unique education and outreach program for students and teachers. Included in the CALIPSO and CloudSat education and outreach is a partnership with the GLOBE Program. GLOBE involves students worldwide in data collection and mission observations. The GLOBE program is a network of K-14 schools, science centers, after school programs, and environmental clubs from over 105 countries. Students participating in GLOBE collect scientific data according to precise protocols and enter the data into a central database allowing both scientists and students to utilize the information collected. The CALIPSO and CloudSat partnership with GLOBE involves the enlistment of student assistance worldwide for data collection that will be used by both missions. Students use the existing GLOBE protocols on aerosols and clouds to collect data as the satellites pass over their schools. CloudSat scientists will involve students by having them report visual observations related to cloud cover, cloud type and precipitation. This information will be compared to the CloudSat radar data to determine the accuracy of the satellite radar unit. CALIPSO will have students collect and report on aerosol measurements taken with a handheld sun photometer. These measurements will then be compared to those taken with the lidar riding on the satellite. Climate change and the effects aerosols have on climate are current topics in schools today. It now appears likely that anthropogenic aerosols resulting from industrial activities and agricultural burning are affecting weather and climate in some regions of the world. The data collected by students internationally for CALIPSO and CloudSat will allow them to better understand the impacts made by humans on Earth's atmosphere and how these impacts are global in scope. In return, scientists gain a valuable resource giving them ground-based data in more locations than would be possible using established weather stations and research laboratories. The partnership established by the CALIPSO and CloudSat missions with the GLOBE program will provide an opportunity to enrich earth science education in schools with a sustainable connection to NASA education.
http://calipsooutreach.hamptonu.edu
ED21B-0069 0800h
Satellite mission Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) partners with formal and informal education programs to study clouds on the edge of space
The satellite-based research mission "Aeronomy of Ice In the Mesosphere" (AIM), has developed an exciting partnership of formal and informal education programs that will connect students and the public to the unique scientific aspects of the mission. The AIM satellite mission is dedicated to providing a scientific basis for understanding why Polar Mesospheric Clouds (PMCs) form and vary. PMCs are sometimes known as Noctilucent Clouds (NLCs) or "night shinning" clouds because of their visibility at dawn and dusk. The visible manifestation of PMCs provides a unique opportunity for Education and Public Outreach. The AIM outreach programs will utilize the beautiful images of "clouds on the edge of space" as a tool to motivate students and the public to increase their knowledge and understanding about issues surrounding changes in our atmosphere. In an effort to provide formal and informal outreach opportunities worldwide, AIM has developed a partnership with the GLOBE program. GLOBE is a network of schools, science centers, and clubs from over 105 countries where participants collect scientific data according to precise protocols and enter the data into a central database allowing both scientists and students to utilize the data. The collaboration between AIM and GLOBE will involve participants in collecting and utilizing NLC data worldwide. This partnership will provide a mechanism for sustaining AIM education opportunities for both formal and informal education venues in the future. Included in the formal education component of AIM outreach is the implementation of two educator workshops that will establish partnerships between the mission and classrooms nationwide. The educator workshops will be held in Alaska due to the optimal location for viewing NLCs. Participants attending the workshops will be chosen from a national pool allowing teachers working with students in southern latitudes an opportunity to experience the excitement of working with data that can only be collected in northern areas. Educators selected from Alaska will be provided with cameras to photograph NLC observations for distribution on the AIM website. Teachers from rural Alaska schools will be paired with teachers from urban schools with underserved populations for the development of online cooperative student projects. By providing rural Alaska educators and urban educators across the United States with an opportunity to partner on NLC projects, students will not only gain science knowledge, but also an opportunity to develop cross-cultural awareness. Informal education materials developed by AIM will assist with educating the public about the environmental implications associated with the mission data. The Native Ways of Knowing Project is an excellent example an informal partnership established with AIM. This Alaska based project will assist native peoples of the state with photographing NLCs for the AIM website. The project will also assist AIM outreach with developing materials for informal organizations that incorporate traditional native knowledge and science, related to the sky. Another partnership that will offer citizens lasting informal education opportunities is the one established with the National Parks. AIM will work directly with the Parks to develop education materials for their Parks as Classrooms programs. This partnership will have a long-term impact reaching out to people in an informal setting for years to come.
