The GLOBE Student Climate Research Campaign aims to engage youth in understanding climate.
Through the accomplishment of our goals we will involve students of all ages in climate studies, empower students, teachers and community members to take action on climate-related environmental issues, and inspire students to explore career options in science.
The goals of the GLOBE Student Climate Research Campaign are to:
- Increase students' understanding of climate, specifically the difference between weather and climate.
- Increase students' understanding of and ability to conduct scientific research focused on climate.
- Improve the global awareness of primary and secondary students through increasing collaborations among students, teachers, and scientists focused on understanding the interactions in the Earth System.
What is the GLOBE SCRC?
The GLOBE Student Climate Research Campaign (SCRC) will engage youth from around the world in investigating and researching their local climate and sharing their findings globally. Through international collaboration and discussions as well as interactions with scientists, students will confront climate issues in their communities and around the world.
The SCRC will focus on helping students to understand Earth's climate and climate system. GLOBE's focus on the climate research will help students develop understanding about the scientific research process by examining their local climate and extending those investigations to the global scale. The SCRC will help students understand the complexity associated with the climate system, and climate change and will help students gain and refine scientific process skills as well as leadership skills they will need for the 21st century.
When will the SCRC take place?
The planning phase of the SCRC is currently underway.
Who can participate in the SCRC?
All GLOBE schools are invited to participate. SCRC events are appropriate for all age levels. The SCRC foundational experiences and research investigations are designed for secondary and tertiary students. Students and teachers who wish to participate are encouraged to join GLOBE.
Why participate in the SCRC?
Understanding climate from a scientific perspective is critical to addressing local climate impacts. GLOBE is uniquely positioned to help students understand the science of climate so that they can contribute to further understanding local climate impacts and how it impacts each person on Earth.
Students participating in the GLOBE SCRC will apply their knowledge and collaborate with scientists and other students from around the world to address real world problems related to climate. The SCRC is comprised of events, foundational experiences (science content) and research investigations.
What do SCRC participants have to do?
We will provide a variety of activities and campaigns ranging in grade level, complexity and time duration to ensure that all schools interested in participating have the opportunity. The SCRC is designed to allow for varied levels of involvement from short periods (several days to weeks) up to the entire campaign period.
What framework is SCRC based upon?
The GLOBE SCRC will leverage existing GLOBE scientific protocols and learning activities, NASA and NOAA education materials and science data as well as draw upon GLOBE community resources. The framework of the SCRC is based on the Essential Principles of Climate Literacy, a U.S. Inter-agency document identifying key knowledge an informed global citizen should have related to climate.
Is there a fee for participation in the SCRC?
No. There is no additional charge for participating in the GLOBE SCRC other than the normal expense associated with participating in GLOBE such as obtaining instruments to collect data.
What are the essential elements of the SCRC?
The SCRC is comprised of events, foundational experiences, and research investigations.
Events & Opportunities will engage students in international, regional, and national events to provide a context for understanding how local climate is part of the global climate system, as well as to collect climate-related data using GLOBE scientific protocols.
Exploring Climate & Inquiry is designed to instruct students on fundamentals of climate science including both atmospheric and non-atmospheric components.
Student Climate Research Investigations allow students to conduct locally-relevant research on the climate topics of their choice. Research investigations will be focused in four areas: (1) Exploring Ecosystems and climate (launch Sept. 2011), (2) Carbon, Energy, and Your Carbon Footprint (launch Sept. 2011), and possibly (3) Climate and Large-scale Extreme Weather (launch TBD), and (4) Air Pollution, Human Health and Climate (launch TBD).
Who can contribute materials to the SCRC?
The GLOBE Program Office (GPO) is working to provide a online framework for the SCRC and will encourage the international GLOBE community to populate this framework by sharing their climate science activities, research and local protocols. Other existing highquality climate science resources available from international agencies as well as NASA and NOAA will be included in the SCRC.
What types of education materials and professional development will be featured?
The SCRC will leverage existing climate science and education materials from GLOBE, NASA and NOAA. GLOBE scientific protocols and education materials will be integrated throughout the SCRC. The SCRC will help teachers link to scientists and international / national agencies engaged in climate research, understanding, and stewardship.
The SCRC will help students develop a sense of stewardship toward their local environment. GLOBE aims to provide information for students to allow them to continue working within their local communities beyond the scope of their participation in the SCRC.
What is the role of the GLOBE community?
SCRC is designed to be a community-driven campaign. Areas of research investigation were provided through feedback from the GLOBE community and climate scientists. The GLOBE community will be encouraged to contribute ideas and materials to the SCRC. The success of the SCRC will depend not only on infrastructure provided by the GLOBE Program Office, but on the direct involvement and contributions by GLOBE regions, countries, and schools. The creation of climate research projects by schools, utilization of existing protocols and activities, and linking of schools to regional events are examples of some of the ways the community will help shape the SCRC.
How will SCRC integrate GLOBE networks?
A key to the success of GLOBE is providing the mechanism for which students can interact with each other and with scientists around the world.
- The GLOBE Schools Network will be reinvigorated around the common theme of exploring climate.
- In order to promote student-scientist interaction on a scale large enough to support the SCRC, the GLOBE International Scientist Network will be established. Efforts are underway to develop the network with an aim to include representation of scientific expertise from all GLOBE Regions in addition to NASA and NOAA scientists currently working with GLOBE.
- The GLOBE Alumni will participate in the SCRC acting as mentors for students and helping to facilitate events.
- The GLOBE Parent Council will be consulted as a resource in the SCRC.
How will the GLOBE community engage in the SCRC?
The SCRC will have a strong virtual presence on the GLOBE.gov web site and through other virtual tools as appropriate. Online the SCRC will integrate existing GLOBE science protocols and educational materials as well as contain mechanisms for student interaction and collaboration with other students and with scientists. Web 2.0 technologies (interactive capabilities) such as social networking will be an integral component of the SCRC virtual presence.
What steps should schools/teachers take to prepare to participate in the SCRC?
If you are not a GLOBE school, contact your Country Coordinator or U.S. Partner to join GLOBE. Members of GLOBE can prepare by:
- Making sure that your atmospheric temperature and precipitation data collection instruments are all calibrated and operating properly according to GLOBE protocols.
- Making sure you know your school ID and can access the GLOBE website to submit data.
- Helping students determine what they already know about their local weather and climate by examining atmospheric data that your school has been colecting up to this point in time. This process will help students develop a basic sense of what they know about data collection, data interpretation, weather and climate, and prepare them for meaningful interaction with others in the GLOBE Community throuout the SCRC.
What steps should scientists take to participate in the GLOBE International Scientist Network?
If you are interested in participating – at any level – send an email with the SCRC contact form.
Who do I contact if I have more questions about the GLOBE SCRC?
Send an email with the SCRC contact form and one of the SCRC staff will assist you.