Stars and STEM Stories
GLOBE @ NSTA - St. Louis, MO 2007
GLOBE had a strong presence at the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) annual conference 28 - 31 March 2007. Major activities included NSTA International Science Education Day, the GLOBE North America Regional Meeting, GLOBE representation in the NASA and UCAR Booths, the annual GLOBE Community Reception and many presentations by the GLOBE community.
NSTA International Science Education Day
For the past two years, NSTA, working with the International Council of Associations for Science Education (ICASE), has held a formal event focused on promoting science education around the world. GLOBE assists NSTA and ICASE with the organization of the event. International Science Education day offers numerous opportunities for international visitors to network with science educators from various cultures, including those from North America. Concurrent sessions focused on issues related to Recruitment, Support, and Retention of beginning teachers, early career teachers and experienced teachers. Both Henry Saunders (Trinidad and Tobago) and Bill Batycky (Canada) gave informative presentations about GLOBE implementation and activities in their countries. Teresa Kennedy, Deputy Director of GLOBE, presided over the concurrent session featuring papers related to Recruitment, Support, and Retention of Experienced Teachers. In addition, over 75 participants visited the GLOBE Program Office poster display.
One of the highlights of this year's International Science Education Day included the initiation of a formal partnership between GLOBE and NSTA! This partnership includes working together on common goals where synergistic benefits exist, such as building an international learning community that can promote the exchange of ideas regarding international science education, promotion of cooperative projects, and create collaborative student/teacher exchange opportunities.
North America Regional Meeting
For the last few years, the U.S. Partners have met on the day before NSTA begins to share experiences about implementing GLOBE and discuss ideas about strengthening GLOBE implementation in the U.S. This year, the Country Coordinator from Canada joined 26 representatives from U.S. Partnerships representing 14 states (Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Kansas, Missouri, Michigan, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and West Virginia) for the first North American Regional Meeting.
Booths
GLOBE staff had program materials on hand at the UCAR Office of Education and Outreach booth as well as the NASA booth. Many conference attendees wanted to learn more about the program and expressed interest in using GLOBE with their students to promote inquiry-based research. GLOBE Partners are welcome to assist us in the booths so please come and be a part of this activity next year!
GLOBE Reception
The GLOBE reception was attended by over 100 GLOBE Partners, Trainers and Teachers. All enjoyed a relaxed evening sharing experiences and ideas about GLOBE activities in their region during the past year. This event has become a tradition among those who are involved with the GLOBE Program. The reception's informal setting provides everyone with an opportunity to network with others and bring with them someone they know who would like to become involved with the GLOBE Program.
Community Presentations
Presentations from the GLOBE community included GLOBE ESSP Project representatives, GLOBE PIs, and many GLOBE International Partners.
Dr. Elena Sparrow, GLOBE Partner from the University of Alaska in Fairbanks and GLOBE Seasons and Biomes ESSP Lead, conducted a presentation covering the Seasons and Biomes project and their IPY activities as well as a Phenology workshop that was well attended.
Dr. Jimmie Adegoke, GLOBE Partner from the University of Missouri in Kansas City, and Dr. Marilyn Rhea presented their experiences teaching weather using the GLOBE program. Their presentation was entitled "Weather or Not? Great ideas for teaching students about weather from the GLOBE program."
Dr. Kevin Czajkowski, GLOBE Partner from the University of Toledo, in Toledo, Ohio, presented SATELLITES (Students And Teachers Exploring Local Landscape to Interpret The Earth from Space): Using Geospatial Technology to Teach Science in a Large Municipal School District. His presentation described how students use Geographic Positioning Systems and remote sensing to study earth science in inquiry-based class and field work.
Dr. Kimberly Staples, GLOBE Partner from Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas, presented "Strategies for Integrating Multicultural Competencies into the Elementary Science Methods Curriculum".
Three NASA Satellite Missions and the GLOBE Program teamed up to provide teachers nationwide with numerous resources and opportunities to participate in their missions and their continuing efforts provide scientists with valuable data related to Earth's atmosphere. Over 300 teachers visited the Satellite Share-a-Thon.
Presenters included:
- CALIPSO and AIM: Dr. Dianne Robinson and Barbara Maggi (Virginia) and Paul Adams (Kansas)
- CloudSat: Peter Falcon (NASA JPL) and Susan Lini (CSU)
- S'COOL (Students' Cloud Observations On-Line): Dr. Lin Chambers and Susan Moore (Langley, Virginia)
- GLOBE North America Regional Desk Officer Nan McClurg represented The GLOBE Program