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NSTA 2000 TEA Parcticipants
NSTA 2000
Orlando, Florida
Meeting Notes
Attendees
Shawn Beightol
Carole Bennett, Sickles High School, Tampa, Florida
Elke Bergholz, United Nations International School, New York, New York
Arlyn Bruccoli, American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York
Margaret Brumsted, Chelsea High School, Chelsea, Massachusetts
Don Buckley, Marymount School, New York, New York
Arlene Cain, Sam Houston High School, Lake Charles, Louisiana
Timothy Conner, Chenango Forks Central School, Binghamton, New York
Besse Dawson, Pearland High School, Pearland, Texas
Elissa Elliott, Houston, Texas
Kim Giesting, Connersville High School, Connersville, Indiana
Marvin Giesting, Connersville High School, Connersville, Indiana
Sharon Harris, Mother of Mercy High School , Cincinnati, Ohio
Paul Jones, Montezuma Community Schools, Montezuma, Iowa
Richard M. Jones, Billings Senior High, Billings, Montana
Sandra Kolb, Fairview Junior High, Bremerton, Washington
Terry Lashley, Appalachian Rural Systemic Initiative, Knoxville, Tennessee
Debra Meese, Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, Hanover, New Hampshire
John Nevins, Crandon High School, Crandon, Wisconsin
Marjorie Porter, Woodstock Academy Woodstock, Connecticut
Carolyn Rost, Mother of Mercy High School, Cincinnati, Ohio
Stephanie Shipp, Rice University, Houston, Texas
Valerie Sloane, Orcas Island Elementary School, Orcas, Washington
Bruce Smith, Appleton North High School, Appleton, Wisconsin
Steven Stevenoski, Lincoln High School, Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin
Wayne Sukow, National Science Foundation, Arlington, Virginia
Betty Trummel, Husmann Elementary School, Crystal Lake, Illinois
Hillary Tulley, Niles North High School, Skokie, Illinois
Timothy J. Vermaat, Chenango Forks Central Schools, Binghamton, New York
Sally Wall, Seabrook Intermediate School, Seabrook, Texas
Andre Wille, Basalt High School, Basalt, Colorado
Linda Wygoda, Sam Houston High School, Lake Charles, Louisiana
Clarice Yentsch, American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York

Booth
The TEA booth was hosted on the convention floor from Thursday afternoon to Sunday afternoon. The main goals were to share the opportunity to bring the TEA research experience into the classroom through TEA Web pages, resources, activities, on-line dialog, parcticipation in the Associates Program, and application for the TEA program. Two "Booth Briefs" were held for the TEA booth hosts to become familiar with the objectives and materials.

Approximately 500 NSTA attendees visited the booth. This number is smaller than in previous years, but conversation with other NSTA exhibitors indicated they experienced the same trend; numbers of NSTA attendees were lower and many attendees spent time at outside attractions rather than in the convention. TEA booth hosts reported that the number of visitors was steady throughout the convention and that they had more time for in-depth conversation with visitors.


Presentations
Ten workshops and one short course were presented at the convention with the objectives of sharing of the TEA experience to expand the impact of the TEA program. The workshops typically included an overview of the TEA Program, presentation of the research experience, and a chance for the workshop attendees to parcticipate in a hands-on activity. Hand-outs to attendees included a CD-ROM of the Web site and a virtual polar experience compiled by TEAs Dom Tedeschi and Marge Porter.

The Short Course was attended by 24 parcticipants. Presentations were geared to illustrate the diversity of research projects in which TEA parcticipants have been involved and to identify opportunities for bringing Arctic research into the classroom. It is hoped that a focus on the upcoming field season will result in an increased audience of "followers."

Maintaining Body Temperature in the Southern Ocean: Countercurrent Heat Exchange in Antarctic Marine Mammals
Margaret Brumsted, Edwina Cronin
Attending: Giesting, Porter, Stevenoski

Using collaborative Learning to reinforce science skills
Don Buckley, Elke Bergholz, Elaine Almeida, Margaret Condron
Attending: Wygoda, Cain, Conner

On the Ice and Into the Classroom
Besse Dawson, Steve Stevenoski, John Nevins (Previously Peter Amati)
Attending: Wille, Wall

Antarctica? Absolutely!
Kim Giesting
Attending: Bergholz, Buckley, Elliott

Bringing Arctic Science to Students - Research Experiences for Teachers Translated to the Classroom (short course)
Meese, Conner, Dawson, M. Giesting, Kolb, Lashley, Nevins, Shipp, Vermaat, Wall

