Arctic Field Projects
Project Title: PolarTREC - Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating (Award# 0956825)
PI: Warburton, Janet (warburton@arcus.org)
Phone: (907) 474.1600
Institute/Department: Arctic Research Consortium of the United States,
IPY Project?
Funding Agency: US\Federal\NSF\OD\OPP\ARC\ARE\TREC
Program Manager: Mr. Peter West (pwest@nsf.gov)
Discipline(s): | Education and Outreach |
| Project Web Site(s): |
| NSF_Award_Info: http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward.do?AwardNumber=0956... |
| Blog: http://www.polarfield.com/blog/polartrec-teachers-prepare-20... |
| Project: http://www.polartrec.com/ |
Science Summary:
This proposal continues and expands the PolarTREC program that matches K-12 educators with researchers for field experiences in the Arctic and Antarctic. Annually the project will select 6-8 Arctic and 4-6 Antarctic projects to host teachers selected from nationwide applicants. Over four years, 48 teachers will go to the polar regions. The project has four objectives to: improve teacher content knowledge of multidisciplinary polar science; improve teacher instructional practices, especially the use of inquiry-based learning to translate polar science to the classroom; improve polar researcher’s understanding of and engagement in K-12 education; and increase student’s understanding of and engagement in the polar regions and polar science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) careers. The teacher experience includes an intense orientation focusing on having a successful field experience and translating that into the classroom, developing an education and outreach plan that focuses on their specific needs and goals, a final essay, submitting journals and photos to a website of real-time materials plus occasional live broadcasts from the field, follow up through a share fare to exchange activities and a network of teachers sharing ideas for incorporating the experience into their classrooms all backed up by external evaluation of the project using formative and summative techniques to address teacher professional development. PolarTREC is administered by the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States (ARCUS), a non-profit (501 3-C) in Fairbanks, Alaska.
Logistics Summary:
With this grant, which continues support previously provided by NSF grant 0632401, the PolarTREC program will continue offering teachers field research experiences at ship-based and terrestrial polar sites around the Arctic and in Antarctica from 2010 to 2014. (Note: this database focuses on research fielded in the Arctic.) Approximately six teachers annually will join the field campaigns of six Arctic researchers as active participants for about 2-6 weeks. Pre-season exposure to the project’s science objectives and technology assistance and training will help prepare teachers for the unique experience to come. In-field technology use will support the teachers and the research team in broadcasting via the Internet to a live audience; photographs and journal entries posted to ARCUS’ PolarTREC Web site will allow anyone interested to follow along via the Web on their own time. No fieldwork is associated with this coordinating activity. Fieldwork details for PolarTREC can be found under each participant's record as well as those of the PIs with whom they are paired.
CPS will provide field clothing and satellite communications; and pay for Arctic participants' commercial travel to and from field sites including transportation and per diem and in-the-field user days for terrestrial participants as necessary. To support teacher training efforts, CPS will pay for two staff to attend the annual PolarTREC Orientation and ShareFair. All other components of the PolarTREC program will be paid by ARCUS through the PolarTREC grant.
| Season | Field Site | Date In | Date Out | #People |
| 2010 | Alaska - Fairbanks | 0 | ||
| 2011 | Alaska - Fairbanks | 0 | ||
| 2012 | Alaska - Fairbanks | 0 | ||
| 2013 | Alaska - Fairbanks | 0 | ||
| 2014 | Alaska - Fairbanks | 0 |
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