GLOBE Mission Earth Educators Participate in Land Cover Community of Practice

Explore This Section Science Science Activation GLOBE Mission Earth Educators… Overview Resources Opportunities Citizen Science Highlights About Science Activation 3 min read GLOBE Mission Earth Educators Participate in Land Cover Community of Practice During the 2025-2026 school year, educators from the NASA Science Activation Program’s GLOBE (Global Learning and Observation to Benefit the Environment) Mission Earth project participated in a specialized Community of Practice led by NASA Langley Research Center to refine how students interact with NASA’s land cover data (MODIS, Landsat, and Sentinel-2). Their collaboration focused on four key areas: Data Collection: Improving the process of making and submitting land cover observations to NASA using the GLOBE Observer App. Curriculum Integration: Identifying connections between land cover observations, satellite data, and classroom learning. Student Research: Brainstorming potential land cover research topics/questions for students. Validation: Providing expert feedback on the satellite comparison process. Through GLOBE, communities can contribute meaningful environmental data to a long-term data record. When participants make observations of land cover via GLOBE Observer, the team at NASA Langley compares their observation with satellite data for a similar time and location and sends a satellite comparison email, which includes a data table that shows how their GLOBE observation and the corresponding satellite data compare. Key Community of Practice Findings:The Community of Practice included a total of 14 educators, with six actively collecting land cover observations with their students using the GLOBE Observer app. These land cover observations were collocated to MODIS, Landsat, and Sentinel-2 data with educators receiving a satellite comparison email. Within the scope of this Community of Practice, 10 of the educators developed student research plans for the 2026-2027 school year focused on land cover data, add