Monitoring Seasons Through Global Learning Communities also called Seasons and Biomes is an international inquiry-based project.  It is a Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) earth system science project. Seasons and Biomes has engaged K-12 teachers and their students in earth and environmental science studies in collaboration with scientists and community experts including Alaska Native elders.  The project has developed ice seasonality (freeze-up and break-up of lakes and rivers), frost tube (depth of soil freezing), and  mosquito larvae abundance protocols that can be used in studying environmental and climate change.  Learning activities were also developed to help students understand science concepts and process.

Students have been monitoring indicators of change in timing and duration of seasonal events in biomes (a major ecological community type such as tropical rain forest, tundra, grassland, or desert).  They have used GLOBE standardized scientific measurements for investigations on atmosphere, soils, hydrology, land cover and phenology as well as those developed in this project.  Seasons and Biomes has given thousands of students the opportunity to learn science by doing science, increase their understanding of the Earth system,  participate in the fourth International Polar Year, and contribute to climate studies..  Over 22,000 students --individuals, small groups of students, classes and schools, have participated in locally relevant studies with regional to global reach. 

Global learning communities of educators, students and science experts have formed through different ways. One is through teacher professional development (PD) workshops conducted by Seasons and Biomes staff in the U.S. and other countries.  The Seasons and Biomes PD workshop model engages the teachers in the science process while they learn new content knowledge,  research techniques,  best teaching practices and a systems approach in studying the Earth and the environment. A multiplier effect has resulted from these PD workshops.  Project trained trainers (educators and scientists) as well as some teachers, have conducted their own workshops resulting in almost as many as the Seasons and Biomes staff have done. More than 1600 educators in 51 countries have participated.

The other way of forming global learning communities is through collaborative projects such as:

• Pole-to-Pole videoconferences - students, teachers and, Arctic and Antarctic scientists discuss environment changes (Alaska, Colorado, Washington DC in the U.S. and Ushuaia, Argentina school)
• GS-Pals project- web-based discussions on climate (between Lima, Peru and Alaska, U.S. classrooms; Cameroon ad Switzerland classrooms,) facilitated by GLOBE Alumni
• Ice Mystery e-Polar books, collaboratively written and illustrated by students in an innovative  science, language-arts project across continents, between 12 paired classrooms in Alaska, U.S. and Tasmania, Australia
• Mt Kilimanjaro expeditions in 2009-2012 were scientist driven, GLOBE Alumni guided and student focused treks up to the summit by scientists, teachers and students. They were accompanied virtually by thousands of students in 700 hundred schools all over the world.  The trekkers collected ecosystem data using GLOBE measurements as they ascended through the different biomes on the mountain. Similarly, virtual participants did measurements at their schools and submitted descriptions and pictures of their biomes. They also sent questions to the climbers and participated in webinars during the climb and after.  The 2012 expedition had the largest virtual participation through social media, webinars, emails and was featured by numerous media outlets.
• Mosquito studies in Thai schools have...

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