Partnerships with teachers are a major component of our efforts to promote the development of standards-based classroom programs and initiatives. The Office of Space Science Education is dedicated to the continued expansion of these partnerships and collaborations with the educational community to achieve our mutual objective of improving the level of science, math and technological literacy of the next generation. SSEC and CIMSS are dedicated to the belief that state and national goals for scientific literacy will be achieved by sharing the excitement of new discoveries acquired through the exploration of space and earth remote sensing research!Space Science and Earth System Science continue to be among the areas of greatest need in Wisconsin for Teacher Professional Development opportunities. A 1998 Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction report indicated that fewer than 42 percent of the districts in the state of Wisconsin have faculty who are adequately trained to teach earth and space sciences, with the subsequent result that less than 10 percent of the state's students receive adequate instruction in these subject areas.
To address this need for Teacher Professional Development training, the Office of Space Science Education has implemented a variety of programs to provide current content and effective, inquiry-based activities that encompass the interdisciplinary subjects of earth and space science. Topics addressed incorporate current research initiatives supported by NASA, NOAA, and NSF and encompass astronomy, solar system exploration, atmospheric and earth system science, physics and astrophysics. In addition to mathematics, these programs also emphasize state-of-the-art technology, written and oral communication, and team-building skills.
Teacher Professional Development Workshops conducted by OSSE currently following two formats: Professional Development workshops, that include a one week summer workshop on Solar System Exploration, and GLOBE training and certification, and Distance Learning Programs including GET-WISE and ESCAPE. These programs are supported by NASA, the University of Wisconsin-System, and NOAA.
