Project INSTAR is a three-phased teacher enhancement program. The first phase is an annual field-intensive two-week summer Science Teacher Institute. This Institute is followed by regular academic year training and participation in the GLOBE Program (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment), a global environmental education program that encourages science inquiry skills and coordinates data collection and entry by students into an international data base through the Internet. During these two phases, science teachers work collaboratively in teams with research scientists and experienced master teachers to improve their knowledge and skills in the content area, develop appropriate and useful activities and materials to use in the classroom, and distribute this knowledge base throughout their home schools. They gain scientific knowledge about their local environment, and learn data collection techniques and the use of technological tools to conduct research. The 1998 Dade county middle school Teacher Institute focused on four active research programs in South Florida - coral reefs, biotoxins, hydrology, and beach renourishment. The third phase of the program provides training in geographic information systems (GIS), a technology tool that allows teachers to geographically analyze, interpret, and process the data collected in the first two phases of the program. Project INSTAR includes instructional materials and equipment kits that can be readily integrated into classroom learning and teaching, and offers teaches the opportunity to exercise leadership, teaching, and inquiry skills to help change the way they teach and ultimately the way their students learn science.
