INCREASING SCIENTIFIC LITERACY AT MINORITY SERVING INSTITUTIONS NATIONWIDE
James A.
A Brey,
Bre Ira W.
W Geer
Geer, Joseph M.
M Moran,
Moran Elizabeth
Eli abeth W.
W Mills
Mills, and Kira A.
A Nugnes
N gnes
P p Number:
Paper
N b ED33A
ED33A-0749
0749
AMS
Undergraduate
Courses
I is
It
i vital
i l to increase
i
the
h scientific
i ifi li
literacy
y off all
ll students
students,
d
including
i l di g those
h
at minority
i i y serving
i g institutions
i i i
((MSIs).
(MSIs)
(MSI ) With
Wi h support
pp from
f
NSF
NSF, NASA
NASA, and
d NOAA
NOAA, the
h Ed
Education
i P
Program
g
off the
h A
American
i
M
Meteorological
l gi l S
Society
i y
((AMS)) has developed
p scientifically
y authentic,
authentic, introductory,
introductory
y, undergraduate
g
courses that engage
g g students in the ggeosciences through
g the use of real-world
real world environmental data.
data AMS Climate
Climate,, Weather
Weather,, and Ocean Studies have
already
l d been
b
adopted
d t d by
b more th
than 732 iinstitutions
tit ti
across th
the U
U.S.
S
AMS Weather Studies
AMS ocean Studies
AMS climate Studies
• Covers the foundations of atmospheric
p
science
science.
• Brand new 5thh edition textbook covers record low ozone levels in
the
h Arctic
A i stratosphere
stratosphere,
h
atmospheric
h i rivers
rivers,
i
record-breaking
d b ki 211
t
tornado
d season
season, and
d much
h more.
more
• Also
Al includes
i l d QR codes
d enabling
bli access tto animations.
i ti
• Students learn about weather as it happens
pp
in near real
real-time
time
using
g customized weather pproducts from NOAA.
NOAA
• Licensed
Li
d by
by more than
h 477 institutions
i i i
since
i
iimplementation
pl
i in
i
F ll 1999.
Fall
1999
• Emphasizes
p
the role of the ocean in Earth
Earth’ss climate system.
system
y
• Newly
y revised textbook features up
up-to-date
p to date coverage
g of 2011
Japan
p tsunami,
tsunamii 2010 Gulf
G lf off Mexico
i oil
il spill,
spill
pill ocean acidification
acidification,
idifi i
and
d hharmful
f l algal
l l blooms.
bl
blooms
• Expanded
E
d d coverage off overfishing,
fi hi lost
l t wetlands,
tl d restoration
t ti off
the Chesapeake Bay
Bay, and threats to coral reef
reef.
• Includes latest technology
gy for monitoringg ocean pproperties:
p
satellites
satellites,
lli , floats
fl
floats,, gliders
ggliders,
lid , andd cabled
bl d ocean observatories
observatories.
b
i
• Licensed
Li
d by
b more than
h 175 institutions
i i i
since
i
iimplementation
l
i in
i
F
ll 2005
Fall
2005.
• Focuses on the science while still addressing
g societal impacts
p
that
draw the attention of today’s
today
y s students.
students
• Covers
C
the
h ffoundations
d i
off Earth
Earth’s
h’s climate
li
system
system,
y
societal
i l and
d
ecosystem
t vulnerability
l
bilit and
d response tto climate
li t variability
i bilit andd
change,
h
political
liti l and
d economic
i aspects
t off climate
li t change,
h
and
d
much more.
more
• Great pprimer for students enteringg technical ‘green’
ggreen pprograms.
programs
g
• Licensed
i
d by
by more than
h 80 institutions
i i i
since
i
iimplementation
pl
i in
i
F ll 2010.
Fall
2010
A S Climate
AMS
C
at
St
Studies
s
Diversity
st
Project
ct
With additional
dditi l supportt from
f
NSF andd NASA
NASA, andd a partnership
t
hi with
ith Second
S
d Nature
N
Nature,
t
the
th organizing
i i entity
tit behind
b hi d the
th American
A
i
College
C ll
andd University
U i
it P
President’s
President
id t’s Cli
Climate
t C
Commitment
it
t
(ACUPCC) the
(ACUPCC),
th fi
firstt AMS Climate
Cli t Studies
St di Diversity
Di
it Project
P j t was held
h ld iin M
May 2012 iin W
Washington,
hi t D.C.
D C This
Thi project
j t focuses
f
on introducing
i t d i andd enhancing
h i geoscience
i
coursework
k att MSI
MSIs
nationwide, especially
nationwide,
p
y those that are signatories
g
to the ACUPCC and/or members of the Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority
y Participation
p
((LSAMP)
(LSAMP).
