FLORIDA'S INITIATIVE TO IMPROVE SCIENCE LITERACY: DEVELOPMENT OF THE CPALMS WEB-BASED RESOURCE

The CPALMS website, currently under development as a component of the Florida PROMiSE (Partnership to Rejuvenate and Optimize Mathematics and Science Education in Florida) initiative to improve science education and literacy, merges high-quality curriculum resources with Florida's Next Generation Sunshine State Standards. The goal of CPALMS is to provide a platform for Florida's educators to efficiently access lessons, worksheets, videos, and other high quality instruction resources produced around elements of effective science instruction, containing scientifically accurate information. Coordinated by FCR-STEM at Florida State University, this portal provides an opportunity for scientists to directly impact K12 education by (1) submitting educational activities and lessons to CPALMS and (2) serving as content specialists to educators reviewing instructional materials. In exchange, scientists can (1) utilize activities included in CPALMS for providing outreach, (2) enhance statements of broader impacts by citing project involvement, and (3) help to improve scientific literacy within the base of students entering university classrooms. With their involvement in CPALMS, geoscientists and educators can coordinate to build a citizenry better able to make informed decisions about all areas dependent upon geoscience knowledge, including energy.