Education and Outreach at CIRAMatt RogersEducation and Outreach Coordinator

John WeaverSocietal Impacts Coordinator

Cooperative Institute for Research in the AtmosphereColorado State UniversityCIRA Fellows Meeting6 May 2015

Public Outreach at CIRA

Oversight by E&O Committee

• Composed of CIRA researchers and staff who have shown interest in developing and running E&O projects

Activities targeted at specific audiences

• K-12 Education

• Undergraduate, Graduate, and Professional

• Citizen Science Programs

• General Public

Activities organized by four tiered structure

• Tier 1: Public Affairs and Media Relations

• Tier 2: Pilot E&O Programs

• Tier 3: Long-term E&O Programs

• Tier 4: Large-scale E&O Opportunities

Match audience to CIRA resource, and develop at appropriate level of engagement

Tier 1 Activities

FORTCast

Social Media/Public Relations

CIRA Magazine

School Activities

Tier 2 Activities

Standards-Based Professional Development

Role of Scientists in Science Education

Tier 3 Activities

Professional Training Programs – VISIT and VLab

Current Funding Opportunities

Fire, Flood, and Drought Resiliency (NOAA ELG)

Satellite Teacher Learning Academy

(NASA C&E CAN)

Leverage Tier 2 PD Activities to access longer-term funding sources

Tier 4 Opportunities

Subject-matter expertise in education: role of scientists in educating, developing, and evaluating education, communications, and outreach for program-level projects

Professional Development for Educators – changing scene for STEM PD offers challenges, opportunities for CIs

New area for CIRA – will develop resources based on opportunities and feedback from Tier 2 and Tier 3 programs

CIRA’s Societal Impacts Program

Upcoming Projects in Societal Impacts New analysis on public attitudes for weather warnings and

watches Follow-on from previous publication, larger scope

VISIT Course on Social Science for Physical Scientists In-house draft of course detailing fundamentals of social science

Social Science research methods Individual vs group behaviors Communicating risk to groups

Course to be readied by July 2015

Severe Weather and Societal Response Course (Synergy with E&O Program) Synopsis:

Overview of the varieties and causes of severe weather Hurricanes, winter weather, thunderstorms/tornadoes, flooding, essentials of

climate – first 3 weeks Fort Collins flood tour

Opportunities for Education and Outreach at CIRA

Engaged in public outreach

• Defined outreach plan focused on matching CIRA resources to audiences at appropriate level of engagement

• Prototype and proof-of-concept projects to transition to long-term, funded research

Engaged in NOAA E&O Collaborations

• Helping develop communications to unify and improve the ‘NOAA Message’ across CIs and NOAA Offices

• Linked with NOAA (and now NASA) social media and content creation to broaden CIRA’s impact online

Seeking new opportunities

• Funding opportunities to develop outreach supporting the breadth of CIRA capabilities

• Further enhance the visibility of CIRA research, the CI program, and NOAA in general

Thanks for your time