@article {JRN54950, title = {Broadening the impact of k{\textendash}12 science education collaborations in a shifting education landscape}, journal = {BioScience}, volume = {68}, year = {2018}, pages = {706-714}, abstract = {

For more than 75 years, scientists and educators in New Mexico have provided programs that translate research on dryland ecosystems into broader scientific understanding for the public. Kindergarten through twelfth grade (K{\textendash}12) students and teachers became a primary audience for these programs in the 1990s. Our team from the Jornada Long-Term Ecological Research Program, the US Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service Jornada Experimental Range, and the nonprofit Asombro Institute for Science Education navigated changes in K{\textendash}12 science education to educate more than 200,000 students. The goal of this article is to describe our program{\textquoteright}s responses to six education trends in order to provide experience-based guidance to others designing and delivering K{\textendash}12 programs in a shifting science education landscape. We expect our experience will be relevant to others who are trying to scale their outreach programs to larger, more diverse communities while maintaining alignment with changing trends in education at local, state, and federal levels.

}, keywords = {deserts, ecological literacy, ecology, education, K{\textendash}12 science education}, doi = {10.1093/biosci/biy088}, url = {files/bibliography/18-022.pdf}, author = {Stephanie Bestelmeyer and Grace, Elizabeth and Stephanie Haan-Amato and Pemberton, Ryan and Kris Havstad} } @article {JRN54147, title = {Collaboration, interdisciplinary thinking, and communication: new approaches to K{\textendash}12 ecology education}, journal = {Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment}, volume = {13}, year = {2015}, month = {02/2015}, pages = {37-43}, chapter = {37}, abstract = {

Ecologists often engage in global-scale research through partnerships among scientists from many disciplines. Such research projects require collaboration, interdisciplinary thinking, and strong communication skills. We advocate including these three practices as an integral part of ecology education at the kindergarten through 12th grade (K{\textendash}12) level, as opposed to waiting until the graduate level. Current discourse about K{\textendash}12 ecology education focuses on promoting lessons in which students learn science by conducting research rather than simply reading textbooks. Here, we present five models of K{\textendash}12 ecology education programs that emphasize collaboration, interdisciplinary thinking, and communication within student research projects on the ecology of drylands and other ecosystems. Such practices not only provide additional skills for future ecologists but also prepare students for success in any career as well as for ecologically literate citizenship.

}, keywords = {collaboration, communication skills, interdisciplinary thinking, K-12 ecology education}, doi = {10.1890/140130}, url = {/files/bibliography/15-005.pdf}, author = {Stephanie Bestelmeyer and Elser, Monica M. and Spellman, Katie V. and Sparrow, Elena B. and Stephanie Haan-Amato and Keener, Anna} } @conference {51062, title = {K-12 environmental science education on the US-Mexican border}, booktitle = {85th Annual Meeting, Ecological Society of America}, year = {2000}, month = {August 6-10, 200}, pages = {248}, address = {Snowbird, UT}, abstract = {

Environmental conflicts on the U.S.-Mexican border are increasing as populations grow, resources (especially water) become more limiting, and waste disposal concerns mount (e.g., low-level nuclear waste near Carlsbad, NM, and New York City sewage sludge outside Sierra Blanca, TX). The ability of the local population to evaluate potential options is limited by generally low literacy levels, including low ecological/scientific literacy. The Jornada LTER and the USDA-ARS Jornada Experimental Range have recently developed a partnership with the nonprofit Chihuahuan Desert Nature Park in order to increase understanding of the arid and semiarid ecosystems dominating the border region. This partnership has generated a number of new programs that have effectively increased the number of students served by the LTER/ARS scientists. We are currently using a combination of structured field trips, school-based field measurements (school-yard LTER sites), and classroom visits to engage students. We are also working with teachers in several regional school districts to integrate these programs into the K-12 curriculum. Future plans include the development of a bilingual ecology curriculum for the Chihuahuan Desert and a permanent educational facility to be located in the park{\textquoteright}s 1000-acre field site.

}, keywords = {Chihuahuan Desert Nature Park, classroom, education, field trips, k-12 programs, partnership}, author = {Stephanie Bestelmeyer and P.W. Hyder and E.L. Fredrickson and Kris Havstad and Jeffrey E. Herrick and L. Huenneke and Atchley, J.} }