Abstracts

STScI Education

Evaluation

1999 IDEAS Statistics

This year, the 1999 IDEAS Grant Program drew 40 proposal submissions from 20 states. The ratio of accepted proposals was approximately 1 out of 2.

1999 IDEAS Abstracts

Table of Contents

CURRICULUM/PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

• K-4 Math & Astronomy Through Hands-On Project -Timothy F. Slater, Montana State University
  
• Model-Building: An Instructional Activity for Interpreting Remotely Sensed Image Data - Isabel Hawkins, University of California, Berkeley
  
• Kinesthetic Astronomy for At-Risk Students - Cherilynn A. Morrow, Space Science Institute
  
• Madame Curious Project - Leonard V. Kuhi, University of Minnesota

EDUCATION PROGRAMS for the INTERNET

• Starstuff.org: Connecting Astronomers and the Public - J. Craig Wheeler, University of Texas
  
• Rocket into the Aurora: A Web-Cast in Observing Auroral Activity -Gregory Delory, University of California, Berkeley
  
• OMNIWeb Data for Space Science Education - Joseph King, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION

• Quasars and Supermassive Black Holes - C. Martin Gaskell, University of Nebraska
  
• Young Space Explorers: IDEAS in the Library - Catherine L. Imhoff, Space Telescope Science Institute

STUDENT/TEACHER OUTREACH

• Students Teaching Students: High School Students as Astronomy Educators - Wil van der Veen, Raritan Valley Community College

STUDENT/TEACHER WORKSHOP

• Explorations in Science, Mathematics and Technology - Scott Roby, State Univeristy of New York, Oswego

TEACHER RESOURCES & TRAINING

• The Cosmos in the Classroom: Involving Community-College Instructors in a National Hands-on Symposium on Teaching Astronomy to Non-Science Majors - Robert J. Havlen, Astronomical Society of the Pacific
  
• Did You See the Moon Last Night? - Scientific Inquiry Through Writing, Art, and Observation - Suzanne H. Jacoby, National Optical Astronomy Observatory
  
• Using Astronomy Camp-ins for Pre-Service Teacher Development - Alex Storrs, Space Telescope Science Institute
  
• Astronomy-in-a-Box: Hands-On Space Science Resource Kit for Grades 5 through 8 - Margaret S. Race, SETI Insitute
  
• Project TEACH - David Atkinson, University of Idaho
  
• Alien Rescue: Problem Based Learning in Astronomy - Mary Kay Hemenway, University of Texas at Austin
  
• REACH to the Stars - Phil Christensen, Arizon State University

CURRICULUM/PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

L-4 Math & Astronomy Through Hands-On Project
Principal Investigator: Timothy Slater, Montana State University
Budget: $17,515

This project is developing, field testing and disseminating a package of inquiry-based classroom lessons that are specifically designed to integrate the K-4 National standards in mathematics (NCTM) and astronomy (NSES) using existing NASA science resources. Through a unique collaboration, the materials are being developed by a team of six master elementary teachers working with university research who have considerable experience in curric8ulum development. These materials will be disseminated widely using a triangulated approach of regional/national workshops for teachers by the teacher-writing teams, the Internet and professional journal publications most commonly read by in-service teachers.

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Model-Building: An Instructional Activity for Interpreting Remotely Sensed Image Data
Principal Investigator: Isabel Hawkins, UC Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory
Budget: $27,309

This project will develop and disseminate a model-building methodology and a set of student-centered activities designed to develop skills for interpreting remotely sensed NASA data. Students will construct physical models, use inexpensive digital cameras to create digital images of the models, and analyze computer-generated displays of these images to improve their understanding of real images of astronomical objects obtained by NASA satellites. Several projects have produced curriculum form grades 8 and higher that include activities based upon computer-generated displays of remotely sensed data. However, prior work by Friedman (1999) and Friedmand & diSessa (1999) demonstrates that a student's success and the educational value of such activities often depend upon skills at interpreting these displays. Moreover, we believe that these activities can support a variety of specific learning goals in mathematics, science and technology. The project will leverage off NASA-funded, Internet-based activities of the SEGway Project and the experience of teachers who have used SEGway activities in their classrooms. Model-building activities will be based upon digital images utilized by SEGway modules. In a summer workshop at the Exploratorium, teachers will pilot test our model-building activities, which will be subsequently distributed on the SEGway Web site, the program's national network of science museums, and the national online resource directory being developed by NASA Office of Space Science. Further dissemination will occur through publication of our methodology, which can be replicated by other projects that use NASA images for education and outreach.

