Getting Involved in K-12 Outreach: Professional Development Strategies for Research Scientists

CIRES (Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences) initiated a comprehensive K-12 Outreach Program in 1997. Since its inception, the Program has provided professional development for K-12 teachers, classroom presentations for K-12 students, public exhibits, and other programs designed to support high quality science education and ongoing educational reform. The content area focus for these outreach efforts is Earth system science.

CIRES' research scientists, graduate students and other staff are essential to the success of the program. However, involvement in education and outreach presents a unique set of challenges for science and engineering professionals. Several funding agencies now include education/outreach work as a required component of science research, but these outreach programs must be carefully designed if they are to be effective and sustainable.

We will discuss strategies that we have used successfully to engage researchers in outreach, key professional development needs for researchers, and systemic resources that support development of a successful outreach program. We will also discuss several case studies of scientists who have participated in our outreach programs. These examples provide insight into the processes through which research personnel with little or no previous teaching experience can become effective educators.