Accepted Poster
Poster Short Abstract
The STEM-IT approach integrates satellite-based Earth Observation (EO) into teacher education to develop climate and wildfire literacy. Through hands-on EO analysis and citizen science practices, educators design classroom activities with real wildfire data. Preliminary results will be presented.
Poster Abstract
Wildfire regimes are intensifying under anthropogenic climate change, increasing the need to connect satellite-based Earth Observation (EO) capabilities with public and school-based environmental literacy. This poster presents the STEM-IT educational approach that integrates EO data and analytical practices into STEM-focused teacher professional development to strengthen climate and wildfire competences and foster engagement with citizen science. The approach employs a suite of freely accessible EO platforms and services, enabling educators to interpret spatiotemporal patterns of wildfire activity, vegetation conditions, and fire danger indicators in locally relevant contexts.
Participating teachers engage in guided, inquiry-based activities in which they analyze active-fire detections, burned-area products, and vegetation indices to investigate recent wildfire events and post-fire ecological dynamics. These activities foreground authentic data interpretation and help teachers understand how EO can illuminate environmental change across multiple scales. Teachers then translate these analytical procedures into classroom scenarios, positioning students as “fire detectives” who combine satellite information with ground-based observations, local knowledge, and community-reported impacts. In doing so, students construct evidence-based narratives of wildfire behavior, ecosystem responses, and climate-related drivers.
The integration of EO data, STEM inquiry, and participatory science aims to develop geospatial reasoning, critical data literacy, and environmental citizenship among both teachers and students. By situating global climate and hazard information within place-based studies, the approach supports educators in designing learning experiences that are locally meaningful yet scientifically grounded. It also strengthens teachers’ capacity to act as facilitators of citizen science by linking classroom inquiry with real datasets, public monitoring initiatives, and community engagement opportunities.
The poster will present preliminary results from pilot implementations, including teacher feedback, examples of classroom artefacts, and reflections on how EO-enhanced inquiry can advance wildfire literacy and support broader participation in environmental monitoring.
Poster Session