GLOBE: A New Model in K–12 Science Education

The University of Alaska Fairbanks is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and educational institution. • to improve students' achievement in science, use computer and network technology, and help teacher s meet local education standards, • to expand the pipeline of potential future scientists and resear chers for industry, academia and government, • to increase student awareness of the global environment from a scientific viewpoint, without advocacy relative to issues, and • to improve student understanding of science by involving them in performing real science—taking m easure-ments, analyzing data, and participating in collaborative resear ch with scientists. What is GLOBE? The Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program is an international, hands-on, inquiry-based environmental science and education partnership. It brings together students, educators, scientists, schools, communities and countries in environmental studies and cross-cultural enrichment. GLOBE stands out among many excellent environmental education programs because it provides unique educational and scientific benefits around the world. GLOBE provides the opportunity for all students in K–12 classrooms to engage in authentic hands-on Earth science research. Students essentially learn science by doing science. The original concept for the GLOBE program was first introduced in former Vice President Gore's book Earth in the Balance (1992): " Central to any strategy for changing the way people think about the Earth must be a concerted effort to convince them that the Global Environment is part of their 'backyard' …I propose a program including as many countries as possible that will use school teachers and their students to monitor the entire Earth. and Departments of Education and State. Implementation in the United States depends upon the efforts of 140 partner organizations consisting of colleges, universities, state and local school systems and non-government organizations. GLOBE has been adopted by schools in every state. Worldwide partnerships were established through bilateral agreements between the United States and its international partners, which are then responsible for designing program implementation in their own countries. To date, more than a million K–12 students in more than 10,000 schools and 16,000 teachers in over 95 countries are participating in this program. In Alaska, the GLOBE program was established in Novem-ber 1996 through a cooperative agreement between GLOBE and the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) through the Center for Global Change and Arctic System Research. Elena Sparrow, coordinator of the Alaska Global Change Education Program, has been the UAF Alaska GLOBE program coordinator since …