Classroom Antarctica
John Nevins, Besse Dawson, Sandi Kolb, Hillary Tulley (Previously Peter Amati)
Attending: Smith, Shutey, Tulley

Black Smokers and Blue Ice
Steve Stevenoski
Attending: Brumsted, Smith, Porter

From Polar Bears to Penguins
Steve Stevenoski and John Nevins
Attending: Wille, Conner, Vermaat

It's Not Just Penguins and Polar Bears
Steve Stevenoski and John Nevins
Attending: Trummel, Conner, Vermaat

Teachers Experiencing Antarctica
Betty Trummel and Hillary Tulley
Attending: Harris, Rost, Sloane

Spectroscopy at the South Pole
Linda Wygoda and Arlene Cain
Attending: Stevenoski, Kolb, Bergholz


TEA Program Meeting
The TEA Program meeting was held Friday 7 April from 4:00 to 6:00 pm, with an icebreaker following the session.

News items:
  • The new brochures are ready and packets of brochures will be sent out the week of 4/24.
  • The first cut of Web page revisions has been completed; finishing touches are in progress.
  • Revised applications are available on the Web site.
  • The due date is 15 May.
  • This selection year marks the change to a full pre-field year for the parcticipants (Arctic teachers will no longer go into the field the summer immediately after they have been selected), thus permitting more time for preparing, connecting with the research team, and involving other classrooms.
  • Notification of applications broadcast through NSTA, NEA, Equity Centers, Systemic Initiatives, State Science Coordinators, NABT, GSA, etc.
  • Orientation 2000/2001 was held two weeks prior to NSTA for the 9 Arctic TEAs and the 7 Antarctic TEAS.
  • Past parcticipants are encouraged to welcome the new TEA parcticipants and to get to know them.
  • Web pages are posted for the new TEAs.
  • Mentors are being assigned.
  • A 5 year the TEA Program grant was awarded by NSF to Rice University, the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, and the American Museum of Natural History beginning in April of 1999. This means several new directions of growth and the ability to plan over the long-term.
  • An Advisory Board is in place, including researchers, education specialists, and TEA parcticipants. Barbara Schulz and Tim Conner are TEA Board Members. The Board meets annually, but has communication throughout the year. A primary function is to ensure the program objectives are met through the evolution of TEA.
  • The impact of the program on teacher and researcher parcticipants and will be evaluated and documented by Maritza MacDonald and Arlyn Bruccoli of AMNH.
  • After many frustrated attempts, CU-SeeMe will no longer be supported by the TEA Program because:
  • WhitePine, distributors of CU-SeeMe, are charging a large annual fee (verging on highway robbery) for use of CU-SeeMe reflectors;
  • Getting equipment at the field sites has been problematic; and
  • Ensuring that classrooms have the appropriate hardware and software has been challenging.
  • Steve Stevenoski will maintain and oversee aReal Audio, an Internet broadcast system that requires only telephone access from the field and connection to the Internet in the classroom.
  • While in the field, each TEA will send images and information to Steve, who will post the materials on a Web site. Steve will send notification of upcoming broadcast events to the TEA community. During the broadcast, Steve will serve as the MC (wearing a wild-plaid sport coat), relaying questions to the TEA in the field. The TEA will respond via phone across the Internet.
  • There was some concern over schools blocking Real Audio; this will have to be monitored (same scenario was encountered with CU-SeeMe)

  • The TEA & ICE Program is on hold for a year. It is hoped that this program will be open to past TEA parcticipants to spend the field season on-site at Arctic or Antarctic stations as the educational liaison. As the TEA & ICE Program develops, the TEA community will be kept posted.
  • A TEA Editorial Board was put into place via a call to the TEA community for interested volunteers. The Editorial Board, led by Arlyn Bruccoli, is charged with working with each activity author to ensure the activities are complete and leverage the TEAs voice and field/classroom experience.
  • To date, two activities workshops have been held, during which the foundations were laid for activity formats. At present there are more than 50 activities in the TEA archive. These are in varying stages of completeness.
  • The Editorial Board met in January (meeting notes were sent to the community and are available on the TEAs Only Web site) to review activities of Board members and make recommendations to stream-line the existing activity template based on feedback from the audience.
  • Editorial Board members bring a wide variety of experiences in curriculum design and writing to the table. Members include: Fred Atwood, John Nevins, Larry Rose, Sandy Shutey, Betty Trummel, and Hillary Tulley.
  • Elissa Elliot and Betty Trummel are collaborating to find funding for creating Arctic and Antarctic Resource Trunks. These trunks will contain polar materials, identified by Betty, Elissa, and students, that will help other teachers share polar research and the research experience with their students. Materials include resource lists, books, videos, maps, CD's, activities, etc. The trunks can travel to districts and may or may not be associated with a presentation by a TEA. Eventually, the districts will be asked to cover the expense of shipping. If anyone is interested in providing ideas for materials, or would like to be involved, please contact Betty or Elissa.

