Interpreting Current Research on Global Environmental Issuesfor Middle-School Teachers and Their Students

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This proposal is designed to create among middle-school teachers and their students an enhanced awareness and understanding of global environmental issues by providing a structure for the transfer of marine and aquatic research results and methods to middle-school educators. A total of 150 teachers will participate in five, three-week summer workshops during a three-year period. Each of the five workshops will be conducted at the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory located in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. The workshops are designed to: (a) raise the awareness and understanding of the participants concerning global environmental issues; (b) give the participants a variety of field, laboratory, and classroom teaching techniques; (c) provide a forum for teachers' interaction with research scientists; and (d) translate research into teaching applications. The teachers participating in these workshops will represent Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and Louisiana. Each of the workshops will recruit participants from these four states. Each of the three-week workshops will be supported by "follow-up" participation in state, regional, and/or national meetings. During the academic year, participating teachers are expected to develop an inservice training program within their respective school districts. Four general areas of global environmental concern will be addressed by this project. They are: (1) climatic changes, (2) marine and estuarine pollution, (3) decline in biodiversity, and (4) overpopulation. A multi-disciplinary approach will be utilized through the interactions of research scientists, marine and science educators, and classroom teachers. Teaching methodologies will encompass the science/technology/society philosophical approach. In summary, this project, through the interaction of the middle-school classroom teachers, marine educators and marine scientists should provide an excellent opportunity for science teachers and other science educators to improve their knowledge and skills relating to the study of global environmental issues. The 150 teachers, representing four states, have the potential of reaching more than 22,000 students. Cost sharing equals 39% of the NSF award.