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NSF PR 96-69 - November 7, 1996
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Teachers Trade Classroom Routine for Antarctic Adventure
Barbara Schulz, a biology teacher at Seattle's Lakeside
School, had to think hard about her answer when a
co-worker asked why she wanted to spend a month studying
the ability of microorganisms to survive in the harsh
climate of the world's most remote and frigid laboratory.
But Schulz's response was understandable. She couldn't
conceive of anyone not wanting to take advantage of
a National Science Foundation (NSF) program that pairs
classroom teachers with Antarctic scientists, providing
educators with an unparalleled opportunity to help
conduct real science on the world's southernmost continent.
"When she asked me `Why would anyone want to go there?'"
Schulz said with a laugh, "I said `You must not be
a science person'."
Schulz, along with four colleagues from across the
United States, recently attended an orientation session
at NSF headquarters in Arlington, Va. to learn from
experts what they could expect -- and what would be
expected of them -- as one of six K-12 teachers taking
part in NSF's Teacher Experience in Antarctica (TEA)
program.
The briefing ranged from lessons on the dynamics of
glaciers to advice to appreciate the greenery during
a stopover in New Zealand, to, oh yes, making sure
their thermal underwear fits properly.
NSF runs the U.S. Antarctic program and coordinates
and schedules scientific research there. The TEA program
began in 1992 as part of the effort to make Antarctic
research more accessible to the public. This year,
22 teachers were nominated by NSF researchers for
the limited number of available slots. The six selected
will spend their three- to four-week stints working
with research scientists at one of several Antarctic
research stations or on one of the NSF's research
vessels.
Wayne Sukow, head of workforce education and research
in NSF's education and human resources directorate,
said the TEA program infuses the excitement of Antarctic
research into education. "Both the scientists and
the teachers gain a new respect for each other and
change their views of what each other does," Sukow
said. He notes that the program also helps to meet
the foundation's goal of integrating research and
education.
Dennis Peacock, the head of NSF's Antarctic sciences
section, told the TEA participants their predecessors
have helped to fulfill TEA's mission by undertaking
such projects as developing a site on the Internet's
World Wide Web to reach global audiences. "What we're
asking from you is leveraging," he said. "When you
go back to work, you're going to be so influential.
Think about curriculum. Think about public speaking.
Be an ambassador for science.''
Peter Amati, a teacher at Holliston High School in
Massachusetts, who traveled to Antarctica in 1992,
noted that for teachers, accustomed to being in complete
charge of their classrooms, the experience of working
with scientists who have only a few months to conduct
crucial research can be trying. "Remember," he told
his colleagues, "there'll be a lot of tension, but
it won't be directed at you. It's stressful. It's
difficult.. But it's wonderful."
Schulz, meanwhile, said she is excited not only about
the opportunity to carry out research in a continent-sized
outdoor laboratory where few scientists ever work,
but also to have the chance to share the excitement
of science with as many other people as possible.
"I think science teachers, in general, have a responsibility
to reach out to the research community and to become
a conduit for translating what's going on in the laboratory
to the general public," she said. "The prospective
English majors in my science class may never take
another science course."
Editor's Note: A list of participants
in the TEA program follows.
PARTICIPANTS IN NSF'S 1996-97
TEACHER EXPERIENCE IN ANTARCTICA PROGRAM
TEACHERS/STUDENTS |
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS |
Margaret Brumsted, Providence, RI |
James Baker, Marine Biologist
University of Alabama |
Carole Bennett, West Fayette, IN
Jennifer Stewart, West Fayette, IN |
David Braaten, Glaciologist
University of Kansas |
William Phillips, Fredrica, DE
Zachary Stadel, Portland, OR |
Bruce Marsh, Geologist
John Hopkins University |
Linda Wygoda, Lake Charles, LA |
Frank Murcray, Atmospheric Chemist
University of Denver |
Barbara Schulz, Issaquah, WA |
Robert Wharton, Biologist
Desert Research Institute |
Dominic Tedeschi, Pomfret Center, CT |
Wade Jeffrey, Marine Biologist
University of West Florida |
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