The national need for long-term initiatives in science education reform, kindergarten through post-graduate education, parallels the need for long-term research initiatives -- both take time. A unique feature of the Long-term Ecological Research sites (LTER) is their long-term nature. In education, many programs are funded for the short-term (one to three years), during which substantive results and impacts are difficult to gather. Therefore, the persistent character of LTER sites provides us opportunities to establish science education programs over the long-term. Importantly, the sites also are ideal environments to promote effective learning of science through active engagement and inquiry by all students. At LTER sites, post-secondary and K-12 faculty can engage in professional development about teaching and learning. Ideally, within the LTER structure, they would and learn to apply those active learning strategies to their schoolyards and classrooms.

In 1998, the LTER Education Committee accrued funding from the NSF and implemented a national workshop to provide teams composed of scientists, science educators and teachers associated with LTER sites an opportunity to gather together and share ideas, strategies, and plans for further developing educational programs at their sites. This was a unique opportunity to build what we hope will be long-term education partnerships among scientists, teachers, students, and community members. These partnerships would promote science learning that

1) contributes towards development of the next generation of potential LTER scientists;

2) provides opportunities for increased scientific literacy of citizens who ultimately support the LTER research initiatives;

3) develops a framework for inter-site communication and outreach activities; and

4) establishes new career opportunities for scientists in education.

Outcomes from the workshop include initiation and implementation of various kinds of educational programs by LTER sites. The Palmer LTER represents an example of how small supplemental funds to an LTER site are being used to creat a long-term perspective in classroom science. I applaud this collaborative group of scientists and educators for bridging the distance to the Antarctic with a creative plan to engage students and teachers in their own classrooms.
 

Diane Ebert-May, LTER Education Committee Chair

Director, Lyman Briggs School
Professor, Botany and Plant Pathology
Michigan State University
E. Lansing, MI 48825-1107
ebertmay@pilot.msu.edu