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In the school year of 1997/98, 218 teachers in eight rural areas attended these three days of inservice training. For the first day, Science Explorers, teachers participated as a team with five of their students in a full day of hands-on activities. This year the theme was Currents and 850 students were in attendance with their teachers. The teachers returned to their classrooms with written curriculum, kits of materials for teaching the curriculum, and five very excited students to help them teach the rest of the class. Three scientists from NCAR, Drs. Margaret LeMone (MMM), Rajul Pandya (ASP), and Kevin Petty (ASP) participated in the second day of training providing more content, demonstrations, and the opportunity for teachers to get their questions answered. The third day of training focused on computer technology with an emphasis on introduction to the Internet including specific training in effectively searching the Web and using electronic mail. The technology day was planned and implemented cooperatively with expert staff from the Boulder Valley School District.
The three-week summer institute was held in June, 1998 with 32 lead teachers, several from each of eight rural regions. Twenty-eight scientists from NCAR, UOP, and UCAR participated in the summer institute providing scientific expertise, hands-on demonstrations, and the latest in atmospheric research. The content focus this second summer included a review of last summer's content (an overview of the atmospheric sciences), general circulation patterns and climate drivers, climate variability, regional climates, paleoclimates, the greenhouse effect, evidence of climate change, anthropogenic contributions to global environmental change, and human responses to global environmental change. In addition, teachers learned about such educational topics as student assessment and teaching the nature of science. The teachers spent two days of the summer institute as interns to NCAR, UOP, and UCAR scientists as well as the broadcast meteorologist at CBS affiliate KCNC (Channel 4) in Denver. The intern days allowed teachers the opportunity to further understand scientific research and the diversity of research projects at NCAR.
LEARN builds on the an earlier Project LEARN and utilizes the three teaching modules developed by teachers and scientists during the 1993-1995 summer workshops. The modules are:
