Project Weather Watch

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Dr. Martin Marin is the Dean of the School of Education at City University of New York, and he has designed an innovative program for introducing atmospheric science and weather-prediction technology into the elementary and middle school curriculum in Community School Districts 5, 10, 11, and 25 of New York City. The City's instructional program for grades 5 and 8 already includes weather as a content topic, and Dr. Marin's project will significantly enhance the teaching and learning of this subject. Dr. Marin has established close ties among the University's department of Atmospheric Sciences and the national network of satellite-derived weather data. A cadre of 12 science teachers from the four districts will receive two weeks of intensive training in atmospheric sciences, satellite weather data, computer-based telecommunications and analysis of weather data. The teachers and atmospheric scientists will spend a year designing instructional strategies for classroom use and a curriculum for training teachers in the content and delivery of inquiry-driven weather units. Weather is a content topic that lends itself well to urban school districts. With the right instructional strategies, weather can be a springboard to teaching inquiry skills, data analysis, computer applications, and a wide variety of problem-solving strategies. The proposed planning effort has the potential for wide impact on the New York City science curriculum, and on instructional programs in many other large cities.