PolarTREC 2007-2008 In Progress
Teachers Embark on Polar Research Experiences
To participate in PolarTREC or for more information go to:
http://www.polartrec.com
Or contact:
info [at] polartrec.com
907-474-1600
PolarTREC (Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating in the
Arctic and Antarctic) is a three-year (2007-2009) educational research
experience funded by the National Science Foundation and managed by the
Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S. (ARCUS) in which K-12 teachers
participate in polar research, working closely with scientists as a
pathway to improving science education.
PolarTREC builds on the past TREC program in the Arctic
(http://www.arcus.org/trec) to embrace a wider range of research
activities occurring at both poles during and after the International
Polar Year. PolarTREC fosters the integration of research and education
to produce a legacy of long-term teacher-researcher collaborations,
improved teacher content knowledge through experiences in scientific
inquiry, and broad public interest and engagement in polar science. The
International Polar Year is an outstanding opportunity for researchers
to share their passion for polar research through topics that naturally
engage students and the wider public.
Over the course of three years more than 40 teachers will spend two to
six weeks working with a research team in the Arctic or Antarctic. While
on field expeditions, teachers and researchers will share their
experiences with scientists, educators, communities, and students of all
ages through the use of Internet tools such as online teacher and
researcher journals, message boards, photo albums, podcasts, "Live from
the International Polar Year!" calls and presentations from the field,
and online learning resources. After the field experience, teachers and
researchers will continue to work together to share their experiences
with the public and create instructional activities to transfer
scientific data, methodologies, and technology to classrooms.
A total of 15 teachers were selected through a nationwide search to
participate in the first year of PolarTREC. The first expeditions
departed in early April with one teacher deploying to the pack ice north
of Barrow, Alaska, and two more teachers to an icebreaker in the Bering
Sea. In other arctic expeditions teachers will conduct a variety of
research from snow physics to sea bird biology in Greenland, Russia,
Norway, and Alaska. The first Antarctic field season will begin in late
August 2007 and continue through the winter of 2008. Teachers will be in
several locations around the southern continent from McMurdo Station to
the Oden icebreaker, studying a range of topics from atmospheric ozone
changes to deep sea biology.
To join the discovery, make global connections, and be part of the
International Polar Year or, for more information, visit the PolarTREC
website at:
http://www.polartrec.com
Or contact:
info [at] polartrec.com
907-474-1600