Discussion

TEA & ICE Program - What is its form and impact?

  • TEA & ICE is a program separate from the TEA Program.
  • How will the TEA & ICE parcticipant be different from the TEA? How will TEA & ICE enhance, rather than diminish the impact of the TEA in the field?
  • The TEA & ICE parcticipant could be an on-ice advocate, serving as a connecting point for the TEAs who arrive on-station.
  • The TEA & ICE parcticipant could conduct research in the form of experiments proposed by colleagues and students. TEA & ICE parcticipant could leverage teachable moments.
  • The TEA & ICE parcticipant should have an extensive network of teachers and students prior to deployment (as should the TEA).
  • Based on their previous field experiences, the TEA & ICE parcticipant should be in a position to develop and propose their own polar education program. This should be competitive, and leverage (as well as extend) all aspects of the initial TEA experience.
  • The TEA & ICE projects could provide an educational component for research projects that do not encompass a TEA.
  • TEA & ICE offers the opportunity for "experienced" TEAs to develop distance learning components to enhance the field experience.
  • There may be themes for TEA & ICE projects.


Editorial Board
  • What is involved in the revision? During the initial meeting of the Editorial Board, the existing activities, including Ed Board activities, were reviewed. It was determined that the activities were rather ponderous to read; this could result in the materials not being attractive to other teachers. The materials were re-arranged. The background was determined to be its own section. The Teaching Sequence formed another separate section. The voice and field/classroom experience of the TEA were found to be exciting and compelling; the Ed Board is working to bring this information into the limelight. In essence, all activities should be:

  • inviting and useable by all teachers;
  • engaging as a learning experience for teachers and their students;
  • scientifically accurate; and
  • reflective of the excitement of the TEA field and classroom experience.

  • What is the process by which materials are reviewed?Each activity is reviewed by the Editorial Board Lead who identifies questions/suggestions to pose to the author. The Lead contacts the author to discuss the materials and questions. The Lead or the author can then incorporate the new information, depending on whether or not the author has time. Once the reviews are complete, the revisions go to a PI and the TEA facilitators (Deb, Steph, Clarice). Comments from these two groups are returned to the author and Lead for incorporation. The materials are then sent to TEA Associates and TEAs for testing and comment. Draft versions are placed on the We site for the general public. The drafts are updated once classroom comments are returned.

  • Opinions have been expressed that the process of review is unnecessary. Many activities are incomplete or untested. Some of the science needs to be reviewed for accuracy. It is a rare activity that is perfect, or ready for use by the broader public in the first iteration. The Ed Board serves the same purpose as peer reviewers for arcticles submitted to scientific journals. The members have volunteered to assist in this process and to revise the activities with the input and guidance of their colleagues.

  • A review process should have been in-place from the start of the activities development workshops. This is one more aspect of program growth and learning……. better late than never? It is hoped that all TEAs will be part of the process of revision, and the process of creating an efficient process of revision.

  • Arlyn Bruccoli is the main point of contact for the Editorial Board and for all TEAs involved in the review process. She will work with the Editorial Board Lead and the author to ensure issues are resolved and the materials are presented in a complete manner.