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Kinesthetic Astronomy for At-Risk Students
Principal Investigator: Cherilynn Morrow, Space Science Institute
Budget: $33,228

We propose a project to develop, evaluate and disseminate inventive, standards-based lessons. We call our approach "Kinesthetic Astronomy", by which we mean learning basic astronomical concepts through choreographed bodily movements and positions which provide an educational sensory experience. These lessons emphasize astronomical concepts and phenomenon that people can readily encounter such as time, seasons and sky motions of the Sun, stars and planets. We will field-test these lessons with at-risk students and their teachers through an innovative partnership with a unique Colorado high school (Eagle Rock) and with other teachers of grades 6-12. Project goals are to: 1) Prepare a beta-test version of a cartoon-illustrated educator guide for grades 6-12 containing: a) write-ups of three to five standards-based kinesthetic lessons; b) background information to support teachers in handling common student questions; and c) related information about NASA's missions and explorations provided through support from space scientists at the University of Colorado and NASA centers. 2) Field-test the kinesthetic lessons with secondary students and teachers with a focus on whether and how the lessons may be of particular value in teaching at-risk students. 3) Video-record preliminary workshops and work with a videographer to design and implement an appropriate 10-minute video script for teaching teachers about the kinesthetic methods we use. 4) Disseminate beta-test educator guide/video packages to teacher trainers via existing workshops for NASA's Aerospace Education Specialists, JPL's Solar System Educator Fellows, and Project ASTRO. 5) Publish a paper on our results with at-risk students and present it at national conferences.

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Madame Curious Project
Principal Investigator: Leonard Kuhi, University of Minnesota
Budget: $35,113

The Madame Curious project excites girls and children of color about science; dispels myths about who scientists are and what they do; and improves teaching/learning of science for children ages 9-12. Project components are a TV series for preteens, a companion Web site with science content/resources/news, and a community-based model training teens to teach kit-based science. Project outcomes: 1. Increase the number of girls and students of color interested in science, 2. Decrease the number of students holding misconceptions about scientists/science, 3. Increase classroom/community-based teachers' effectiveness with kit-based science curriculum, and 4. Increase students' understanding of science concepts, history and cultural perspectives.

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EDUCATION PROGRAMS for the INTERNET

Starstuff.org: Connecting Astronomers and the Public
Principal Investigator: J. Craig Wheeler, The University of Texas
Budget: $38,450

Starstuff.org is an online community that seeks to bring together astronomers and the public. Using the site's automated tools, astronomers can write popular level articles about their research, current astronomical findings, and basic astronomical principles. Authors need not know HTML, they simply fill out a form and select a picture, so public outreach becomes as easy as writing email. Articles are archived and indexed to create an every growing, dynamic textbook. Readers can post reactions and ask questions in user forums and "talkback"areas, and they can rate the articles on the site, providing feedback to astronomers. Automated survey and evaluation tools built into the site will provide daily feedback on effective outreach techniques. The site is already beta testing at http://www.starstuff.org/default.asp. Funding is sought to begin the process of using the site to reach out to the public.

Rocket into the Aurora: A Web-Cast in Observing Auroral Activity
Principal Investigator: Gregory Delory, UC Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory
Budget: $20,788

We propose to develop an innovative interdisciplinary educational "Web Cast" of a February 2000 NASA sounding rocket campaign. The goals include involving students, teachers, and the public as "auroral explorers" as they examine and assess both space and ground-based instrument data surrounding the rocket launch. Auroras have been witnessed for thousands of years and were the first hint that the Earth's upper atmosphere and ionosphere were tied to a larger near-Earth space environment. The advent of the space age revolutionized our view of auroral arc creation through the solar wind interaction with the Earth's magnetic field that creates large-scale geomagnetic substorms and massive space and ionosphere currents. By combining auroral educational materials currently under development with near real-time camera, magnetometer, and satellite data, the auroral studies Web site participants will become space weather observers alongside scientists as they attempt to launch the rocket into an auroral substorm. Along with daily, updated Web-based auroral observations, there will be public outreach and educational material associated with all aspects of the auroral and sounding rocket campaign, as well as the opportunity to question and discuss online about the space-weather predictions. After the successful rocket launch, there will be a downloadable Web-based educational packet distributed through NASA and science education organizations. Everyone will be drawn into the exciting space science adventure of launching a sounding rocket into an auroral substorm.

