POTSDAM -- Teachers from Massena and Ogdensburg were among those who recently attended a Project-Based Global Climate Change Education Curriculum Development workshop at Clarkson University.

The two-week institute for middle- and high-school teachers focused on the fundamentals of climate science and the use of NASA and other earth science data to explore the extent and consequences of climate changes both locally and globally.

Participating teachers included Richard Marshall, Massena High School; Amber Henry, Ogdensburg Free Academy; Tammy Morgan, Lake Placid High School; Laura Tedesco, Troy High School; Mark Penhollow, Liverpool High School; Scott Danville, Beekmantown High School; Andrew Calderwood, Baldwinsville High School; Kevin Douglass, Homer Middle School; Christopher Anderson, Shenendehowa Middle School; and Ralph Greco, Whitesboro High School.

Professors Susan Powers, associate director of the Institute for a Sustainable Environment, and Suresh Dhaniyala, Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, were the lead instructors for the workshop.

The workshop was funded through a grant from NASA that was awarded to Clarkson University in partnership with NYSERDA to promote climate change educational activities.

The teachers were selected to participate through a highly competitive process. Each teacher participant developed inquiry-based learning experience that will be taught during the 2010-2011 school year.

"The most valuable part of this workshop was learning more about climate change and how to link it to real world data," said Douglass. "By using the models and creating graphs, students can see what is occurring across the world and connect that to personal choices and the impacts of their choices."

The institute was supported by Mary Margret Small and Diane Brouwer of Clarkson’s Office of Educational Partnerships and Clarkson doctoral student Jan DeWaters, graduate student Mark Huber and undergraduates Eileen Stachowski and William Armington. A second workshop will be offered in the summer 2011.