The NCAR climate and global change professional development program

The Office of Education and Outreach (EO) at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) builds upon UCAR's expertise in professional development by designing and implementing workshops that support K-12 and undergraduate educators. These workshops focus on improving knowledge of the atmospheric and related sciences, facility with computer technology, and proficiency in addressing pedagogical issues.

A series of geoscience educators' workshops for middle and high school teachers were held in the summers of 2002-2004, concentrating on climate and global change. The workshops included presentations by leaders in scientific research, instruction in appropriate technologies, standards-based activities, field trips, project work, and discussions about pedagogy, educational standards, and classroom implementation. Applications for the past three years far outweighed available space, suggesting a need for such workshops. The selection process takes into account the need for a diverse group of participants, balanced between middle and high school educators, with a commitment to sharing the information and resources that they receive through the workshops with colleagues in their home school districts via additional workshops, seminars, and presentations.

In this presentation, workshop instructors will share some of the benefits and challenges of taking this technology into the classroom, as well as updating the status of current efforts to move to an online distribution model and bringing back the in-person model in the coming year.