September 04, 2000:
A New Way to Present GLOBE Protocols
Standard protocols are key to the scientific validity of GLOBE measurements. Presenting protocol statements - so that all students can consistently and successfully follow the same measurement procedures - is one of the main purposes of the Teacher's Guide.
GLOBE in the United Kingdom pioneered an approach that we are adopting for the next Teacher's Guide. For each protocol, Field or Lab Guides will describe the overall task, provide a checklist of needed equipment and list step-by-step instructions.
The GLOBE 2000 Teacher's Guide will have some new protocols, but only the cloud protocol is changed. Other protocols are being reworded as Field and Lab Guides. This rewording does not change the measurement procedures. Protocols in the 1997 GLOBE II Teacher's Guide remain valid.
Some may feel that step-by-step guides make the science of GLOBE like a cookbook. Yet airplane pilots go though checklists before take off. The procedure does not diminish the importance of pilot skills and the benefits to passengers of their experience but it does improve the reliability of air transport. The Field and Lab Guides will improve the reliability and consistency of GLOBE measurements. Still, students need to be thoughtful when taking data, and experience in doing GLOBE observations will improve the quality of their data.
These Guides will help new students quickly become comfortable and confident in taking real science measurements and help experienced students remain faithful to the specified procedures. As the database of GLOBE student measurements grows in size, it also grows in scientific value, and attention to quality becomes ever more important.
Please refer to the Guides each time, and encourage your students to do so as well. It is important to show the students that the protocols need to be followed precisely and that by referring to the protocol steps in the Guides the quality of their work will be enhanced!