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OMNIWeb Data for Space Science Education
Principal Investigator: Joseph King, NASA - Goddard Space Flight Center
Budget: $ 26,440

Vast opportunities lie in NASA's space science data archives. There are several advantages to broadening OMNIWeb's audience by reconfiguring the interface and other aspects of the system: High Leveraging: Making 36 years of cross-mission, multi-platform data on the Sun (over a period of three solar cycles) accessible and useful to a broad new audience is a very cost-effective way of harvesting new value from a legacy database. Wide Application: More than providing just a few new instructional modules, activities or lesson plans on the Sun, an education-friendly version of OMNIWeb provides a tool for a broad variety of instructional purposes. An educator's guide, including a science education standards matrix, sample space science investigations, and other scenarios for classroom use, will be produced. Reinforces National Science Education Reform: The OMNIWeb data can be used to explore key benchmarks identified for both middle and high school science: cycles and patterns of change, magnetism, electricity, laws of motion, forces and fields, and more. Builds on Existing Collaborations between GSFC Education Division and NSSDC: The original collaboration was formed in 1998 through GSFC Education Division. Teachers from the Maryland Ambassadors program worked with Goddard scientists, under the Sun-Earth Connection theme, at the National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC). Continuing in 1999, the PI and Co-Investigators focused on OMNIWeb. The final educator's version of OMNIWeb will reside on the NSSDC server, and will be featured on GSFC Education Division's Web site. Based in both programs, this project will leverage the established dissemination channels of both.

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INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION

Quasars and Supermassive Black Holes
Principal Investigator: C. Martin Gaskell, University of Nebraska
Budget: $4,862

We are proposing a partnership between a quasar researcher and faculty member at the University of Nebraska, and two science education professionals, the director of Mueller Planetarium (the largest planetarium in Nebraska) and an Omaha high school teacher, to produce a planetarium and video program entitled "Quasars and Supermassive Black Holes." This will be the first program on this topic created for the general planetarium community and high school audiences. The planetarium program will be made available at cost to members of the International Planetary Society. A videotape version of the program will be used at the Hyde Memorial Observatory in Lincoln, Nebraska, where it will be seen by many thousands of people. The videotape version and supporting teachers' materials will be made available at cost to high schools nationwide. A special set of pages on the Mueller Planetarium Web site will explore many different quasar resources.

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Young Space Explorers: IDEAS in the Library
Principal Investigator: Catherine Imhoff, Space Telescope Science Institute
Budget: $9,700

We propose to pilot a new science outreach program aimed for young children and their parents by working through a resource already known and available to them, their local library. First, we will hold a series of programs through the Howard County library system for young children (6-12). During each program, an astronomer will visit one of the libraries, give a short presentation on a topic in astronomy or space science, have the children participate in a few hands-on activities, and then conclude with a short "star party" (weather permitting). The second part of our program is to provide materials through the library which children can use for science exploration. We plan to create several Space Explorer Kits, which consist of materials and instructions for hands-on experiments. Each kit will be designed to explore a particular concept or a few related concepts in space and astronomy. We will insure coordination with the school system by working through the existing partnership with the local school system. Our goal is to stimulate kids' natural curiosity and motivate them to explore and seek out new scientific information.

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STUDENT/TEACHER OUTREACH

Students Teaching Students: High School Students as Astronomy Teachers
Principal Investigator: Wilhelmus van der Veen, Raritan Valley Community College
Budget: $31,850

The goals of this project are to use the universal appeal of astronomy: (1) to increase science literacy and knowledge about astronomy among students in K12, (2) to increase high school students' workplace competencies, and (3) to increase awareness of and promote careers in science and science education. The plan calls for the formation of three teams, each consisting of a professional astronomer and a professional educator, who will work intensively with two high school classes and their science teacher for 12 weeks. Once students have a basic knowledge of astronomy, they will be able to expand and reinforce it by teaching others. This will promote science literacy at both the older and younger students' levels. Up to 20 high school students will be selected to continue into the next phase: a 15-week period where they will be mentored and work with an astronomer, an astronomy educator, their science teacher, and three K-8 teachers to first prepare, and then teach, four hands-on astronomy lessons to K-8 students. The lessons will come from an established curriculum. Two lessons will involved a STARLAB portable planetarium. The high school students will meet once a week for four weeks with the younger students and participate in an astronomy evening for the whole school. To multiply the impact of the program, the College will identify internships for these high school students, including: STARLAB presentations at summer day camps, internships at local planetariums, space camp or 4-H Fair, setting up an astronomy resource center, or doing a small research project.

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STUDENT/TEACHER WORKSHOP

Explorations in Science, Mathematics and Technology
Principal Investigator: Scott Roby, State University of New York - Oswego
Budget: $10,000

State University of New York (SUNY) Oswego is requesting funds to make astronomy the leading component of its Explorations in Science, Mathematics and Technology (ESMT). ESMT brings 24 promising soon-to-be eighth graders to the college campus for a two-week residential program focusing on explorations in astronomy, physics, geology, computer science, and mathematics taught by SUNY Oswego professors. The addition of astronomy to this program will emphasize the importance of science, mathematics and computers, and is a natural topic of interest to the middle school participants. Students will stay on campus during the week and return home on weekends. During the academic year, there are follow-up activities designed to assess the progress and the special needs of the students. These students are recruited from the inner city schools of the Syracuse City School District as well as from rural districts in Oswego County. We choose to focus on students in the middle grades because these years are crucial in the development of student attitudes towards mathematics and science.

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TEACHER RESOURCES & TRAINING

The Cosmos in the Classroom: Involving Community-College Instructors in a Hand-On Symposium on Teaching Astronomy to Non-Science Majors
Principal Investigator: Robert Havlen, Astronomical Society of the Pacific
Budget: $21,880

With approximately 250,000 students (mostly non-science majors) taking introductory astronomy courses in colleges, universities and adult education programs around the country each year, these courses represent on of the most important interfaces between the astronomy/space science community and the public. Surveys reveal that about half of these courses are taught at institutions that do not have a significant astronomy research program, often by people whose training is in other fields besides astronomy and space science. Whatever their background, many people teaching these courses have too little initial t raining or exposure to effective teaching strategies and resources in astronomy. This 2.5 day national symposium, to be offered at the July 2000 Annual Meeting of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, will be designed to assist instructors at all levels in doing a better job in their teaching of non-science majors. Mentor instructors, innovators in laboratory and online teaching, researchers in educational techniques, and creators of the best-written and online resources will be among the presenters. Much of the symposium will be in the form of interactive panels and hands-on workshops. The organizers will actively seek out the participation of three groups who are not normally represented at such meetings: full-time community college instructors, part time (usually evening) community and small college instructors, and colleagues in other fields who (sometimes reluctantly and nervously) wind up teaching astronomy.

Did You See the Moon Last Night? Scientific Inquiry through Writing, Art and Observation
Principal Investigator: Suzanne Jacoby, National Optical Astronomy Observatory
Budget: $19,983

This innovative project seeks to develop a workshop format and materials that bring together scientists and teachers, with the goal of improving the teaching of science through inquiry. We intend to develop a workshop that extends concepts from the book Moon Journals: Art, Writing and Inquiry through Focused Nature Study into the area of authentic scientific inquiry, and have teachers work in collaboration with trained astronomers to assist with student investigations of the Moon. Selected NASA-developed educational materials about our exploration and knowledge of the Moon, the Moon Journal book, and hands-on activities related to the Moon from the NASA and NSF funded Project ASTRO will be used in the workshop. Teachers identified by the Tucson Unified School District Project DESERT staff will be among the participants in our pilot year program, and provide formative feedback to guide the program development. The workshop format and materials will be refined and documented for national distribution in our second year so that others may replicate the program locally.

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Using Astronomy Camp-Ins for Pre-Service Teacher Development
Principal Investigator: Alex Storrs, Space Telescope Science Insitute
Budget: $8,480

We will train 16 pre-service teachers to engage elementary school students in hands-on learning experiences at the Maryland Science Center (MSC). They will receive training in informal teaching techniques, service learning, and in general astronomy with an emphasis on Hubble Space Telescope (HST) research and results. The pre-service teachers will receive training in the use of the new interactive astronomy exhibits at MSC: the Hubble Space Telescope National Visitor Center, and the SpaceLink update center. They will then get direct experience in interactive science teaching with hundreds of elementary school children during weekly overnight "camp-ins" at MSC. They will receive training by our group in an innovative educational reform philosophy called "service learning", which has been pioneered in Maryland. They will be modeling a high-quality example of the type of activity that their future students will need to perform to satisfy Maryland's service learning graduation requirement. The pre-service teachers will be better prepared to incorporate high-quality science related service learning projects in their classes, once they have experienced it themselves. Our primary goal is to transmit our enthusiasm for the scientific process to pre-service teachers at the beginning of their careers, so that they will have a base of knowledge, experience and enthusiasm to transmit to their peers and future students.

