An electronic newsletter for the science education community
High School and College Teachers Needed for Weather & Climate Assessment
Are you an earth sciences or meteorology teacher at the high school or undergraduate level? If so, Project 2061 needs your help. We are looking for teachers who are willing to have their students take a brief online test of what they know about some key weather and climate concepts. To participate, students should be currently enrolled in a high school earth sciences course (or equivalent) or an undergraduate meteorology course (or equivalent) in which students have been taught how seasonal changes in the relationship between the earth and the sun affect hours of daylight, maximum height of the sun in the sky, and the amount of energy a place on earth receives from the sun.
When your students take the online test, their responses will become part of a national dataset that will give us a much clearer picture of what students at different education levels understand about weather and climate and about the prevalence and persistence of common misconceptions. The data will also help determine which assessment items are most appropriate for students at each stage of their schooling.
About the test. The test is made up of 38 multiple choice assessment items that were originally developed by Project 2061 as part of a study funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Most students are able to complete the test in less than 30 minutes. If you decide to participate, we will send you a summary report for each group of students taking the test. Individual students will not be identified. If you plan to offer an incentive, such as extra credit, to students for taking the test, they will be able to print out a “receipt” to verify that they took the test once it has been completed.
How to participate. Simply go to the online registration site to obtain a unique web address where your students can sign in and receive instructions on how to take the test. That’s all there is to it! Although students can take the test at any time, it would be very helpful to have their tests completed before the end of the current school year.
Thanks for your help!
Also in the May 2013 issue: