Developing Meaningful Student-Teacher-Scientist Partnerships

Through the Earth System Scientist Network project we are working with scientists to facilitate the meaningful participation of students in their research projects. In these projects the scientists can take advantage of having an extended research team, and the students and teachers can contribute to a research project while developing skills in inquiry and expanding content knowledge in Earth system science. In order to successfully achieve these partnerships the development of each research project requires the scientist and development team to address a series of issues. These include identifying the scientific research questions, the data that the students will analyze, the requirements for participating schools, the tools and protocols that the students and teachers will use during their research, logistical issues such as assuring that all the instruments and tools are available to the teachers and students, the background information and training they will need, additional research questions that c...