STORMS - Students and Teachers Observing and Recording Meteorological Systems

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STORMS (Students and Teachers Observing and Recording Meteorological Systems) is a one-year pilot project at the Island Institute in Rockland, Maine, that advances public Earth system science literacy and promotes the development of a future geoscience workforce. By creating professional development experiences and curriculum with students and teachers using a technology-infused, place-based pedagogy, STORMS will strengthen K-8 education on weather, storms, and climate in at least 10 island and rural coastal schools in the Gulf of Maine. Project goals include: 1) increasing teacher and student knowledge of core STEM principles on weather, storms, and climate; 2) increasing teacher abilities to use technology tools to strengthen STEM curriculum; 3) increasing teacher and student awareness of geoscience educational and career pathways; and 4) illustrating the efficacy of the STORMS professional development model for increasing Earth science literacy to inform curriculum development throughout the state of Maine. To accomplish these goals, STORMS combines place-based education strategies, strong professional learning communities, and integrated technology plans to stimulate inquiry-based learning. Teachers will develop the content understanding, technology skills, curriculum, and confidence to explore climate science in their classrooms through the lens of weather and storms. Students will observe and participate in authentic research activities first-hand, including collecting weather data, undertaking basic data analysis and graphing, and documenting how weather and storms affect natural resource-based communities using spatial data tools (GPS/GIS) and ethnographic research. STORMS staff, science and STEM education research advisors have formed strategic statewide partnerships with the National Weather Service and CoCoRAHS to ensure that STORMS acts as a catalytic pilot project beyond participating schools, enabling design and deployment of more effective climate science education initiatives within the northeast region and more broadly.