Modernization of the AMS DataStreme Project

For more than 20 years, the American Meteorological Society (AMS) Education Program has been enhancing K-12 teacher preparation and practice, and ultimately student learning through the DataStreme Project. DataStreme Atmosphere, Ocean, and Earth’s Climate System empower teachers to implement STEM concepts in their classrooms using real-world data and real-life events to deepen understanding of core science concepts. Approximately 21,000 teachers have completed one of these content-rich, pedagogically-sound professional development courses and received tuition-free graduate credits from The College at Brockport, State University of New York.

In 2017, the AMS Education Program entered into a new agreement with California University of Pennsylvania (Cal U) to serve as their institutional partner for the DataStreme Project to offer tuition-free graduate credits to participants. Some changes have already occurred and there are many opportunities for further enhancement, all to advance the scientific literacy of the modern K-12 teacher and their students. Most noticeably to begin, DataStreme course materials and resources are now available to participants from all 50 states and U.S. territories through a learning management system (LMS) called, Desire2Learn (D2L). The use of a LMS enables Local Implementation Teams (LITs) the opportunity to better engage K-12 teachers through the use of online discussion boards, video assignments, shared dropbox uploads, online surveys, digital assessment tools and rubrics, and collaborative small group work. Further, participants are now more easily able to connect and network with each other, improving their overall DataStreme experience. The Fall 2017 semester served as the first term the D2L platform was leveraged for course implementation.

This paper will highlight a few of the enhancements to DataStreme made possible by using a LMS and share feedback from those LITs who took advantage of new, digital pedagogical tools that have heretofore not been available. Finally, the paper will also summarize the tasks involved in porting many of the legacy curricular products into a digital delivery system. The future of teacher professional development opportunities via the DataStreme Project is bright as it evolves under new leadership and leverages new tools while staying rooted in its mission to increase public scientific literacy.