Sixth Symposium on Education at 77th American Meteorological Society Meeting
by Michael J. Passow
Earth Sciences CorrespondentThe Sixth Symposium on Education continued the American Meteorological SocietyŐs leadership position in spotlighting exemplary ideas and programs in the earth sciences. Held as part of the American Meteorological SocietyŐs 77th annual meeting at Long Beach, CA, on 3-4 February, this yearŐs theme was ŇAtmospheric and Oceanographic Education: Teaching about the Global Environment.Ó
This Symposium continued its format of presenting some of the best K-12 and university educational initiatives through oral and poster presentations. In addition, this yearŐs sessions included some outstanding programs aimed at the general public and, through a joint session with the Eighth Symposium on Global Change Studies, examples of global change education initiatives.
Many of the presentations demonstrated in-service applications of the three AMS K-12 educational programs -- Project Atmosphere (focusing on weather and climate); the Maury Project (focusing on oceanography); and DataStreme. DataStreme is the most recent National Science Foundation-funded project from the AMS. It provides a unique teacher enhancement program that utilizes semester-long, distance learning through real-time weather data delivered via the Internet and classroom activities.
After a field test at two location during the spring of 1996, DataStreme began operations last fall with about 60 Local Implementation Teams (LITs) working with classroom teachers. Each LIT is led by an Atmosphere Education Resource Agent (AERA, a master teacher trained through Project Atmosphere), a college science or science education faculty member, and a professional meteorologist, often from National Weather Service (NWS) offices. Each participant works through a printed study guide, twice-weekly current activity files, and a daily national weather summary (prepared by E. J. Hopkins of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.) Eventual plans are to reach several thousand teachers during the four-year grant period which, through inservice peer training, will reach tens of thousands of other teachers.
Because Project Atmosphere began in 1991, AERAs at the symposium were able to show many examples of classroom and peer training projects from the past five years. The Maury Project, now three years along, also provided demonstrations of how ocean science modules are being used to improve science education and develop alternative assessment strategies, including portfolio evaluation.
Many other effective K-12 programs were also showcased. Among these were use of the GLOBE Project to enhance science, math, and language arts (see p. 6, Winter 1997 issue); studies of the Carolina Bays through meteorology and paleogeology; inservice training for teachers in the Mississippi Delta; and the use of weather topics to improve science inquiry in New York City elementary and middle schools. Several workshops featured cooperative projects between classroom teachers and government agencies, including National Weather Services forecast offices, state regional climate centers, and the Westinghouse Savannah River Company.
Some of the university initiatives sessions focused on emerging patterns in federal, undergraduate, and graduate programs, and for continuing education courses. Others demonstrated new applications of the Internet for teaching, self-managed learning, and archiving curriculum materials. Training remains a high priority for the NWS, although (as with most of the federal government) downsizing and reduced budgets loom in the near future. Universities are concerned with three areas: training future operational and research scientists, helping to create a scientifically-literate general public, and pre-service programs for science teachers.
The two-hour poster session presentations ranged from highly technical student research projects to innovative classroom programs to descriptions of pre- and inservice teacher training. Without a doubt, however, the posters drawing the biggest crowds were those describing summer field research in Norway presented jointly by students from State College High School, State College, PA, and James Gillespie High School in Edinburgh, Scotland. Few visitors made it past the Gillespie students in their kilts to posters farther along the line! (Including mine, alas!)
Reaching and teaching the general public in new ways was the focus of the final four presentations. Stephen H. Baumann and H. Vanasse of the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia looked at ŇMeteorology in the Online WorldÓ from a science museum viewpoint. Jack C. Williams, weather page editor of USA Today, considered the educational role of a commercial online service. David Jones and Bob Ryan of NBC-TV in Washington spoke about broadcast and Internet public use of earth and space science. Finally, Perry Samson discussed storm chasing on the Internet, especially use of his highly popular Weather Underground site.
Demonstrating the increasing importance of science education within the AMS mission, the education symposium has held joint meetings with some of the other concurrent symposia. In keeping with this yearŐs theme, educators spoke to scientists attending the 8th Symposium on Global Change Studies. Presentations included descriptions of the field studies done by the State College and Gillespie studies to prepare the next generation of scientists; interactive visualizations of archival data at the National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, NC; the use of El Ni–o studies for simulated ocean expeditions; and various other university, school, and science organization projects.
The overall impression of this yearŐs program is that the AMS Symposium on Education has arrived at a mature standing, under the co-leadership of David R. Smith of the U. S. Naval Academy and Lisa M. Bastiaans of Nassau County Community College. Much of the spontaneity and uncertainty of reception by the science- and technology-oriented AMS members that marked the first few years has been lost, but it has been replaced by a sense of professionalism and equality with the more technical symposium at the annual meeting that greatly enhances the esteem of the meeting, especially among the K-12 participants.
The proceedings volume is available from the American Meteorological Society, 45 Beacon St., Boston, MA 02108-3693. More information about AMS Education Programs is available on the Internet at "http://thunder.met.fsu.edu/explores/ams.html". The American Meteorological Society's Fifth Symposium on Education was reported on pages 9-10 of the Spring 1996 issue of this Newsletter.
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