Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Education Program — referred to as “Schoolyard LTER” — is dedicated to developing and sharing best practices in training, teaching, and learning about the Earth’s ecosystems. Each site receives an education supplement, the impact of which is magnified many times through partnerships with local museums and non-profit organizations, environmental educators, and school systems.
Because LTER sites are able to maintain a persistent presence in the community over many years, researchers and education specialists are able to develop long-lasting relationships with local and regional educators and their students. Working in partnership with teachers and university faculty, site-based educators develop science curriculum materials that draw on the sites’ extensive data resources, provide immersive research experiences for teachers and undergraduate students, and give many curious young minds their first chance to poke around in nature and start finding their own answers.
Data Literacy
LTER data provides many examples of how to find, organize, clean, analyze and plot real data while also being accessible to even young students, who can easily grasp the meaning of changes in plant and animal populations, for example. The Data Nuggets program (developed at the Kellogg Biological Station LTER site) disseminates free classroom activities, co-designed by scientists and teachers and derived from authentic science research projects, that provide opportunities to look for patterns in the data and to develop explanations about natural phenomena using the scientific data from the study.
Data Jams meld data analysis skills with creative activities, making learning especially fun and accessible for middle-school students.
K-12 Education Resources
Education Stories from across the Network
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Helping students hear the stories that data tell
Data Nuggets, operated by the KBS LTER, started its third round of funding from the National Science Foundation to improve data literacy in K-16 students.
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Welcome to the Woods: New Beginnings in New Hampshire
Welcome to the Woods aims to at introduce political refugees to the natural features of their new home at the Hubbard Brook LTER.
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Can’t bring kids to the Gulf of Alaska? Develop a virtual field trip!
NGA’s Virtual Field Trip brings the Arctic to the classroom, pairing a video, video game, and activities to immerse students near and far in the ecosystem.
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LTER Graduate Student Spotlight: Dana Cook
This spotlight is part of an ongoing series featuring many of our wonderful LTER Network graduate student representatives who contribute valuable research and leadership across the network. To learn more about graduate research in the LTER network, visit this page. Dana Cook has been a graduate student with the Moorea Coral Reef LTER for the……
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LTER Graduate Student Spotlight: Kelsey Solomon
This spotlight is part of an ongoing series featuring many of our wonderful LTER Network graduate student representatives who contribute valuable research and leadership across the network. To learn more about graduate research in the LTER network, visit this page. Kelsey Solomon is a graduate student at the University of Georgia, where she’s been conducting……
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Mentoring Undergraduate Students at Moorea Coral Reef LTER
LTER sites preset extraordinary opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to learn about the process of science — and to discover whether their strengths and interests fit the demands of field ecology. Russell Schmitt and Sally Holbrook discuss how the Moorea Coral Reef site mentors undergraduate students and the rewards of the experience.
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Let’s CHAT about Improving REU Programs
Many scientists have pivotal experiences during their undergraduate education that lead them to choose a career in science, such as opportunities to conduct hands-on research or work closely with mentors. Unfortunately, it’s a challenge to measure the direct impact these foundational experiences have on participants. In a new paper, however, researchers from Harvard Forest LTER……
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New Toolkit from CAISE on Inclusion in STEM
Informal Science (formerly the Center for the Advancement of Informal Science Education) has released a new toolkit: Broadening Perspectives on Broadening Participation in STEM. Key practice briefs, such as these on Cultural Norms of STEM and Modeling Workplace Inclusion serve as discussion-starters for identifying the issues and solutions for each site. Find information on this and many other resources for increasing……
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Webinar series on 21st century field education
The Undergraduate Field Experiences Research Network (UFERN) is pleased to announce a new webinar series focused on 21st century field education. The webinar series will bring expertise to our discussions and thinking that support the goal of UFERN by moving field learning experiences into the 21st century. Please join us for the first webinar in this series……
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Into the Woods and Back Again: Former Harvard Forest REU Student Fiona Jevon Returns to Mentor New Undergrads
Every summer, NSF funds research opportunities for undergraduate students at many LTER sites across the country. These Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REUs) expose students, often for the first time, to the world of ecological research through meaningful participation in ongoing research projects and tutelage under faculty. For many students, a summer spent participating in an……
