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Teachers from the Institute for Science Instruction and Study Visit the USGS Center in Woods Hole
In what has become a biennial tradition, a group from the Institute for Science Instruction and Study (ISIS) visited the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) center in Woods Hole, MA, on March 12. Gennaro Frumento and Scott Graves, professors in the Science Education and Environmental Studies Department at Southern Connecticut State University and coordinators of the ISIS, brought 21 middle-school and high-school science teachers from throughout Connecticut to tour the center. Established in 1985, the ISIS is an intense, 2-year, interdisciplinary program aimed at advanced-degree science teachers interested in bringing new discoveries, technologies, and ideas into the classroom. This was the fourth ISIS group to visit the USGS in Woods Hole since 1995. They had a tour of the facility, including a visit to GHASTLI (Gas Hydrate And Sediment Test Laboratory Instrument) and other instrumentation in the Geotechnical Laboratory used by Bill Winters, Bill Waite, Dave Mason, and Lauren Gilbert. The teachers were given a presentation on gas hydrates and USGS gas-hydrate field and laboratory programs. They also viewed video clips of a force-12 storm weathered by the Ocean Drilling Program's JOIDES Resolution and a giant piston-coring program conducted aboard the French Polar Institute's research vessel Marion Dufresne in the Gulf of Mexico (see related Sound Waves article, "Gas Hydrate Studied in the Northern Gulf of Mexico"). The teachers were given numerous fact sheets, teacher's packets, and Web-related handouts. They also enjoyed learning about ongoing gas-hydrate work performed by Debbie Hutchinson, Dave Twichell, Michelle Edwards, and VeeAnn Cross as depicted in hallway posters. Because each of the teachers instructs about 100 to 130 students per day, the information gained during the Woods Hole visit potentially reaches vast numbers of students. We look forward to seeing the next group in 2 more years!
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in this issue:
Further Investigation of Deep Coral Reef Sea Otters 2005 Survey Numbers Dip Ground Water Institute for Teachers ISIS Group Visits USGS Woods Hole USGS Scientists Address International Visitors Suwannee River Basin and Estuary Integrated Science Workshop |