Stars and STEM Stories
Brazil Conducts Its First Train the Trainer Workshop
Brazil, Newest GLOBE Member Nation in the Latin America and Caribbean Region, Enthusiastically Begins GLOBE Implementation
Brazil’s very first Train the Trainer (TTT) Workshop was held from 27-29 June 2016, at the Aerospace Brazilian Agency (AEB) in the capital city of Brasilia.
Forty participants, all new recruits to GLOBE, participated in the workshop and joined the field trip to the National Mineral Park of Brasilia, the training site selected for the basic Atmosphere Protocols (temperature of air, precipitation, relative humidity) and Hydrosphere Protocols (transparency, Ph and macro invertebrates) as well as land cover definition and biometry for trees.
Brazil, the largest country in South America and the newest GLOBE country in the Latin America and Caribbean region, joined the Program on 30 June 2015. Dr José Raimundo Coelho, President of the AEB, stated that the agreement between NASA and Brazil had been three years in the making and is very important for Brazil. "Today, nothing is done without using space, hence the importance of maintaining an area of peace," the President said. "We have to work with people who care about space.”
He stressed that NASA’s comprehensive approach to Earth Science, and to our understanding of Earth as a system, will have a welcome place in the AEB’s School program. “Children are our special focus. The space area has its symbols and arouses the interest of young people. In addition to training human resources, it is essential that people know the importance of the Earth, " said the President who has experience as a science teacher at the DF Secretariat of Education. Robson Evangelista, from the AEB echoed those thoughts. “The GLOBE Program awakens our interest in science, allowing us to understand in better ways the world where we live. I think that the GLOBE Program teaches us to observe and think further beyond theoretical knowledge. This workshop allowed me, in a practical way, to know how everything is analyzed in a simple way. This a big project for the future of the planet.”
The TTT Workshop was conducted by Marta Kingsland, Country Coordinator of Argentina and member of the GLOBE Education Working Group; and Claudia Caro of Peru and Vice Chair of the GLOBE Science Working Group, who are both Master Trainers. Said Ms. Caro, “I really enjoyed working with participants who were highly qualified, and I was very much impressed by Brazil’s organization and creativity in designing low cost weather stations (using Arduino software). This equipment, with sensors for atmosphere with GPS incorporated, validated data collected by traditional instruments and has the potential to vitally contribute to data collection in Brazil.” The equipment was developed by teachers Izaias Cabral and Jaime Antunes.
“Measurements gathered in Brazil, the most recent addition to the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region – and an amazing and mega-diverse country at that -- can help us to better understand how the Earth as a system works,” said Caro. “We have a lot to learn from Brazil -- a big country with a fresh perspective for GLOBE and enthusiasm for new ideas,” Gabriel, Specialist of Spatial Education of the AEB agrees. “In the GLOBE workshop, I discovered that Brazil has the potential to receive benefits from GLOBE, through education of young people, as well as to contribute, with important data to enhance knowledge about the world.
Dr. Julio C. Durand, LAC Regional Office Coordinator in his opening words highlighted “the importance of Brazil joining the Program, since it has a high potential for innovation.” The workshop touched on developing robotics to measure some environmental variables (using Arduino, an open-source robotics platform based on easy-to-use hardware and software, intended for anyone making interactive projects.) Robotics is part of the study plan in some Brazilian schools.
Some of the unique aspects of the K-12 science and education program, such as introducing students at a very young age to observe like scientists, also caught the attention of the trainees. Said Mariano Braz, “GLOBE taught me how science can be developed since the earliest years of students; it is not necessary to wait to the last years in the school or university.” The collaborative aspect of the GLOBE learning environment was also appreciated. Said Ricardo of Eco-Escolas, “The GLOBE Program awakens curiosity and interaction between students, making them more sensitive and training them to face future challenges.” Participants also responded positively to GLOBE’s multidisciplinary emphasis, which encourages students to develop skills across the curriculum, in STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) as well as in language arts and the arts. Said Emerson Lopes, “The GLOBE Program makes possible the integration of all disciplines, since the implementation of the GLOBE protocols requires the use of each discipline.”
Summing up the many advantages of participation in the worldwide GLOBE Program, workshop participant Lucas Vieira da Silva may have said it best. “I see in The GLOBE Program an amazing opportunity to integrate basic education to science. I do not have doubts that it will awaken the interest of many young people to be scientists, GLOBE will help to connect them with the world through data contributions.”
Dr. Tony Murphy, GLOBE Implementation Office Director, addressed the gathering by Skype. He highlighted the importance of the Program in the world and was pleased at its rapid implementation in Brazil.
Star submitted by Claudia Caro
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Special thanks to:
- Trainers: Claudia Caro and Marta Kingsland
- Dr. André Rypl, Coordinator of International Cooperation for AEB; and of course
- Host Jean Robert Batana, Deputy Country Coordinador.
Please note:
A 2nd GLOBE Workshop for intermediate and secondary school teachers will take place on 7 and 8 November at the AEB in Brasilia, and will introduce training in the following GLOBE Protocols:
• Atmosphere - Air Temperature
• Atmosphere - Barometric Pressure
• Atmosphere - Clouds
• Atmosphere - Relative Humidity
• Atmosphere - Surface Temperature
• Hydrosphere - Alkalinity
• Hydrosphere - pH
• Hydrosphere - Water Temperature
• Hydrosphere - Water Transparency
The activities will be held in Spanish with translation in Portuguese for Brazilian teachers. There will be theoretical and practical activities to prepare the teachers to work with students, by calibrating the instruments and collecting data properly, according to the the protocol, as well as the release of the data on the GLOBE website.
For more information, contact: Jean Robert Batana Pires Ferreira