GLOBE Atmosphere Investigations: Increasing Student Skills and Interest in Science in Both Formal and Informal Settings

In this session, we will share examples of GLOBE student work and projects investigating the atmosphere. Through GLOBE, students are engaging as scientists by learning about the atmosphere, asking questions, collecting data, and analyzing data to support sense-making. Students have multiple opportunities to participate in one of the most challenging aspects of the scientific process, sharing results. We’ll look at student atmospheric research examples from GLOBE Nature Notes, Student Research Symposium (SRS) projects, and International Virtual Science Symposium (IVSS) projects. These culminating activities are important in supporting student self identification and interest in STEM. Students reported a significant gain in their confidence, skills, and interest in science as a result of participation in the GLOBE SRS.

The GLOBE Program is approaching 30 years of inspiring students to think locally while acting globally. As a science and education program, GLOBE is focused on promoting scientific literacy and building connections between people passionate about the environment. Atmosphere is one of the four Earth system spheres of GLOBE, and the Clouds protocol is by far the most popular data collection with over 3 million cloud observations submitted to the database.

GLOBE participants from around the world learn about atmospheric science through the various learning activities and data collection protocols. Anyone can access GLOBE resources and view the data collected through the website. GLOBE training is required to enter data through the online data entry forms or through the program's app, GLOBE Observer. The atmosphere protocols include: aerosols, air temperature, barometric pressure, clouds, precipitation, relative humidity, and surface temperature. The GLOBE guide has hands-on activities to spark student interest in atmosphere and climate. These resources provide the foundation to support students content learning and provide scaffolds to help students conduct their own GLOBE investigation. There are also resources for younger students in grades K-4 called Elementary GLOBE. Students read storybooks about the GLOBE Kids, Simon, Anita, and Dennis, as they model science practices and follow their environmental science curiosity.

Beyond the classroom, informal educators are also doing GLOBE with learners of all ages. The GLOBE Observer Informal Educator Toolkit has resources to support student learning in these out of school settings. We’ll also look at some examples of GLOBE in informal environments such as through the Girl Scouts’ Think Like a Citizen Scientist Journey, GLOBE in libraries, GLOBE Goes to Camp, and GLOBE Kids Club.

GLOBE students are encouraged to ask their own questions and come up with ways to collect atmospheric data to answer these questions. They can submit research through the GLOBE student online report form or present their work to peers and professional scientists at in-person SRS or remotely through the IVSS. The IVSS is an opportunity for GLOBE students to showcase their research to the rest of the community. Projects are judged by prestigious scientists across dozens of GLOBE nations, all online. The SRS is a series of student-centered events taking place in the six regional areas of the United States. The students share their GLOBE research projects through poster presentations and participate in peer-review of each other’s projects. They meet and interact with STEM professionals (including NASA and NOAA scientists) and other students through conversation and activities. Evaluation data suggest that these events increase students’ understanding of how science is conducted, identity as a scientist, and interest in science.

Whether you’re engaging with youth in formal classrooms or in informal settings, GLOBE provides atmospheric science resources and effective science research opportunities for future generations to learn science skills to support careers in the field and personal STEM interest.