)
Thi y faculty
Thirty
f l y members
b from
f
16 different
diff
states
states, Puerto
P
Rico
Ri
Rico, and
dW
Washington
Washington,
hi g
D
D.C.
C attended
d d the
h expense-paid
p
p id week-long
k l g workshop.
workshop
k h p They
Th y were immersed
i
d in
i the
h AMS Climate
Cl
Studies
S d course
materials
materials,
t i l received
i d presentations
t ti
ffrom NASA
NASA, NOAA
NOAA, andd other
th DC area educational
d ti l and
d research
h scientists,
scientists
i ti t and
d were ttrained
i d as change
h
agents
t ffor th
their
i llocall iinstitution
institution.
tit ti
Evaluation results
O erall participants rated the workshop
Overall,
orkshop as ooutstanding,
tstanding that their perception of NOAA and NASA impro
improved,
ed and the
they would
o ld
recommend the course to other AMS Climate Studies instructors.
instructors Accordingg to the external evaluator’s
evaluator s observations
observations,, this was an
excellent workshop
p that left the pparticipants
p
wanting
g more
more.
M t effective
Most
ff ti components
t off workshop:
kh
N t
Networking
ki with
ith other
th faculty;
f lt especially
i ll th
those th
thatt tteach
h other
th AMS curricula
i l
Critical knowledge
g from ppresentations
presentations,, including
g Admiral Titley,
Titley
y, Kristen St.
St John
John,, Richard Alley,
Alley
y, and Edward Maibach
Next steps
Faculty
y will offer AMS Climate Studies in the year
y followingg workshop
p attendance
attendance. Colleges
g that successfully
y
i pl
implement
AMS Climate
Cl
Studies
S d will
ill be
b encouraged
g d to bbuild
ild a focused
f
d ggeoscience
i
study
dy area bby
y also
l offering
ff i g AMS
W h SStudies
Weather
di and
d AMS Ocean
O
SStudies.
Studies
di
AMS will
ill conduct
d t ffollow-up
follow
ll
up meetings
ti
with
ith ffaculty
lt att th
the AMS Annual
A
l
M ti as th
Meeting
they work
k ttoward
d iinstitutional
tit ti l change.
h
Th
The AMS Climate
Cli t Studies
St di Diversity
Di
it Project
P j t followed
f ll
d the
th proven
models of the AMSS Weather
W
Studies
S
(2002 2007)) and AMS
((2002-2007)
SO
Ocean SStudies ((2006-2008)
(2006 2008)) Diversity
y Projects.
Projects
j
M ti AMS staff
Meeting
t ff
Fi ld trips/site
Field
i / i visits
visits,
i i including
i l di NASA andd the
h Howard
H
d University
U i
i Atmospheric
A
h i Research
R
hG
Group
Alternating
g schedule and logistics
g
Suggested Changes:
M
More
time
i with
i h experienced
p i
d faculty/AMS
f l y/AMS staff
ff with
i h regard
g d to teaching
hi g the
h course
course, AMS C
Conceptual
p lE
Energy
gy M
Model
Model,
d l and
d NASA’
NASA’s
NASA s EdGCM
Teambuilding
g ice breakers
Assign future
f t re mentors early
earl in workshop
orkshop so rapport can be established
D b i fi ti
Debriefing
times
Presentation on ggrants
grants,, especially
p
y collaborative
collaborative,, diversity
diversity-based
y based opportunities
pp
that build on relationships
p
Paleoclimate
workshop
The AMS Education Program,
Program
g
, James Madison University,
University
y, and Los Angeles
g
Valleyy College,
College
g , are workingg in collaboration with the Consortium for Ocean
Leadership/Integrated
d hip/
g d Ocean Drilling
illi g Program
Program’s
g
s Deep
p Earthh Academy
d y to integrate
i g
ppaleoclimate
l li
i
investigations
ig i
off ocean core ddata into
i
course curricula
i l off MSIs
MSIs.
I June
In
J
2012
2012, this
hi team participated
i i
d iin a workshop
k h to gain
i di
direct experience
i
with
i h ocean core investigations.
iinvestigations
i i
The
Th goall iis to fform a trained
i d team to hhelp
l guide
id the
h
f t
future,
large-scale
llarge scale
l iintegration
t
ti off scientific
i tifi ocean ddrilling
illi paleoclimate
l li t research
h iinto
t existing
i ti MSI geoscience
i
courses, and
d th
the ddevelopment
l
t off new course offerings.
ff i
CONTACT
American Meteorological
g
Society
y Education Program
g
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00 N
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York
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d @
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g
@AMSEducation
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The statements,
statements findings,
findings conclusions,
conclusions and recommendations are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the
views of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Department of Commerce, or the National
S i
Science
F
Foundation.
d ti
AGU 2012