NOAA Education Presentation to the 50th AAS Robert H. Goddard Memorial Symposium

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NOAA Education Presentation to the 50th AAS
Robert H. Goddard Memorial Symposium

• Louisa Koch
• NOAA Director of Education
• March 29, 2012
• Louisa.Koch_at_NOAA.GOV

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Dreams and Possibilities Planning for the
Achievable

• Update on NOAA Education
• Opportunities and Accomplishments
• Increasing diversity in the STEM workforce
• Promoting Earth system science education
• Performance evaluation and monitoring

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NOAA Mission Statement2010 NOAA Strategic Plan

• Science, Service and Stewardship
• To understand and predict changes in climate,
  weather, oceans, and coasts,
• Share that knowledge and information with others,
  and
• To conserve and manage coastal and marine
  resources

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America COMPETES Reauthorization 2010

• The education programs developed by NOAA shall,
  to the extent applicable
• carry out and support research based programs and
  activities designed to increase student interest
  and participation in STEM
• improve public literacy in STEM
• employ proven strategies and methods for
  improving student learning and teaching in STEM
• provide curriculum support materials and other
  resources
• create and support opportunities for enhanced and
  ongoing professional development for teachers
  using best practices STEM teachers with STEM
  educators at the higher education level.

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Taking the Pulse of the Planet

• Monitoring
• Research
• Modeling
• Predictions
• Management
• Education
• Partnerships

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Footprint of NOAA Education Across the Country
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Major Areas of Collaboration

• Science on a Sphere (NOAA Led/NASA/NSF Supported)
• GLOBE Program (NASA Led/NOAA/NSF Supported)
• Climate Education Working Group NASA/NOAA/NSF
  CoChairs
• Committee on STEM Education
• Climate Change Education PI Meeting (April 2012)
• American Meteorological Society Education

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Opportunity 1 Workforce Diversity
2010 Data on Gender in the Workplace
FY 2010 data
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Opportunity 1 Workforce Diversity
2010 Data on Race and Ethnicity in the Workplace
FY 2010 data
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NOAAs Educational Partnership Program

• Accomplishments since 2001
• 928 students (771 from under represented
  communities) have earned degrees in NOAA
  mission-related sciences
• 102 students hired by NOAA
• Produced 100 of African American Ph.D. graduates
  in Atmospheric Sciences in 2006/2007 (Source
  NSF)
• Capacity building at MSIs 82 new faculty and 8
  new STEM degree programs

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Opportunity 2 Promoting Earth System Science
Education
Next Generation Science Standards
Scientific and engineering practices
Crosscutting concepts Disciplinary core ideas
(Earth and Space System Science) NRC July
2011
Natl Research Council , AAAS, Natl Science
Teachers Association, Achieve effort 26 states
leading Managed by Achieve Due Fall 2012
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Ocean Explorium
Opportunity 2 Promoting Earth System
Science Education
80 SOS Installations Worldwide

• Science on a Sphere
• Innovative platform for reaching the public about
  the Earth system
• Evaluation found that 82 of visitors said seeing
  information on the sphere changed how they
  understood the information
• 71 said they learned something new and could
  give examples (e.g. how it conveys complexity and
  change about the Earth system)

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Opportunity 3 Monitoring and Evaluation

• NOAA is ensuring each education investment has
• Clearly identified needs of the target population
• A logic model connecting the activities to the
  desired outcomes
• Clear outputs, outcomes and goals
• Alignment with effective practices
• An evaluation strategy that promotes continual
  improvement
• Strategic partnering

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In Closing

• It is difficult to say what is impossible, for
  the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and
  the reality of tomorrow.
• Robert Goddard