• Geographic Alliance Network
• NASA Education Resources
• South Carolina State Climatologist
• State Geological Survey
• U.S. Geological Survey

The National Geographic Society's Geography Education Program has established a network of state geographic alliances-grass roots organizations composed mainly of K-12 teachers and university geographers-dedicated to improving and promoting geography education. These alliances support professional development for teachers, development of classroom materials, and efforts to make geography a part of state and local curricula.

South Carolina Geographic Alliance
http://www.cla.sc.edu/cege/scga.htm
Summer 2000 Contact:
Charles Kovacik
Department of Geography
University of South Carolina
Callcott Building
Columbia, SC 29208
Phone: (803) 777-8433
Outside Columbia area: (888) 895-2023
Fax: (803) 777-4972
Email:  kovacik@sc.edu

NASA's State-Based Electronic Notebook is the source for NASAand aerospace education in your state.  Includes links to K-university level education contacts, resources, and information.

State Climatologists are individuals who have been identifiedby a state entity as the state's climatologist and who are also recognized by the Director of the National Climatic Data Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as the state climatologist of a particularstate.

Dr. Michael R. Helfert,
State Climatology Office
South Carolina Dept of Natural Resources
Land, Water & Conservation Division
1201 Main Street, Suite 1100
Columbia SC 29201
Phone: (803) 737-0849
Fax: (803) 765-9080
Email: helfert@water.dnr.state.sc.us
http://water.dnr.state.sc.us/climate/sco

The State Climatolotist, Dr. Michael R. Helfert, is also Director of the
Southeastern Regional Climate Center.
http://water.dnr.state.sc.us/water/climate/sercc/index.html

Climate Education web site:
http://water.dnr.state.sc.us/climate/sercc/education.html

Almost all of the 50 states (and Puerto Rico) have an agency that deals with geological hazards and resources within its bounds. Some have more than one (e.g., one for petroleum resources, one for general geology, and one for water resources), and some have delegated the responsibilities to a unit within a state university. Most, but not all of these institutions are connected to the Internet. For all of these agencies, we've included snail mail addresses as well as known e-mail and Internet links.

South Carolina Geological Survey
5 Geology Road
Columbia, SC 29210
Phone: (803) 737-9440
http://water.dnr.state.sc.us/geology/index.html

The U.S. Geological Survey provides the Nation with reliable, impartial information to describe and understand the Earth.  Science topics are Biology, Geology, Mapping, and Water. The U.S. Geological Survey has offices in every state, thus providing a local presence and facilitating relations with the public and private sectors, academia, and federal, state, and local agencies. This widely distributed network of scientific personnel is a resource that provides a valuable and nationally consistent, long-term earth science information base.

State Representative

dc_sc@usgs.gov
720 Gracern Rd.
Stephenson Center, Suite 129
Columbia, SC 29210
Phone: (803) 750-6100
Fax: (803) 750-6181
Office hours: 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time

USGS Programs in South Carolina
USGS Fact Sheets listed by state can be found at this WWW site:
http://water.usgs.gov/public/wid/index-state.html

A Fact Sheet at the following WWW site describes several of the USGSactivities in South Carolina: http://water.usgs.gov/pubs/FS/FS-040-96/

High School Earth/Environmental Science Project
http://www.cosm.sc.edu/cse/hses-ab.htm

Currently under development, these Earth system science materials on Earth in Space and Time, Atmosphere, Hydrosphere and Solid Earth are being tailored for use in South Carolina high schools. Each module will consist of three units:  Origins and Characteristics, Interactions, and Changes over Time.

Contact:
Dr. John Carpenter, Director
Center for Science Education
The University of South Carolina
Columbia, SC 29208
Phone:  (803) 777-6920
Email: carpent@psc.sc.edu

The Cooperative University-based Program for Earth System Science (ESSE)
http://www.usra.edu/esse/essonline/

Sponsored by NASA through the Universities Space Research Association, ESSE supports the development of undergraduate curricula in Earth System Science and Global Change at forty-four participating colleges anduniversities.

Participant: Coastal Carolina University
Contact:
Dr. Craig Gilman
Marine Science Department
Coastal Carolina University
Conway, SC 29526
Phone: (803) 349-2228
Fax: (803) 349-2926
Email: gilman@coastal.edu

K-12 Professional Development Opportunities

• American Meteorological Society (AMS) Project Atmosphere AERAs
• American Meteorological Society (AMS) Maury Project Peer Trainers
• Center for Science Education at the University of South Carolina, Columbia
• The GLOBE Program
• NASA Education Resources
• Summer 2000

• NOVA

American Meteorological Society (AMS) Project Atmosphere AERAs
http://www.ametsoc.org/AMS/amsedu/index.html

The American Meteorological Society's Project Atmosphere includes the operation of a national network of AMS Atmospheric Education ResourceAgents (AERAs), who act as regional points of contact for teachers whoare seeking information on atmospheric science topics.  Each AERA presents several general atmospheric sciences information sessions eachyear to teacher groups. AERAs also conduct teacher-training sessions on single meteorological topics about which they have been specially trained.These sessions often take place at local and state teacher association meetings.  Others are held at the school district level on staff development days or included in college courses, with AERAs compensated through local or state funds.

