K-12 Education

New Mexico EPSCoR is committed to K-12 education and is active in assisting with the development of climate change curriculum for K-12 students. Currently, New Mexico EPSCoR partners with the Northern New Mexico Network to provide a summer institute for teachers with year-long follow up on implementing science inquiry activities in the classroom. NM EPSCoR also participates in outreach activities with K-12 students, including Math and Science Day at the New Mexico State Legislature.

Summer Teacher Institute

The Summer Institute for Teacher Professional Development brings together small teams of high school teachers with project scientists in a five-day Summer Institute held at the Valles Caldera National Preserve (VCNP). The teachers participate with project scientists in field activities, such as equipment deployment and data collection, and they develop activities to take back to their classrooms. The teachers gather for two weekend workshops, one in the fall and one in the spring, to strengthen the bonds within the teacher teams, provide updates and expand the scientific content delivered during the summer, and allow the teachers to share best practices for science teaching.

In Years 1 and 2 of the project, the Summer Institute included teacher participants from a total of 16 districts in northern New Mexico. In Year 3, 12 teachers and 1 principal from 8 districts attended. Teachers received a stipend, on-site housing, meal and travel allowance. Teachers participated in field studies in water, soils, botany, and sampling methods. Follow-up work will include a focus on developing classroom materials and working with teachers to use field data effectively with their students.

The VCNP also provides education programs for students. View the Fall 2011 Brochure here (front) and here (back).

The NM STEM Database

NM EPSCoR has developed and maintains the NM STEM Database, a searchable listing of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs, opportunities and events for students, teachers, and members of the community. Listings include resources at the K-12, undergraduate, and graduate level as well as information on public STEM events. Check it out at www.nmstemed.org

The Supercomputing Challenge

NM EPSCoR partners with the NM Supercomputing Challenge through both its Western Consortium (Track 2) project and its C2 project as a means of contributing to the improvement of the human component of the state's cyberinfrastructure. Open to all students in New Mexico schools in grades 6-12, the Supercomputing Challenge is a year-long team competition in which students employ computing simulations to address science and societal questions. EPSCoR has supported the expansion of the program to additional schools, especially those in rural areas with high Native American and Hispanic student populations.

For the first time, NM EPSCoR presented a climate change award to the project that best represented climate modeling and climate change study. The winner of the 2010-2011 Climate Change Award was Sara Shiina from Aspen Elementary for her project, "Global Warming: What can we do about it?" For information on other winners of the 2010-2011 Supercomputing Challenge and next year's competition, visit the NM Supercomputing Challenge website.