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Astronomy-In-A-Box: Hands-On Space Science Resource Kit for Grades 5 through 8
Principal Investigator: Margaret Race, SETI Institute
Budget: $35,650

Knowledge about the planets, solar system, stars, galaxies, and the universe is changing at an amazing rate,, one that often outpaces both teachers' and parents' abilities to stay abreast of developments that impact our most fundamental understanding of the world and how we teach our children about it. The good news is that classroom resources are available free or at low cost from many different sources: NASA's Teacher Resource Centers, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, the Planetary Society, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Lunar and Planetary Institute, SETI, various planetaria, etc. The bad news is that few teachers have the time, funds or expertise to compile them for use with their curriculum. If a selection of materials could be pre-packaged in a way that deliberately correlates them to specific grade-level curriculum and science education standards, teachers will be better prepared to present astronomical topics to their students in ways that are more effective and engaging for children. We propose to develop and give to teachers the "Astronomy-In-A-Box" resource kit for Grades 5 through8, and provide training for teachers to bring "hands-on" astronomy and space science to students and promote active learning in their classrooms.

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Project TEACH
Principal Investigator: David Atkinson, University of Idaho
Budget: $26,660

The University of Idaho, in cooperation with the Idaho Space Grant Consortium, Capital High School in Boise, and a consortium of Idaho school districts, requests funding for Project TEACH (Teaching Astronomy to Children). The proposal is in response to the announcement of opportunities through the IDEAS program and is designated as a "Teacher Resources and Training" proposal. Project TEACH brings Basic Astronomy classroom activities and research directly from current NASA science missions to 40 elementary and middle school teachers through a week-long graduate credit course held at the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho. The target population is Idaho teachers in rural school districts with high numbers of Native American, Hispanic and bilingual students. An estimated 800 students will be the direct benefactors. Hands-on, national standards based activities, information, resources, and training focused on astronomy and space exploration are the foundation of Project TEACH. Project TEACH supports teachers throughout the school year through email, monthly WWW chats, teleconferences, and through the TEACH homepage. Space science missions and events included in TEACH are: Mars Pathfinder Landing Site Workshop (September 1995); Mars Global Surveyor Launch Educator's Workshop (November 1996); Mars Pathfinder Launch Educator's Workshop (December 1996); PlanetFest (July 1997 and December 1999); Cassini Education Workshop (September 1997); Cassini Launch (October 1997); Lunar Prospector (January 1998); and future Mars exploration workshops.

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Alien Rescue: Problem-Based Learning in Astronomy
Principal Investigator: Mary Kay Hemenway, University of Texas at Austin
Budget: $26,203

We propose to produce teacher resource materials and a teacher workshop to support a problem-based learning CD-ROM, Alien Rescue, which has been under development by a team of students and faculty within the Department of Curriculum and Instruction in the University of Texas College of Education for the past two years. During pilot testing of the materials in grade six classrooms, it was discovered that general classroom teachers did not have a deep enough understanding of solar system astronomy to allow them to function as classroom facilitators. To aid in the design of the evaluation materials and increase the science content, some changes will be made in the product itself. The teacher resources and revised CD-ROM will be field tested through a teacher workshop. During the second year of the project, classroom field-testing will be added. An extensive evaluation component is proposed. Alien Rescue was designed to provide a problem-based learning project tied to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (state science framework). The PI has broad experience in implementing teacher enhancement programs. One Co-Investigator is a doctoral candidate in the field on instructional technology. She brings both her experiences as a classroom teacher and instructional designer to this proposal. The second Co-Investigator, an associate professor of Curriculum and Instruction in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Texas, has served as the faculty advisor for Alien Rescue since its inception.

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REACH to the Stars
Principal Investigator: Phil Christensen, Arizona State University
Budget: $40,000

Arizona State University's Mars Global Surveyor Space Flight Facility, ASU Mars K-12 Education Program, ASU College of Education, ASU MESA Program, Challenger Learning Center of Arizona, and the 30 schools of the Peoria Unified School District request funding for REACH (Relevant Exploration Activities Challenging Humankind) to the Stars. This proposal is in response to the announcement of opportunity through the IDEAS Grant Program and is designated as a "Teacher Resources and Training" proposal. REACH to the Stars will bring research directly from current NASA space missions to 60 teachers (K-5) and is facilitated wit hands-on, national standards-based activities, information, and resources during an intensive, week-long graduate course in space and astronomy education. IN partnering with the Peoria Unified School District, REACH to the Stars will target teachers of traditionally underserved and underrepresented students as their prime audience. Nationally known space scientists and aerospace educators will present and train teachers in cutting-edge planetary activities and mission information. Recognizing the importance of building a solid foundation of scientific principals starting at an early ages, personnel from ASU Mars K-12 Education Program, staff from the Peoria School District, and collaborating partners will build a year-long, follow-up support program for K-5 teachers using the Internet that will give teachers access to current information, receive professional mentoring on an individual basis, and learn engaging science teaching strategies that will lead to increased science literacy within their classrooms. An estimated 10,000 students will be the direct benefactors of REACH to the Stars.

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