NEW APPROACHES TO RAISING SCIENTIFIC LITERACY THROUGH THE AMS DATASTREME PROJECT

For more than 25 years, the American Meteorological Society (AMS) Education Program has been enhancing K-12 teacher preparation and practice, and ultimately student learning through the DataStreme Project. The semester-length DataStreme Atmosphere, Ocean, and Earth’s Climate System courses empower teachers to implement STEM concepts in their classrooms using real-world data and real-life events to deepen understanding of core geoscience concepts. An essential element contributing to the high quality and success of these courses is the partnership between educators and scientists. Many scientists, including those from AMS staff and membership, contribute to the courses through mentoring and content creation.

In 2017, the AMS Education Program entered into a new agreement with California University of Pennsylvania (Cal U) to serve as the institutional partner for the DataStreme Project, giving participants the opportunity to earn tuition-free graduate credits upon successful completion of each course. Since entering into this new agreement, an online course delivery platform has been leveraged for the first time allowing for streamlined organization of course content on Cal U’s learning management system (Desire2Learn (D2L)). The shift to D2L has made DataStreme courses far more digitally-connected allowing networking between participants, even at a distance. Additional improvements will be unveiled for the fall semester and in this presentation.

A substantial portion of the educator-scientist partnership in DataStreme courses is realized through the role of teacher mentoring teams, Local Implementation Teams (LITs). LITs, located throughout the country, are typically comprised of educators and scientists who mentor local participants through a DataStreme course each semester and lead several face-to-face meetings. Now, with more remote participants, a greater emphasis on digital pedagogical tools, and resources available through Cal U’s Global Online program, the role of LITs is evolving. This presentation will highlight some changes made in light of this evolution.

The future of teacher professional development opportunities via the DataStreme Project is bright as it evolves and leverages new tools while staying rooted in its mission to increase public scientific literacy.