Celeste Carty

Crossroads Science Magnet School
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Co-teaching Scientists and Teachers in the Classroom is an innovative professional development program for teachers, enabling educators to acquire topical science content knowledge by working side by side with a scientist for a period of weeks in their own classroom. Program implements global change curricula developed by NASA and is sponsored by Global Environmental Strategies, NASA, and the Limnological Research Center, Institute of Technology, University of Minnesota. Current projects include school year coteaching activities during intersessions in this year-round school.

I. Intersession Science Instruction (2000- ) Crossroads Science Magnet

Examples of 2 week Earth education programs piloted K-1: Our very own Star, the Sun; Grade 2: Echo the Bat (biology/remote sensing), Grade 3: Earth Greenhouse (environmental science), Grade 4: A Water Planet, Grade 5: Dynamic Earth, Grade 6: Remote Sensing Grades 3-4: Math, Earth science and the Underground Railroad.

In a variant of the Co-teaching program, in conjunction with the NASA NOVA course offered at UMN, Crossroads will have preservice teachers teaching about Earth science topics during intersession, working with in-service teachers (2003-2004)

II. Earth System Science Education Alliance

7 teachers at Crossroads participated in NASA's graduate on-line Earth system science course (2002)

III. NASA Explorer School

Combination of these activities have resulted in one teacher applying for and getting a grant to develop Montessori activities in Earth system science (Brenda Petta, 2003), and has contributed to Crossroads being selected as one of the nation's NASA Explorer schools (2003). Five teachers and university scientist will spend one week at Glen this summer receiving professional development as the Explorer School teaching team.

See more Essays »