The project is designed on the principle that engaging teachers as active participants in the practice of science has a profound impact on their teaching practice. The primary goal of the researcher-teacher partnerships (herein shortened to RTP) project is to engage Oregon 7 - 12th grade teachers in professional development to (a) advance their personal knowledge of the fundamentals of global climate change; and (b) partner with scientists to research a particular focus area of global climate change; in order to (c) integrate this knowledge and experience into their classroom teaching. The three-year RTP project will bring together science educators from the Oregon Natural Resources Education Program (ONREP), Oregon Sea Grant (OSG), and the Science Math and Investigative Learning Experiences (SMILE) Program and NASA-funded global climate change researchers to engage teachers in three-week summer research institutes.

The institutes will include two weeks for participation in an intensive research experience and one week (split at the beginning and end) of training to introduce teachers to key climate change topics and support application of their research experiences to the classroom. In the RTP project, researchers, teachers, and science educators will form working groups around global climate change topics. The working groups will create a "community context" to make each topic relevant for 7-12th grade classrooms (and/or broader audiences). Teachers will be supported by science educators in using the working group discussions, content from invited speakers and research experiences, ideas for education tools from the professional development parts of the experience, and applicable state standards to develop and implement thematic units that promote students' understanding of global climate change. We will recruit for project participants through multiple statewide networks and most heavily in Oregon Title I schools and school districts where 40% or more students are enrolled in the free and reduced lunch program and those districts with high percentages of English as a Second Language students.

The long-term impact of changing teachers' practice is significant. The three-year project will have statewide impact by providing professional development for up to 30 teachers, who have the potential of reaching 4,500 or more Oregon students each year of the project. An expected long-term outcome for the proposed project is for teachers to change their teaching practice and incorporate projects that promote understanding of global climate change with students year after year. This project is a partnership between teachers and researchers. Researchers will have opportunities to learn from teachers about the translation of research to the classroom and improve their communication skills with the general public while teachers will have opportunities to increase their knowledge about science content and the processes of scientific inquiry. We will work with an external evaluator to measure success of the project using a variety of data sources such as demographic information, survey tools, observations, workshop descriptions, teacher reflections, teacher artifacts, and interviews. The PI, Dr. Kari O'Connell of the ONREP will lead the development and implementation of the proposed project in coordination with key project partner Nancee Hunter, OSG, and a planning team. The planning team will consist of the PI, Co I Nancee Hunter and one science Co Investigator who will rotate serving on the planning team each year of the project.