Polar-Related Activities at AGU 2014

Polar PresentationsPhoto by Kristina Brady, Courtesy of Tim Martin (PolarTREC 2009), Courtesy of ARCUS.

We are looking forward to seeing PolarTREC participants and other polar educators at the American Geophysical Union Meeting 14-19 December 2014 in San Francisco, California. For more general meeting information visit the official conference website at: AGU Meeting 2014. Here we have compiled a listing of polar-related activities, events, and presentations as well as presentations by PolarTREC participants in other disciplines. PolarTREC teacher's names are linked to their expedition so you can catch up on their experiences. Let us know if there are other polar presentations to be listed by contacting Sarah Bartholow <sbartholow [at] arcus.org>.

If you want to hear PolarTREC researchers speak about their work, please visit the AGU Fall Meeting "Scientific Program" and search for their names. This page is an extensive list of PolarTREC teachers and researchers giving education-based presentations. At the very bottom, there is a list of PolarTREC researchers to seek out via the scientific program for more science presentations. There are hundreds!

We hope to see you there. Stay in contact with us on the PolarTREC Facebook Page for alumni and @PolarTREC on Twitter.
Enjoy your conference!

The PolarTREC Team

Polar Presentations - Sunday 12/14

Exploration Station Public Science Event

Sunday, December 14, 2014, 01:00 PM - 05:00 PM, Marriott Marquis-Salons 8-9
Organizers: Sarah Bartholow, Nell Herrmann, John Wood, Regina Brinker
Bring your friends and family and do hands-on science with AGU scientists! Exploration Station is a program of activities that gives AGU members who are education/outreach professionals a chance to interact with the public in San Francisco. This event is 4 hours long, free, and open to the public. Participants make their way through about 30 exhibits offering a variety of easy, family friendly, hands-on activities, and have an opportunity to interact one-on-one with scientists, engineers, and education specialists. For more information, go to the Exploration Station website.

Polar Presentations - Monday 12/15

ED13C-3458 Walk the Talk: Teachers as Leaders in Climate Change Education

01:40 PM - 06:00 PM, Moscone South-Poster Hall
Presenters: Sarah Bartholow, Janet Warburton
This poster will speak to the PolarTREC program's best practice and findings on improved polar science communications as well as how the teachers have become the lead communicators in this time of rapid global change across all disciplines.

ED13E-04 Polaris Undergraduates Connecting With K-12 Students Though Story Telling-Learning About Climate Change Using Web-Mapping Based Investigations

Monday, December 15, 2014, 02:25 PM - 02:40 PM, Moscone South-102
Presenter: John Wood, Sue Natali
Through performance expectation topics including Weather and Climate, Interactions, Earth’s Systems, and Human impacts, this investigation uses consideration of the vast amounts of ancient organic matter locked up in permafrost in the region, and concerns about the fate of this ancient organic carbon as temperatures warm and permafrost thaws, to make K-12 climate change connections with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).

Polar Educator-Researcher Connections Meeting - FEATURED EVENT!

Monday, 15 December at 5:00PM - 6:00PM
Arctic Community Meeting Room - Foothill E Room (2nd floor of the San Francisco Marriott Marquis (55 4th Street)
Organizers: Sarah Bartholow, Janet Warburton, Heidi Roop
Closed Meeting for current and alumni PolarTREC teachers and researchers.
At a crucial time in the development of PolarTREC, we are gathering program alumni researchers and educators to discuss a way forward for the program. A short presentation will orient all participants, followed by open discussion on future directions, engaging alumni, and sustaining the impact and legacy of a decade-long teacher research experience.

Polar Presentations - Tuesday 12/16

ED21B Educator Professional Development Programs Promoting Authentic Scientific Research Posters

Tuesday, December 16, 2014, 08:00 AM - 12:20 PM, Moscone South-Poster Hall

  • Sharing Polar Science with Secondary Students: Polartrec and Beyond
    Presenter: Nell Herrmann (Invited Presenter)
    Ms. Herrmann will share evidence of the direct impacts on secondary students that resulted from her collaboration with polar scientists in both the Arctic and Antarctic.

  • To the Extremes! A Teacher Research Experience Program in the Polar Regions
    Presenters: Sarah Bartholow, Janet Warburton
    In this presentation, we will highlight the best practices of teacher research experiences as well as discuss why it is vital to have teachers and researchers work together to communicate science to the broader public.

  • The IceCube Astrophysics Masterclass: Bringing Authentic Research to Teachers and Students
    Presenter: Jim Madsen
    A description of the resources developed for the class, tactics used to recruit students and teachers, and the evaluation of the first course will be presented. The structure of the day can be readily generalized for other topics and disciplines.

Cryosphere Focus Group Business Meeting and Reception

Tuesday, December 16, 2014, 06:30 PM - 08:00 PM, Grand Hyatt San Francisco-Grand Ballroom West
The Cryosphere Focus Group business meeting and reception offers regular and student members an opportunity to engage with leaders and colleagues from the Cryosphere Focus Group in an informal setting. Ticket cost is $13.00 for regular members and $8.00 for students at registration.

