Inspiring the next generation of polar scientists: Classroom extensions from teachers with research experiences

Article in Polar Record written by ARCUS staff and PolarTREC alumni educators that shares impacts of participating in a Teacher Research Experience.

Abstract: PolarTREC-Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating (PolarTREC) has provided the opportunity for over 160 K-12 teachers and informal science educators from the USA to work directly with scientists in the Arctic and the Antarctic. As a Teacher Research Experience (TRE), PolarTREC has engaged teachers with a unique professional development opportunity to increase their teacher content knowledge and learn about the polar regions by partnering with academic polar scientists who are conducting scientific research in the field. Stimulated by the IPY 2007–2008, PolarTREC has sent teachers on field expeditions for over a decade, and during that time has witnessed teachers not only experiencing the polar regions and bringing that experience back into their classrooms but also seeing their students learn more about the polar regions and become more interested in polar science. It is this secondary effect that is truly inspiring. This article profiles the journey to the polar regions of four PolarTREC teachers through their own perspectives and how they translated that experience into educational outreach opportunities.

Citation: Warburton, J., Hademenos, G., Eilers-Guttensohn, A., Garay, L., & Worssam, J. (n.d.). Inspiring the next generation of polar scientists: Classroom extensions from teachers with research experiences. Polar Record, 1-6. doi:10.1017/S0032247419000317

The article can be downloaded and accessed online here.

Student participating in a class project entitled,Polar-ympics, transporting“ice blocks”for construction of an igloo. (Photo by Daphne Lynd.)