An aerial view of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, a 15,000-square-kilometer cold desert in Antarctica. Life persists here at the very limits of existence amid unique geological, hydrological, climatic conditions. Photo: Peter Rejcek, NSF, USAP.
The Confluence was launched in 2016 by Joel Singley, a former middle school math and science teacher and current graduate student at the University of Colorado Boulder who conducts research in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica and throughout the Front Range of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. As an educator who lead the development of NGSS-based curriculum, Joel recognized a need for teachers and students to connect more closely with scientists and real datasets, especially in the earth sciences. This project is a work in-progress, an effort to improve the experience of teachers trying to embrace the NGSS and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers. If you would like to help advance these efforts, please consider partnering with us.
We are currently partnering with educators at the following schools:
- Amherst Regional Middle School, Amherst, MA
- Woodstock High School, Woodstock, VT