http://aim.hamptonu.edu
ED21B-0070 0800h
Project "WEST" (Water, the Environment, Science and Teaching)
Project WEST (Water, the Environment, Science, and Teaching) is a graduate student fellowship program funded by a GK-12 grant from the National Science Foundation. WEST links the University of Utah, the Utah Museum of Natural History, and the Salt Lake City school district in enhancing inquiry based science teaching in grades 4, 8, and 9 and the interdisciplinary training of university graduate and undergraduate students in the geosciences. The unifying theme of WEST (water and the environment) emerges because of its simplicity and its significance for human survival and livelihood in the arid west. National standards and Utah standards for teaching science in this grade range lend themselves to focusing on the environment and particularly on the role of water. Every resident in the State of Utah is impacted by the local hydrological cycle: our mountain ranges receive ten times the precipitation of valley floors, water runs off in streams or percolates into the ground supporting the many ecosystems found between 12,000 ft and 3,000 ft elevation, water provides for both agriculture and urban consumption, and flows ultimately to the unique ecosystem of the Great Salt Lake. Water affects recreation, the economy, and settlement. By gaining an enhanced understanding of the role of water in the environment, particularly in this time of severe drought, students will contemplate their place in nature. Project WEST is facilitating integrative and inquiry based learning among elementary, middle, and high school students in a manner that fulfills core curriculum requirements and state standards. It provides professional development tools to school teachers in the form of materials, observatories, workshops, and field trips that promote more effective science teaching. The multidisciplinary nature of WEST (geology, geophysics, meteorology, ecology) also provides intellectual stimulation and enhanced learning opportunities for graduate students and undergraduates selected as GK-12 Fellows.
ED21B-0071 0800h
Earthquake Education in Prime Time
Since 2001, the Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC) has collaborated on several video production projects that feature important topics related to earthquake science, engineering, and preparedness. These projects have also fostered many fruitful and sustained partnerships with a variety of organizations that have a stake in hazard education and preparedness. The {\it Seismic Sleuths} educational video first appeared in the spring season 2001 on Discovery Channel's {\it Assignment Discovery}. {\it Seismic Sleuths} is based on a highly successful curriculum package developed jointly by the American Geophysical Union and The Department of Homeland Security Federal Emergency Management Agency. The California Earthquake Authority (CEA) and the Institute for Business and Home Safety supported the video project. Summer Productions, a company with a reputation for quality science programming, produced the {\it Seismic Sleuths} program in close partnership with scientists, engineers, and preparedness experts. The program has aired on the National Geographic Channel as recently as Fall 2004. Currently, SCEC is collaborating with Pat Abbott, a geology professor at San Diego State University (SDSU) on the video project {\it Written In Stone: Earthquake Country - Los Angeles}. Partners on this project include the California Seismic Safety Commission, SDSU, SCEC, CEA, and the Insurance Information Network of California. This video incorporates live-action demonstrations, vivid animations, and a compelling host (Abbott) to tell the story about earthquakes in the Los Angeles region. The {\it Written in Stone} team has also developed a comprehensive educator package that includes the video, maps, lesson plans, and other supporting materials. We will present the process that facilitates the creation of visually effective, factually accurate, and entertaining video programs. We acknowledge the need to have a broad understanding of the literature related to communication, media studies, science education, and hazard response to create a program that is both educational and provides a public service. {\it Seismic Sleuths} and {\it Written in Stone} are the harbingers of a new genre of earthquake programs that are the antithesis of the 1974 film {\it Earthquake} and the 2004 miniseries {\it 10.5}. Film producers and those in the earthquake education community are demonstrating that it is possible to tell an exciting story, inspire awareness, and encourage empowerment without sensationalism.
ED21B-0072 0800h
The TRUST Project: A Formal-Informal Teacher Education Partnership for the Promotion of Earth Science Teacher Certification
The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in partnership with Lehman and Brooklyn Colleges of the City University of New York (CUNY) has initiated The Teacher Renewal for Urban Science Teaching (TRUST) project. TRUST combines informal and formal teacher education in a four-year initiative to enhance professional development and masters of science education programs, grades K-8 at Brooklyn College and 7-12 at Lehman College. This NSF-funded partnership brings together the resources of AMNH, CUNY, New York City school districts, New York City Department of Education-Museum Partnerships, and the expertise of scientists and teachers with research experiences. Following an initial planning year, TRUST will recruit and sustain 90 teachers over a period of 3 years as well as engage 30 school administrators in support of Earth science instruction. Program components include two new formal Earth systems science courses, intensive informal summer institutes, and a lecture and workshop series during which participants gain new Earth science content knowledge, develop action plans, and present their work on the local and national level. In addition, participants have access to ongoing resource and material support to enhance their learning and instruction. Continuous documentation and data collection by project investigators are being used to address questions regarding the impact various aspects of the TRUST participant experience on classroom instruction and learning, the acquisition of scientific knowledge in the new courses and institutes, and to examine the nature of the Museum experience in meeting certification goals. External formative and summative evaluation of the project is addressing issues surrounding the value of the program as a model for formal-informal partnership in urban Earth science teacher education and certification, analysis of policies that facilitate partnership arrangements, and how socialization of novices with experts affects retention and renewal. Details of the program's structure and preliminary results from the first two years will be presented.