TEACHERS AND RESEARCHERS BRINGING THE IMPACTS OF OIL AND GAS DEVELOPMENT TO MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL CLASSROOMS

As part of the AirWaterGas Sustainability Research Network, funded by the National Science Foundation, secondary science teachers worked with AirWaterGas researchers in a yearlong program culminating in the development of educational resources for teaching about the impacts of unconventional oil and gas development. For the first half of the year, distance-learning courses provided teachers with an overview of the tradeoffs of oil and gas development including oil and gas infrastructure, energy choices, climate change, air quality, water quality, public health, economics, and practices and policies relating to oil and gas development. Then, teachers took a course on best practices in science curriculum development while making plans for the educational resources they would create. To complete the program, teachers developed educational resources during a month-long residency in Boulder, Colorado. AirWaterGas researchers served as advisors and collaborators, providing resources and feedback as teachers developed curriculum projects. UCAR educational designers provided mentoring support, reviewed projects, and fostered collaboration. The resulting suite of educational resources includes student explorations of the environmental, economic, social, health, and climate impacts of oil and gas development happening in Colorado. After classroom testing and revision, educational resources have been disseminated via science education conferences, shared via the web (https://www.airwatergas.org/resources/curriculum/), and presented to Colorado science teachers during a six-week distance-learning course.