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COMMUNITY:
Project Descriptions

IPY: PolarTREC -- Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating

January 1, 2007 - December 31, 2010 | Public Programs, Professional Development, Conferences, and Networks
PolarTREC (Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating) is a three-year teacher professional enhancement program that will advance polar science education by bringing K-12 educators and polar researchers together in hands-on field experiences in the Arctic and Antarctic. PolarTREC activities and products will foster the integration of research and education to produce a legacy of long-term teacher-researcher collaborations, improvement of teacher content knowledge and teaching practices, shareable online learning resources based on real-world science, improved student knowledge of and interest in the Arctic and Antarctic, and broad public engagement in polar science. ARCUS will adapt and extend existing Teacher Research Experience (TRE) models and its own experience delivering TREC -- a TRE program supported by NSF for the Arctic -- to develop PolarTREC, a comprehensive, sustained field research experience program for K-12 teachers focusing on IPY science themes at both polar regions. Thirty-six teachers will spend two to six weeks in the Arctic or Antarctic studying a topic relevant to one of the IPY emphasis areas, with "Live from IPY" calls, Internet presentations, and podcasts from the field, daily teacher journals, interactive bulletin boards, photo galleries, online multimedia learning resources and activities, and participation in CARE (Connecting Arctic/Antarctic Researchers and Educators) web-meetings to support translation of experiences into the classroom and beyond. PolarTREC is relevant to the education goals of the IPY by 1) providing a hands-on field research experience that can be realistically implemented in the polar regions; 2) broadly disseminating teacher experiences to students and other professionals; 3) developing a sustainable learning community; and 4) providing clear and appropriate measures of project success through a formative and summative evaluation. Additionally, the PolarTREC evaluation will provide a basis for replicating or expanding the program structure and best practices. PolarTREC will benefit from close coordination with logistics providers and international programs to ensure operational feasibility and an international reach.

Funders

NSF
Funding Program: AES
Award Number: 0632401
Funding Amount: 1227637

TEAM MEMBERS

  • Janet Warburton
    Principal Investigator
    Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S.
  • Wendy Warnick
    Former Principal Investigator
    Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S.
  • Discipline: Ecology, forestry, and agriculture | Life science
    Audience: Educators/Teachers | Scientists
    Environment Type: Public Programs | Laboratory Programs | Professional Development, Conferences, and Networks | Professional Development and Workshops

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