A Model for HBCU and Informal Education Institution (IEI) Partnerships via the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program

Tennessee State University (TSU) is home to one of very few active GLOBE Partnerships at an HBCU. Since being established in 2001, the TSU GLOBE Partnership has focused upon enhancing atmospheric and geoscience education primarily in under-resourced urban schools. The over-arching goal is to close the racial achievement gap in the STEM disciplines. In 2016, TSU joined the NASA-funded GLOBE Mission Earth (GLOBE ME) Project. A leading area of emphasis focused upon during the GLOBE ME Project period is increasing the sustainability of the GLOBE Schools in urban areas. The GLOBE program is most effective when GLOBE teachers remain at one school for long periods of time. However, teachers' tenure at urban schools facing academic, economic, and social challenges can be as short as one year. Urban IEIs offer urban educators flexibility and sustainability that is fleeting in formal education institutions. The mitigative model outlined in this presentation includes a collaboration between HBCU GLOBE partnerships and urban IEIs. Historically Black College and University institutions produce 50 percent of Black teachers, thus HBCUs represent an excellent opportunity to train pre-service teachers in science education methods via GLOBE. A primary objective is to increase the number of GLOBE Partnerships and Trainers at HBCUs. A second important objective is to develop a collaborative model that will support long-term GLOBE educator sustainability at IEIs and also at formal schools. In 2020, the TSU GLOBE Partnership formed the GLOBE HBCU IEI Collaborative, which is serving as a model for new HBCU GLOBE partnerships. Among the innovations under development is connecting HBCU Partnerships directly to GLOBE Observation Sites, thus minimizing the disruption brought by educator turnover at urban IEIs and formal schools. The TSU Partnership is also creating opportunities for home-school educators to become GLOBE certified. The long-term goal is to develop a GLOBE community centered at HBCUs that will ultimately increase the numbers of Black children exposed to Black science educators. The longer-term goal is to increase the numbers of Black professionals in the STEM fields."