85th AMS Annual Meeting

Sunday, 9 January 2005
Using near-real-time data in K-6 educational outreach
Walter C. Oechel, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA; and D. DeRoma, D. Ross, N. Taylor, C. Kelly, and J. Verfaillie
The PISCES (Partnerships Involving the Scientific Community in Elementary Schools) Project is an innovative program that brings standards-based elementary science curriculum and hands-on laboratory materials into K-6 classrooms in San Diego County; the North Slope of Alaska; and La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Funded primarily by the NSF Graduate Teaching Fellows in K-12 Education (GK-12) program (Oechel, PI), PISCES is administered through cooperation among science and education faculty at San Diego State University and the San Diego County Office of Education. Graduate and advanced undergraduate science students from San Diego-area universities partner with elementary school teachers to teach inquiry-based science units, bringing scientific expertise to the classroom in support of teachers' science instruction. In cooperation with the Global Change Research Group (GCRG, Oechel, Director), carbon flux and micrometeorological data from research towers from Alaska to Mexico is used to help students understand the impact of climate change on weather patterns and ecosystem functioning. A series of online elementary-level lessons using GCRG data is currently in development. PISCES has also partnered with Dr. Luís Farfán at Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada (CICESE) to develop interactive programs for middle schools in San Diego and Baja California.

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