Water in the Earth System (WES): An Online Distance-Learning Program for Precollege Teacher Enhancement and Leadership Training

The American Meteorological Society (AMS) was recently awarded a major grant from the National Science Foundation to conduct a Teacher Enhancement Project with a strong leadership component. An innovative Internet-based distance-learning course directed toward precollege teachers will be developed and implemented nationwide. The course, Water in the Earth System (WES) Online, will incorporate inquiry-based instructional strategies and a holistic concept of Earth from oceanic, atmospheric and terrestrial water and problem-focused perspectives. Course participants will be prepared as WES resource teachers. They will demonstrate, through investigations of the global water cycle, the value of Internet access to environmental information in classroom applications. All teachers involved will be prepared to promote Earth system studies across the school curriculum in support of the National Science Education Standards. The United States Naval Academy, the U.S. Navy, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the State University of New York at Brockport will provide assistance in the program. The project will develop and implement a graduate three credit-hour distance-learning course partially delivered by Internet that introduces over 1600 teachers to scientifically authentic and pedagogically sound learning activities. As WES resource teachers, the course participants will interact with an estimated 16000 teachers (and 160000 students) in their home schools within two years of taking the course. A core group of 40 teacher Local Implementation Team leaders will be trained to provide course implementation and follow-up leadership.