In South Carolina

Emmie Thirlwell
103 Westridge Ct.
Chapin, SC 29036
Phone: (803) 345-2846
Fax: (803) 345-2846
Email: ethirlwell@msn.com

Maury Project Peer Trainers are Master precollege teachers trained in one of the AMS Summer training workshops held at the UnitedStates Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD, who have demonstrated an exceptional competency and commitment to the process of guiding fellow teachers inthe field of precollege physical oceanographic education. These teachers conduct seminar/workshops on an on-going basis for their peers, within their respective teaching districts, using primarily single-topic teaching materials developed by AMS specifically for this purpose.

In South Carolina

Barbara Clarkson
4210 Highland Park Drive
Columbia, SC 29204
Phone:  (803) 754-2016

Julie Cliff
Wando High School
1560 Mathis Ferry Road
Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464
Phone:  (803) 849-2830
Fax:  (803) 849-8367

Christine Harris
604 E. Jefferson Street
Dillon, SC 29536
Phone:  (803) 774-4614
Fax:  (803) 774-1214
Email: charris@dillon.sc.fred.org

The Center for Science Education develops and implements specific programs to assist with the improvement of undergraduate and graduate programs.The Center also assists individual teachers, schools, school districts, and consortia of districts through the development of materials needed to provide effective K-12 teaching of science, and through direct assistance programs in the form of in-service workshops and curriculum development assistance.

The Center offers a MAT degree in Earth Sciences for the prospective middle school earth science teacher.

Contact:
Dr. Philip Astwood, Interim Director
Center for Science Education
The University of South Carolina
Columbia, SC 29208
Phone:  (803) 777-6920

Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) is a worldwide network of students, teachers, and scientists working together to study and understand the global environment.  GLOBE students make environmental observations at or near their schools and report their data through the Internet.

GLOBE at University of South Carolina, Aiken
Franchise Coordinator and Training Point-of-Contact:
Mr. Edward L. Shuler, Jr., Education Associate
Natural Resources Science, Mathematics, and Engineering
Education Program
University of South Carolina
c/o USDA Forest Service
P.O. Box 171
New Ellenton, SC 29809
Phone: (803) 725-0521
Fax: (803) 725-0071
Email: neds@aiken.sc.edu
Franchise Homepage:
http://rpsec.usca.sc.edu/NRSMEEP/NRSMEEP.html

NASA's State-Based Electronic Notebook is the source for NASA and aerospace education in your state.  Includes links to K-university level education contacts, resources, and information.  NASA Educator Resource Centers (ERCs) and Space Grant Colleges offer teacher workshops and other education programs in their state.

The Tennessee, Oklahoma, Florida, and South Carolina alliances, in collaboration with U.S. Geological Survey, has obtained a grant from National Geographic Society Education Foundation to offer a two-week institutefor K-12 teachers during summer of 2000, on HOW THE ENVIRONMENT WORKS. Institute will focus on climatic and geomorphological processes, and will emphasize training of a six-teacher team from each participating state whose mission will be to increase emphasis on environmental processes in the curricula of schools in their respective states.  Each participating state is providing a minimum of $5000 to support its team's activities during 2000-2001.

Contact:
Dr. Charles Kovacik
Department of Geography
University of South Carolina
Phone: (803) 777-8433

NOVA
http://www.eng.ua.edu/~nova

NOVA was created to develop and disseminate a national framework for enhancing science, mathematics, and technology literacy for teachers in the 21st century.  This effort is accomplished through thedemonstrationof an undergraduate science/math/technology course framework, examples of successful course models, and a mentoring support system for facultywishing to implement new courses or modify existing courses at theiruniversities. The framework uses interactive learning and integrates science, mathematicsand technology as a means of developing a new paradigm for educatingteachers. NOVA invites the participation of science, mathematics, engineering, technology, and education faculty who are concerned with how universities prepare newteachers.  Using NASA missions (including the Earth sciences), facilities, and resources, NOVA provides faculty with enhanced knowledge and skills to implement change in university courses.  The NOVA team presents its framework for change primarily through three-day workshops to interdisciplinaryuniversity teams. These universities are then eligible to submit proposals for Implementation Planning Grants (up to $30,000 for a one-year period) to initiate change in science, mathematics, or engineering courses forpreparing K-12 teachers.  The schedule of workshops is available at http://www.eng.ua.edu/~nova.

CLEMSON UNIVERSITY
Clemson, SC  29634-1906

Shelley Fones
Assistant Professor
Curriculum and Instruction
410 Tillman Hall
Phone: (864) 656-0327
Email: bshelle@clemson.edu

John K. Luedeman
Director, CEMSE
M-305 Martin Hall
Phone: (864) 656-5200
Email: lued@clemson.edu

Dennis E. Stevenson
Associate Professor
Department of Computer Science
447 Edwards Hall
P. O. Box 341906
Phone: (864) 656-5880
Fax: (864) 656-0145
Email: steve@clemson.edu