Online Professional Development Course on ‘Global Climate
Change Education’ From PBS TeacherLine and NASA Now Available

Arlington, Va. (Mar. 24, 2010) – Developed with grant funding from The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), PBS TeacherLine’s new online professional development course that helps educators teach global climate change will open for enrollment on April 3. It is the first offering in a series of courses and modules that PBS TeacherLine^®, the premier provider of online professional development services for preK-12 educators, is creating under the NASA Global Climate Change Education grant.

“STEM 412: Global Climate Change Education for Middle School” enables teachers to strengthen their subject-area knowledge and instructional skills to engage students in critical lessons on climate change, while teaching science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts. Teachers will learn how to use a problem-based learning approach and STEM methodology, and to integrate media-rich educational resources from NASA, PBS and other online sites into classroom instruction. Through current missions such as Terra, Aura and SORCE, NASA is generating valuable data for the study of climate change, including measurements of atmospheric temperatures, sea ice thickness and extent, solar radiation, sea surface height, and aerosol concentrations. NASA also offers a variety of relevant classroom resources and data collections like Visible Earth, My NASA Data and S’COOL.

PBS TeacherLine is offering the first run of the course during its Summer session, which starts June 23. The six-week, 30-hour course costs $199 (costs may vary for courses offered locally through PBS stations.) Teachers can earn professional development points, continuing education units, or graduate credit. To learn more about PBS TeacherLine, or to enroll, go to www.pbs.org/teacherline.

Note: The contents of this news brief were developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. However, the contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the government.

More Information

For more information about PBS TeacherLine, visit www.pbs.org/teacherline.

About PBS TeacherLine

PBS TeacherLine is committed to helping teachers acquire the skills they need to prepare students for a successful future. PBS TeacherLine provides high-quality, affordable professional development through facilitated, online courses, collaborative learning communities, and exemplary Internet-based resources. Currently, more than 130 courses across multiple subject areas are offered. Teachers can earn continuing education units, professional development points, and graduate credits for course completion. The courses have been developed in conjunction with leading education organizations, including Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL), Education Development Center (EDC), Concord Consortium, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, and International Society for Technology Education. Created in 2000, PBS TeacherLine is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education for $6,046,811. This represents approximately 85 percent of the total program funding. The remaining 15 percent is funded through in-kind support from PBS and through program income.

About PBS

PBS, with its 356 member stations, offers all Americans – from every walk of life – the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and online content. Each month, PBS reaches more than 124 million people on-air and online, inviting them to experience the worlds of science, history, nature and public affairs; hear diverse viewpoints; and take front row seats to world-class drama and performances. PBS’ broad array of programs has been consistently honored by the industry’s most coveted award competitions. Teachers of children from pre-K through 12th grade turn to PBS for digital content and services that help bring classroom lessons to life. PBS’ premier children’s TV programming and Web site, pbskids.org, are parents’ and teachers’ most trusted partners in inspiring and nurturing curiosity and love of learning in children. More information about PBS is available at www.pbs.org, one of the leading dot-org Web sites on the Internet.

Contacts

PBS
Kevin Dando
703-739-5073
kdando at pbs dot org

Donovan Goode
703-739-5073
dwgoode at pbs dot org
www.pbs.org

C. Blohm & Associates, Inc.
Kristen Plemon
608-839-9805
kristen at cblohm dot com
www.cblohm.com