BIORETS: Global Change Ecology at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center

Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC

Investigators

Abstract

The Research Experience for Teachers (RET) program at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) will provide middle school teachers from Anne Arundel County Public Schools and Prince George’s County Public Schools in Maryland and District of Columbia Public Schools in Washington, DC with hands-on participation in research on global change. The teachers will study a variety of topics, including ecosystem conservation, climate change, biological invasions, and biodiversity to understand how ecosystems are changing. Through the program, teachers will be trained in a range of current scientific research techniques. This will increase their understanding of the scientific process, result in meaningful learning experiences, and provide them the support to begin implementing authentic research and data analysis in their classrooms. The teachers will engage with hundreds of students each year, providing high quality STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) resources and access to a large network of STEM professionals to inspire their students. In recent centuries, humans have dramatically altered the planet through habitat fragmentation, increased greenhouse gases, species introductions, excess nutrient loading, and native species extirpation. Determining and ultimately mitigating the consequences of these global transformations is a major goal in ecology, and the primary focus of the Research Experience for Teachers (RET) program at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. The environmental issues of the 21st century are complex and require a multi-disciplinary approach. Through the program, teachers will be trained in many subfields including ecology, chemistry, genetics, and quantitative ecology, resulting in rich experiences and scientific impacts. After their summer experiences, teachers will have increased their understanding of and comfort with current research practices and techniques and have the support to begin implementing authentic research and data analysis practices in their classrooms. More than half of the students in the target school districts are students of color, and large portions of the students are considered economically disadvantaged. Students from these demographics often have less access to high quality STEM teaching and learning materials. By engaging teachers from these districts in hands-on research and preparing them to better integrate the authentic science practices in their classrooms, not only will the teachers benefit from increased environmental science knowledge and self-efficacy, but their students and school communities will benefit as well. The teachers will engage with hundreds of students each year, providing high quality STEM resources and access to a large network of STEM professionals to better inspire and engage their STEM students. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.