From Researchers to Teachers to Students: Capturing the Ripple Effect of Climate Change Science Experience and Communication

PolarTREC (Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating) is a National Science Foundation funded program in which K-12 teachers spend 3-6 weeks participating in hands-on, transformative field research experiences in the polar regions which focus heavily on climate change and climate science. Administrated by the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States, the goal of PolarTREC is to invigorate polar science education and understanding by bringing K-12 educators and polar researchers together. Since 2007, the PolarTREC program evaluation has been collecting deep and diverse sets of data from all audiences engaged in the project. Nearly all expeditions focus on at least one aspect of climate change science. Teacher and researcher participants are queried pre- and post- expedition on their knowledge and interested in polar science, K-12 education, and a critique of the PolarTREC program. A specific highlight is the thousands of students surveyed in regards to their knowledge gain, attitudes, and interest in science learning. Additionally, longitudinal studies expose the myriad of ways that the PolarTREC program influences teachers and their practice many years after program completion. The findings influence and shape the program every year, nearly perfecting the strategy for communicating climate change science to audiences around the world. This presentation will present the social science research findings in our extensive evaluation and provide best practices for program structure as well as evaluation methods to best capture the impact on audiences beyond participants.