STORMS - Students & Teachers Observing & Recording Meteorological Systems

Purpose: The goal is to increase student participation in authentic science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) experiences while also creating a community of learners who can effectively investigate severe storm events in both local and global contexts.  These activities will serve 20 teachers and 55 students in grades K through 8 in Casco and Penobscot Bay island communities and Stonington/Deer Isle.  Teachers at the elementary level are challenged to find ways to engage young students in STEM subject areas, and students in the elementary-grade levels love to learn by doing.  The concept of weather systems is abstract and intangible to young minds unless they can see how changes in climate, temperature, and precipitation affect where they live.  Students on the un-bridged islands of Maine have seen an increase in the severity and frequency of record-breaking storms. The STORMS project will use these weather events as a platform to get young students excited about STEM and Information Technology (IT) by gathering geospatial data from sites in students’ communities that have been affected, such as large portions of beach area that have been eroded by storm surges.

The STORMS project will use the best practices learned from other Island Institute projects such as the Community for Rural Education, Stewardship and Technology (CREST), which includes a  place-based interdisciplinary curriculum developed by teachers on Maine’s islands, with activities such as how to geo-tag digital photographs.  Linking each of the island schools through its own webpage, STORMS will enable students to share information about how a particular storm affected their communities and to compare its effect on neighboring islands.  The curriculum will be aligned to the Maine State Learning Results and made available through the Island Institute website. 

Expected Results:  This program will provide training to teachers and will enhance the skill set of younger students in the areas of information technology, climate-change science, and geo-spatial analysis.  It will create a community of teachers and learners who are proficient in using existing and emerging technology to investigate the severity, effects, and frequency of local storm events in the context of global meteorology, and it will increase authentic student and teacher experiences in science, technology, engineering and math.

Measuring Results:   Students and teachers will provide pre-and post-project survey data that assess changes in their level of interest and proficiency in information technology, STEM, and global weather systems.

STORMS has received funding from the Morton-Kelly Foundation, and the Davis Family Foundation. Grant applications are pending at NASA (National Aeronautic and Space Administration), other foundations, and individual donors for additional support for this project.  If you need more information, please feel free to contact Robert Snyder, the Institute’s Vice-President of Programs, at 207-594-9209, ext. 142, or rsnyder@islandinstitute.org.