Extended Abstract (124K)1.8
AMS DataStreme courses - preparing teachers to use Earth system information
Robert S. Weinbeck, SUNY, Brockport, NY; and I. W. Geer, J. M. Moran, E. W. Mills, E. J. Hopkins, D. R. Smith, and B. A. Blair
The American Meteorological Society's Education Program provides three teacher-enhancement courses [DataStreme Atmosphere, DataStreme Ocean and DataStreme Water in the Earth System (WES)] to develop Earth system science competency. Following course participation teachers become Earth system science resource persons for their schools and districts. Participating teachers report that students find the use of telecommunicated Earth system environmental information to be both exciting and highly motivational. To date, over 8500 teachers have completed one or more of the courses.
DataStreme Atmosphere, which began as the DataStreme Project in 1995, has served as the model for all AMS' DataStreme courses. In the DataStreme courses, participating teachers learn the subject content through a semester-long, blended learning course. A Local Implementation Team (LIT) typically consisting of three master teachers and scientists serves as mentors to the teachers who are recruited locally. The LIT collegially assists the teachers to learn the content through weekly mentoring and several meetings. The AMS Education Program provides learning materials with benchmark investigations, the first half of which are in a study guide and the second half written to current environmental information delivered in near real-time via Internet. The course emphasis is on using current environmental information to bring immediacy and interest to science, and technology, and mathematics studies in the classroom.
Session 1, K-12 and Popular Initiatives
Monday, 10 January 2005, 1:30 PM-5:30 PM
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