Sharing the Adventure with the Student: Exploring the Intersections of NASA Space Science and Education: A Workshop Summary (2015)

Michael Moloney, Space Studies Board Director

Committee Co-Chairs:

Phil Christensen, Arizona State University

Brett Moulding, Utah Partnership for Effective Science Teaching and Learning

Panelists:

NASA Education Forum Leads

Laura Peticolas, University of California, Berkeley

Theresa Schwerin, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies

Stephanie Shipp, Lunar and Planetary Institute

Denise Smith, Space Science Telescope Institute

Moderator: Brett Moulding, Utah Partnership for Effective Science Teaching and Learning

Guiding Questions and Focus:

• Present an overview of the NGSS and the role of NASA in supporting science and engineering education.
• How can/does NASA interact effectively with the education system to support K-12 science and engineering education?
• What opportunities does NASA SMD have to better support the new vision described in the NRC’s A Framework for K-12 Science Education?
• How can/does NASA integrate the science and engineering talent of NASA SMD into the SMD education programs?

Panelists:

Maya Garcia, Office of the State Superintendent of Education, D.C.

John Ristvey, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research

Holly Ryer, Space Telescope Science Institute

Sam Shaw, South Dakota Department of Education

Moderator: Richard McCray, NAS, University of California, Berkeley

Guiding Questions and Focus:

• How do the instructional strategies advocated for in the NASA education programs match the Vision for Science Education described in the NRC’s Framework for K-12 Science Education?
• How can NASA best encourage and support teachers to use NASA education resources in the classroom?
• What is the mechanism by which NASA education programs’ instructional content material will be aligned to the Framework and the NGSS?
• How will NASA programs measure how well NASA EPO materials align to the NGSS?
• Information technology is changing the way science is done (data mining and simulations, for example)—What new possibilities does this development raise for the science classroom?

Panelists:

Beth Johnston, Principal at Endeavour Elementary School

Mordecai Mac Low, American Museum of Natural History

Cassandra Soeffing, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies

Belinda Wilkes, Chandra X-Ray Center

Moderator: Mitchell Nathan, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Guiding Questions and Focus:

• What are institutional arrangements that provide effective platforms for facilitating successful collaborations?
• How are evidence-based models for successful collaborations or partnerships being communicated across NASA education programs?
• How are proven models or strategies for scaling up and sustaining collaborations and partnerships being used in the NASA education programs?
• What are the barriers to accomplishing common goals across collaborating organizations? How can these barriers be overcome?

Presenters:

Nancy Ali, Space Sciences Laboratory

Lindsay Bartolone, Southwest Research Institute

Lin Hartung Chambers, NASA Langley Research Center

Troy Cline, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Anita Davis, Sigma Space

Bonnie Eisenhamer, Space Telescope Science Institute

Dorian Janney, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Andrea Jones, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Sheri Klug-Boonstra, Arizona State University

Keliann LaConte, Lunar and Planetary Science Institute

Kathleen Lestition, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Chandra X-Ray Center

Nancy Maryboy and David Begay, Indigenous Education Institute

Tony Murphy, The GLOBE Program

Luisa Rebull, NASA/IPAC Teacher Archive and Research Program

Daniella Scalice, NASA Astrobiology Program

Panelists:

Kathryn Flanagan, Space Telescope Science Institute

James Lochner, Universities Space Research Association

Lora Bleacher, NASA GSFC

Moderator: Albert Byers, National Science Teachers Association

Guiding Questions and Focus:

• How are standards for professional development used in NASA professional development programs?
• How do the mechanisms and programs by which NASA programs meet the needs of in-service teachers, and how does this differ from the ways NASA programs meet the needs of pre-service teachers?
• What are the most effective and widely used delivery models (online, train the trainers, professional learning communities, summer seminars, internships) for NASA professional development programs?
• What are example strategies for partnering scientists and educators?

Bill Penuel, University of Colorado, Boulder

Panelists:

Annette DeCharon, University of Maine

Sheri Klug-Boonstra, Arizona State University

Mariel Milano, Orange County Public Schools, Florida

Moderator: Theresa Schwerin, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies

Guiding Questions and Focus:

• What are current leading theories of STEM education evaluation (e.g., evidence-based, logic models)?
• Selecting the most appropriate assessment(s) for a given situation is a common challenge across education evaluation. What are leading factors or best practices that you recommend in selecting the most appropriate assessment(s) for a given situation?
• The goal of many STEM-related professional development efforts is to facilitate a change or increase in teacher effectiveness that in turn increases student learning. Additionally many efforts aspire to increase students’ awareness/interest in STEM careers or students’ desire to pursue more STEM-related coursework during high school and college. These impacts are sometimes challenging to capture as part of an evaluation. What are some methods or data that might shed light on these often elusive goals?
• What can we realistically measure? What can’t we?
• What are the attributes of the evaluation tools that are consistent with effective evaluation of education programs?

Moderator: Theresa Schwerin, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies

Guiding Questions and Focus:

• Why and how does NASA evalu
• What are examples of evidence information to improve the prog
• How does NASA make a differe
• What are the greatest challenges education evaluation? What stra barriers?
• How does the evaluation of NA the speaker in Part 1 of this sess
• What is the mechanism by which the results of evaluation change NASA education programs?

Panelists:

Bonnie Eisenhamer, Space Telescope Science Institute

Jenny Gutbezahl, Brandeis University

Frances Lawrenz, University of Minnesota

Session 6: Enabling Actions

• Engage the audience in breakout groups related to each of the previous sessions
• Instructions
• Discussion/Breakout Groups Meet

Breakout 1: Aligning to Standards

• What actions can NASA take to build upon, leverage, and/or expand its current efforts to align to and support the new vision described in the NRC’s A Framework for K-12 Science Education, NGSS, and other standards initiatives?
• What new opportunities can be explored, and what challenges need to be overcome?

Breakout 2: Curriculum Support Resources

• What actions can NASA take to build upon, leverage, and/or expand its current efforts to translate its science into curriculum support materials and resources for formal and informal education and encourage educator use?
• What new opportunities can be explored, and what challenges need to be overcome?

Breakout 3: Collaborations

• What actions can NASA take to build upon, leverage, and/or expand its current collaborations among scientists, teachers, and formal and informal education institutions?
• What new opportunities can be explored, and what challenges need to be overcome?

Breakout 4: Professional Development

• What actions can NASA take to build upon, leverage, and/or expand its current efforts to provide professional development support to pre-service and in-service teachers and informal educators?
• What new opportunities can be explored, and what challenges need to be overcome?

Breakout 5: Evaluation

• What actions can NASA take to build upon, leverage, and/or expand its current efforts in measuring and assessing its impact in science and engineering education?
• What new opportunities can be explored, and what challenges need to be overcome?