GLOBE program drives culture of science in RP

By Alex Villafania
INQUIRER.net

IN 1994, then US Vice President Al Gore and several high level government officials started the Global Learning and Observations to the Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program, whose goal is to encourage scientists worldwide to share their research with students through an online community. It was part of the Earth Day Celebrations for that year.

The GLOBE Program’s main goal is to provide information in the protection and conservation of the earth’s natural resources by encouraging current and future scientists to work together. Its founding members include the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the National Science Foundation.

But what sets the GLOBE Program apart from other scientific communities is that it allows students to directly contact scientists on specific topics in a sort of mentorship system. Likewise, students and their teachers can follow up on projects with their own researches, then upload the information they gather so as to contribute to the pool of knowledge on specific topics.

So far, 19,000 schools from 109 countries are part of the GLOBE Program, with 3,700 teachers trained.

PSHS in action

The Philippines is one of the earliest members of the GLOBE Program, having joined it in 1999. In smaller scale operations, the GLOBE-Philippines activities have so far been able to enlist around 64 schools, nine of which were from Philippine Science High School (PSHS) campuses that are managed by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

Philippine Science High School office-in-charge Deputy Executive Director Corazon Monica Sabio said that since joining the GLOBE program, PSHS has produced a good amount of scientific research posted on the GLOBE website. It has also trained four GLOBE master trainers, who are the highest ranking GLOBE member per country.

“The GLOBE master trainers’ responsibilities are to train other teachers on proper scientific approaches, updating information on the GLOBE website, and also ensuring quality control over information,” Sabio said.

In fact, Sabio added that the Philippines is the core group for other GLOBE master trainers in Southeast Asia, particularly Thailand and Indonesia.

There are already a few hundred GLOBE master trainers in the whole of Asia.

Sabio said that GLOBE-Philippines member teachers and trainers would be given opportunity to update the website with research materials and local topics. In most cases, students can interact with established scientists who are members of the GLOBE website community. The response time for a query is usually around a few hours to about two days, though Sabio assured that nearly all queries are answered by the professionals, with words of encouragement to the aspiring student scientists.

“Our goal is actually produce comprehensive information about the country’s biodiversity, to encourage our young people to be part of conservation, not just as scientists but as members of the community. We also want our leaders to have an idea on how to legislate for the protection and conservation of our natural resources by using information that local people have gathered,” Sabio said.

Slow start

Sabio, who is the country coordinator of GLOBE-Philippines, said the GLOBE-Philippines program is not without drawbacks among which includes the slow integration of new research in the country’s high school science curriculum.

“Students have to be given the knowledge and skill in collecting data using the scientific method. Without it, they would have to be retrained to ensure the quality of material they produce,” Sabio said.

Another major problem is the lack of financial assistance for some schools that do not have proper equipment especially for the laboratories. While the DOST has also donated equipment to some GLOBE-Philippines members, other schools have to wait for available budget or donations to buy new laboratory instruments.”

“We also saw a problem in connectivity; students and their teachers won’t be able to upload new information or even ask for assistance from GLOBE Program scientists unless they have Internet connection,” Sabio said.

There is also some backlog in uploading information, according to Sabio, as lack of dedicated manpower is also causing some issues. “We’re slowly resolving these problems, one at a time.”

New plans

Sabio has identified a few plans of the DOST-PSHS for the GLOBE-Philippines program hopefully leading to a national implementation. Among these are looking for more sponsorships and donations for the procurement of field equipment and laboratory instruments, as well as getting people to manage data.

They also plan to train more Globe master trainers who will spread their knowledge to other schools nationwide.

“We should also recognize the source of local information to give them credit for their contributions. That way we can truly motivate younger people to conserve our country’s natural resources,” Sabio said.

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