    • Notes from the 1999/2000 Experiences
    • The experience provided the opportunity for making friends for life.
    • It was difficult to return to the classroom after the intense, focused experience with a small, close-knit group. You move from a life with a single goal pursued by a small group to a life with many goals pursued by many people.
    • E-mail out of McMurdo sometimes was shaky at times, however, often you could e-mail a journal and see it posted within minutes.
    • You can't control the questions coming from students. Sometimes these questions were penetrating, other times they were rather redundant.
    • Should TEAs be matched with "age-level appropriate" research projects?
    • Some research may be more directly applicable to upper grade levels and other research may be directly applicable to middle or elementary grade levels. This may present a challenge when the TEA tries to make connections for the classroom.
    • Alternatively, the focus can be on the process of research, and the immersion of the TEA in the investigation of a question.
    • There have been successful TEA experiences that been "across disciplines" and "across grade levels."
    • Need to recognize where there are difficulties with the research team and try to work them out with the team. Often (not always) are alternative ways for defining the experience.
    • Preferably, this "trouble shooting" will occur before the field experience. There are other PI's who can take a TEA -- sometimes the match is not correct for the TEA or the research team -- there is "wiggle room" in the system.
    • If the TEA does not feel they are getting anywhere, the TEA should turn to the Program Facilitators for assistance.
    • The TEA needs to be able to recognize, and to be comfortable enough to share, when something is not working out. The TEA needs to be proactive on their own behalf.
    • The TEA community needs to recognize that sometimes the experience is not positive in spite of a TEA's efforts to make the experience work. The
    • The field experience offered the opportunity to meet all types of people involved in getting the science done. It underscored that people are people, no matter where you are; the same rules applied for interacting.
    • Part of the success of the experience is when the TEA feels relied upon as part of the team. If the TEA does not do their job, that part of the experiment fails. An evolution in training is needed to have this come about. This is not undue stress -- this is real science and real life. It is what students will experience.
    • How can residual TEA supplemental funds to the PI be used for the TEA? The funds can be used in ways aligned with the objectives of the TEA Program. For example, they can support a second trip by the TEA to a research meeting, or to continue collaboration at the researcher's institution.
    • McMurdo is a little like being in a small town; while the experience is wonderful, the aspect of the remote field experience was missing.
    • The experience creates empathy for the students; the teacher suddenly is out of his/her element and faces the same feeling of unease of students approaching a new concept.

    TEA Associates Lunch

    The TEA Associates Lunch was held Saturday 8 April from 2:00 to 4:00 at the hotel's pool side.

    Attendees:

    Elke Bergholz, United Nations International School, New York, New York
    Arlyn Bruccoli, American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York
    Arlene Cain, Sam Houston High School, Lake Charles, Louisiana
    Timothy Conner, Chenango Forks Central School, Binghamton, New York
    Elissa Elliott, Houston, Texas
    Sharon Harris, Mother of Mercy High School , Cincinnati, Ohio
    Carolyn Rost, Mother of Mercy High School, Cincinnati, Ohio
    Stephanie Shipp, Rice University, Houston, Texas
    Wayne Sukow, National Science Foundation, Arlington, Virginia
    Timothy J. Vermaat, Chenango Forks Central Schools, Binghamton, New York
    Linda Wygoda, Sam Houston High School, Lake Charles, Louisiana
    • The TEA experience offers the opportunity for the Associates to be connected to the research experience and to bring that experience into the classroom. The research component is important, but equally important is the process of research.
    • Being associated with a TEA offers the opportunity to expand learning. The TEA parcticipating in the field adds an element of reality to the science.
    • Activities need to grab the teacher first, then focus on connecting the student with the science - the experience of research and the nature of science, not just the experiment or procedure.
    • The presentation of the activities and the Web site must be user friendly
    • Provide more data (real data and lots of it!) for teachers to use with their students
    • Expand the on-line component and interactivity of the materials on the Web site -- make the activities more exploratory
    • Provide URLs related to the activity for extensions
    • Illustrate paths that teachers can take the activity beyond the lab and make it into a research experience.
    • In the future, a form will be available for posting the activities and for comments to be returned to the authors and Editorial Board.
    • Chemistry and physics seem to be topics that intimidate many students and teachers. TEA has the unique opportunity to add "real-world" twists to the activities to make the physics and chemistry more relevant. Some of these twists, to remove the intimidation, include incorporating biology and earth science concepts or experiences; many students are more comfortable with the latter subjects and may be better able to ease into the physics and chemistry.
    • Perhaps TEAs and Associates could collaborate more. Polar research is multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary; the collaborations and activities can reflect this.
    • The Associates can provide ideas for topics and questions that can then be developed into polar activities and resources. These teachers have the best idea of what they need to teach.
    • TEA Associates networks will be more formalized by location over the next year. The networks will be facilitated by an Associate or TEA. The range of activities that occur within a local network can vary, but may include polar research workshops, lecture series by local researchers, activities development workshops, etc.
    • The Web site needs to include a more expanded TEA Associates network.
    • Map of Associate and TEA locations
    • Listing of TEA and Associate events
    • Resources and contact information
    • Concept / question / image of the week for students to ponder
    • Being associated with the TEA Program as an Associate offers the opportunity to become familiar with the program goals and objectives.

    Next Steps
    • A survey about NSTA will be sent to attendees to solicit ideas and suggestions for changes to upcoming NSTA conventions.


    • Plans for the 2000 NSTA Annual Convention in St. Louis include a booth, several proposed presentations, and two proposed half-day Polar Workshops.



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