The Ridge 2000 Program: Promoting Earth Systems Science Literacy Through Science Education Partnerships
Abstract
Sponsored by the National Science Foundation, Ridge 2000 (R2K) is a mid-ocean ridge and hydrothermal vent research program with a history of successful education and public outreach (EPO) programs and products. This presentation will share general science and education partnership strategies and best practices employed by the R2K program, with a particular emphasis on the innovative R2K project From Local to EXtreme Environments (FLEXE). As a new project of the international NSF and NASA sponsored GLOBE earth science education program, FLEXE involves middle and high school students in structured, guided analyses and comparisons of real environmental data. The science and education partnership model employed by FLEXE relies on experienced education coordinators within the R2K and international InterRidge and ChEss science research programs, who directly solicit and facilitate the involvement of an interdisciplinary community of scientists in the project based on their needs and interests. Concurrently, the model also relies on the GLOBE program to facilitate awareness and access to a large, established network of international educators who are interested in the process of science and interacting with the scientific community. The predominantly web-based interfaces that serve to effectively link together the FLEXE science and education communities have been developed by the Center for Science and the Schools at Penn State University, and are based on researched educational pedagogy, tools and techniques. The FLEXE partnership model will be discussed in the context of both broad and specific considerations of audience needs, scientist and educator recruitment, and the costs and benefits for those involved in the project.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2007
- Bibcode:
- 2007AGUFMED24A..07S
- Keywords:
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- 0805 Elementary and secondary education;
- 0815 Informal education;
- 0820 Curriculum and laboratory design;
- 0845 Instructional tools;
- 0850 Geoscience education research