Extended Abstract (28K)P1.43
AMS @ LDEO: follow-up opportunities for AMS education program participants
Michael J. Passow, White Plains Middle School, White Plains, NY and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia Univ., Palisades, NY
What do teachers do with the information and ideas they gain through participation in the AMS Education Programs? Continuing connections with teachers following the end of courses and obtaining feedback about how they use their knowledge have also been difficult. We have developed one format to bring participants back together to share experiences, along with giving them new ideas about cutting-edge research. We provide twice-a-year meetings at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University (LDEO) in Palisades, NY, that have proved informative to participants and useful for learning more about the impact of the AMS Program. The first “AMS@LDEO” meeting was held in February 2004. A second meeting is planned for October. Highlights from both meetings will be described in the proposed poster. The purposes of the programs are to bring together current and past participants of AMS Education Program courses—DataStreme Atmosphere, DataStreme Ocean, and/or Water in the Earth System—for follow-up experiences. They includes talks by research scientists about selected important concepts included in the DataStreme programs, and a tour of selected LDEO facilities, especially the Deep Sea Sample Repository. Participants also share their experiences and ideas about using what they have gained from the DataStreme programs to enhance student learning and to support peer-training. In the afternoon, opportunities are provided to begin development of lesson plans based on AMS and LDEO on-line resources. 21 teachers attended the February meeting. Dr. Steven Goldstein described how scientists collect data in the field, specifically from a research trip to study Arctic volcanology aboard a US Navy ice-breaker to the North Pole. Dr. Alexey Kaplan gave a talk about theoretical aspects of research, specifically the development of mathematical models to describe El Nino and climate changes. Participants also toured the LDEO Deep Sea Sample Repository, the world’s largest collection of underwater piston cores and dredge materials. Studies of these materials have provided significant data for understanding paleoclimates and other important aspects of the geosciences. They form an important topic in DataStreme Ocean, so actually seeing such materials provided participants with a valuable experience. More description of the second meeting (scheduled for October) will be provided in the extended abstract and poster. During the afternoon session, participants shared descriptions of how they have utilized materials and concepts obtained from the courses. Such peer-to-peer exchanges have been mutually beneficial for the more experienced teachers and the newer teachers. Examples of some of these shared materials will be presented in the poster. Lessons learned about the impact of such training on teachers will also be presented.
Supplementary URL: http://www.earth2class.org
Poster Session 1, Education and Outreach Initiatives
Sunday, 9 January 2005, 5:00 PM-5:00 PM
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