Polar Presentations - Wednesday 12/17

Polar Presentations - Thursday 12/18

TH45C NSF Division of Polar Programs Town Hall

Thursday, December 18, 2014, 06:15—07:15 pm, Moscone West 2006
Representatives from the National Science Foundation Division of Polar Programs will be discussing the state of U.S. research and science support in the polar regions. An update on the responses to the recent National Research Council and the Blue Ribbon Panel reports on U.S. science and operations in Antarctica will be provided. This town hall will be of interest to current and prospective polar scientists and all those with an interest in the Arctic and the Antarctic.

Polar Presentations - Friday 12/19

GC53C-0552 From Researchers to Teachers to Students: Capturing the Ripple Effect of Climate Change Science Experience and Communication

Friday, December 19, 2014, 01:40 PM - 06:00 PM , Moscone West-Poster Hall
Presenters: Sarah Bartholow, Janet Warburton
This presentation will present the social science research findings in our extensive evaluation and provide best practices for program structure as well as evaluation methods to best capture the impact on audiences beyond participants.

ED51F The Role of Scientists as Communicators: From the Classroom to the Pub I

Friday, December 19, 2014, 08:00 AM - 10:00 AM , Moscone South-302 This is a session outside the specifics of polar science. The session is being chaired by Sarah Bartholow, Heidi Roop, and Rhian Salmon.
Presenters include polar folks: Richard Alley, Jim Madsen, Allen Pope, and Gifford Wong

ED53C The Role of Scientists as Communicators: From the Classroom to the Pub II Posters

Friday, December 19, 2014, 01:40 PM - 06:00 PM , Moscone South-Poster Hall
This is a session outside the specifics of polar science. The session is being chaired by Sarah Bartholow, Heidi Roop, and Rhian Salmon.

ED53A-3462 Joint Antarctic School Expedition – An International Collaboration for High School Students and Teachers on Antarctic Science

Friday, December 19, 2014, 01:40 PM - 06:00 PM , Moscone South-Poster Hall
Presenters: Juan Botella (not attending), Sarah Bartholow (present)
The Joint Antarctic School Expedition (JASE) is an international collaboration program between high school students and teachers from the United States and Chile aimed at providing the skills required for establishing the scientific international collaborations that our globalized world demands, and to develop a new approach for science education. We will share experiences with the planning of the pilot program as well as the expedition itself.

ED51B Best Practices in Meaningful and Authentic Science Outreach to Formal and Informal Audiences II Posters

Friday, December 19, 2014, 08:00 AM - 12:20 PM, Moscone South-Poster Hall

  • Teach the Teacher! Building ROV’s to Teach Polar Science
    Presenters: Sarah Bartholow, Janet Warburton
    In this presentation, we will share the evaluation data, best practices of the workshop model, and how teacher mentors, scientists, and graduate students can help teach teachers successfully.

  • From the field to classrooms: Scientists and educators collaborating to develop K-12 lessons on arctic carbon cycling and climate change that align with Next Generation Science Standards, and informal outreach programs that bring authentic data to informal audiences.
    Presenters: Regina Brinker, Rose Cory
    Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) calls for students across grade levels to understand climate change and its impacts. To achieve this goal, the NSF-sponsored PolarTREC program paired an educator with scientists studying carbon cycling in the Arctic.

  • Exploring Patterns of Soil Organic Matter Decomposition with Students and the Public Through the Global Decomposition Project (GDP)
    Presenters : John Wood, Sue Natali
    The Global Decomposition Project (GDP) is a program designed to introduce and educate students and the general public about soil organic matter and decomposition through a standardized protocol for collecting, reporting, and sharing data. This easy-to-use hands-on activity focuses on questions such as “How do environmental conditions control decomposition of organic matter in soil?” and “Why do some areas accumulate organic matter and others do not?”

PolarTREC Researchers with Additional Scientific Presentations

Please search their names in the AGU Fall meeting Scientific Program for more information. These folks may or may not be attending the meeting but have contributed to work presented. Please let us know if a name should be added to this list. Contact: info [at] polartrec.com

  • Jacqueline Grebmeier
  • Julie Brigham-Grette
  • Tamara Harms
  • Rose Cory
  • Seth W Campbell
  • Heidi Roop
  • Jason Briner
  • Michael Studinger
  • Byron Crump
  • Steve Okkonen
  • Ross Powell
  • Elizabeth Webb
  • Sue Natali
  • Lee Cooper
  • Dawn Sumner
  • James McClelland
  • Erin Pettit
  • Samantha Hansen
  • Christy Hansen
  • George Kling
  • Thomas Hooyer
  • Michael Weintraub
  • Bob Melville
  • Allan Weatherwax
  • Andrew Gerrard
  • Andrew Stillinger
  • Ted (Edward) Schuur
  • Kevin Anchukaitis
  • Konrad Steffen
  • David Marchant
  • Lawrence Lawver
  • Stephen Ackley
  • Michael Retelle
  • Carin Ashjian