HR: 11:05h
AN: ED22A-04
TI: Taking Broader Impacts to Another Level: Researcher Benefits from Teacher Researcher Experience Collaborations
AU: * Warburton, J
EM: warburton@arcus.org
AF: Arctic Researcher Consortium of the U.S., 3535 College Rd., Suite 101, Fairbanks, AK 99709, United States
AU: Timm, K M
EM: kristin@arcus.org
AF: Arctic Researcher Consortium of the U.S., 3535 College Rd., Suite 101, Fairbanks, AK 99709, United States
AU: Holmes, R M
EM: rholmes@whrc.org
AF: Woods Hole Research Center, 149 Woods Hole Rd., Falmouth, MA 02540, United States
AU: Geiger, C
EM: cgeiger@udel.edu
AF: University of Delaware, Geography Dept., 216 Pearson Hall, Newark, DE 19716, United States
AU: Lefer, B
EM: blefer@uh.edu
AF: University of Houston, Dept. of Geosciences, 312 SR-1, 4800 Calhoun Rd., Houston, TX 77204, United States
AB: Preliminary evaluation results from PolarTREC--Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating, a Teacher Research Experience (TRE) program matching teachers with polar researchers, has shown that program activities have many positive impacts on educators and their ability to teach science concepts and improve their teaching methods. Additionally, K-12 students benefit from their teacher's participation, and when polled in interest surveys, showed significant changes regarding the importance of understanding the polar regions as a person in today's world. Researchers participating in PolarTREC have also been overwhelmingly satisfied with the experience and have cited several specific strengths, including the program's crucial link between the teachers' field research experiences and their classroom and the extensive training provided to teachers prior to their expedition. Participating researchers have also reported that working closely with an educator has given them valuable perspectives on K-12 education and teaching methods that they often take back to their institutions, local schools, and communities. For many researchers, the experience is just the beginning of a long-lasting collaboration and a change in their view of education and its role in scientific research. This presentation will address how TRE's conceived and organized according to current best practices, such as pre-research training, mentoring, support for classroom transfer, and long-term access to resources, are integral to a successful collaboration before, during, and after the field research experience. Additionally, we will discuss how TRE's can greatly impact and diversify the broader impacts of scientific projects, and how TRE's have also become professional development experiences for the researchers that have hosted teachers. Teacher Research Experiences, including programs like PolarTREC, provide a tested approach and a clear route for varying levels of researcher participation in the education community, facilitating collaboration and ensuring educator, student, and community understanding of science during times of interrelated global change.
UR: http://www.polartrec.com
DE: 0800 EDUCATION
DE: 0830 Teacher training
DE: 0850 Geoscience education research
DE: 1600 GLOBAL CHANGE
DE: 1699 General or miscellaneous
SC: Education and Human Resources [ED]
MN: 2008 Fall Meeting