Stars and STEM Stories
Vibrant Trainings in West Africa
Highly successful GLOBE Train-the-Trainer workshops recently were held in Ghana and The Gambia, with local public officials and educators, GLOBE Country Coordinators, Peace Corps Volunteers and representatives of GLOBE-US . Working under a steady West African sun, and serenaded by the screeches of multi-colored birds, more than 70 men and women laid out pixels, sampled soils, tested waters, studied data graphs, and discussed the Program's added emphasis on student inquiry.
"These are wonderful experiences," said the Reverend, who works with the Ghana Education Service. "From GLOBE, our children will benefit, and because of that, our nations will benefit. I am especially interested in collaborative GLOBE activities with other countries in West Africa and around the world."The sessions were led by the Reverend Emmanuel Kingsley Dadebo, Ghana Country Coordinator; and Mrs. Nedy Sireng Bakurin, The Gambia Country Coordinator. The Peace Corps in each nation provided support services and many Volunteers attended along with their counterpart teachers, all wanting to be GLOBE trainers. Rev. Dadebo also worked as a trainer alongside several GLOBE-US staffers at both week-long sessions.
Mrs. Bakurin watched over groups engaged in various GLOBE protocols: pacing out distances under palm oil trees for their landcover study; closely reading a max-min thermometer in the shaded confines of its north-facing shelter; gathering up buckets and turbidity tubes for the sandy walk to the surf on the eastern Atlantic Ocean. "Look at this! It's wonderful to see this learning together." she said. Added Mrs. Bakurin, who is also Program Officer for Environmental Education and Communication in The Gambia, "Good things will come of this."
26 June 2000