Teacher Embarks on Polar Research Experiences

CSTA member Anne Marie Wotkyns, a 4^th grade teacher at J.B. Monlux Math, Science, Technology Magnet Elementary School, always wanted to work with scientists in field locations, and in December she will be living her lifelong dream by joining a team of polar ice researchers in Antarctica for seven weeks studying sea ice processes, biology, oceanography, and biochemistry in the Amundsen Sea along the coast of Antarctica.

Anne Marie will travel with the science team from Punta Arenas, Chile, to McMurdo Station, Antarctica, aboard the Oden, a Swedish icebreaker designed for polar research. She will participate as a research team member in the authentic scientific expedition, joining other K-12 teachers who will be working in research locations from the Arctic Ocean to Antarctica’s McMurdo Station as part of a program that allows teachers to experience first-hand what it is like to conduct scientific research in some of the most remote locations on Earth.

Teachers are selected through a nationwide search to participate in  PolarTREC, an educational research experience in which K-12 teachers engage in polar research, working closely with scientists as a pathway to improving science education. Through PolarTREC, selected teachers have the rare opportunity to 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, PolarConnect real-time presentations from the field, and online learning resources. After the field experience, teachers and researchers will continue to share their experiences with the public and create instructional activities to transfer scientific data, methodologies, and technology to classrooms.

Anne Marie will be sharing her experiences exclusively with California Classroom Science readers beginning in January, with a series of first-person reports from the field.

PolarTREC is managed by the Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S. (ARCUS) and funded by the National Science Foundation. Interested teachers can visit the PolarTREC website at: http://www.polartrec.com for more information and to participate, or contact Janet Warburton or Kristin Timm, ARCUS Project Managers, at warburton@arcus.org or kristin@arcus.org or 907-474-1600.

The Arctic Research Consortium of the United States (ARCUS) is based in Fairbanks, Alaska and was formed in 1988 to provide leadership in advancing knowledge and understanding of the Arctic. ARCUS is a member consortium of educational and scientific institutions. Further information is available at: http://www.arcus.org.

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Written by csta2010