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Suggested Citation:"7 Enabling Actions." National Research Council. 2015. Sharing the Adventure with the Student: Exploring the Intersections of NASA Space Science and Education: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21751.
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7


Enabling Actions

The Session 6 moderator was education consultant James Manning. Manning explained that the workshop participants were to split into five breakout groups to discuss the previous sessions and identify issues and relevant areas. Each of the breakout groups had guiding questions that they were to consider. The groups reconvened after 1 hour to share their views.

ALIGNING TO STANDARDS

The Breakout Group 1 speakers were Brett Moulding of the Utah Partnership for Effective Science Teaching and Learning and Heidi Hammel of the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy. The group’s guiding questions were the following:

  • 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 National Research Council’s A Framework for K-12 Science Education1 (generally referred to as “the Framework”), the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), and other standards initiatives?2
  • What new opportunities can be explored, and what challenges need to be overcome?

Hammel began by stating that the group came up with several key points. She emphasized that the overall summary of the group is the focus on the NGSS and the interaction with NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD). Among the issues the group discussed were the following:

  • The NGSS and the Framework support consistency across states, which will be helpful for NASA’s broader program.
  • Combining science with other subjects (e.g., math, literacy, engineering, and art) will result in better alignment to the standards of the Framework.

______________

1 National Research Council, A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas, The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2012.

2 See the “Introduction and Background” chapter for a discussion on the Next Generation Science Standards and the Framework for K-12 Science Education.

Suggested Citation:"7 Enabling Actions." National Research Council. 2015. Sharing the Adventure with the Student: Exploring the Intersections of NASA Space Science and Education: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21751.
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  • Linking to everyday phenomena can help students if they can understand how science is important in their lives.
  • NGSS lesson templates aid in creating lessons that are well crafted.
  • There is a need for multiple assessments throughout the process.
  • There is a need to bundle or organize multiple resources across disciplines and programs that would help in developing broader-based curricula.
  • It is important for NASA SMD to focus on aligning professional development material and curriculum resources to the NGSS, including collaboration with evaluators.
  • There is a need for NASA SMD materials development specialists, which include scientists, engineers, education and public outreach specialists, and evaluators, to be informed about NGSS and the Framework.
  • There is a need for performance expectations to simultaneously match the math levels with the science levels.

On the last point, the breakout group discussed at length the nature of mathematics and science instruction and the need to match it to the NGSS performance expectations. Hammel explained that the group concluded that alignment is done best with a team.

An audience member asked a question about whether NASA ought to produce examples of best-practices lesson templates or if they [the group] were saying that NASA education and public outreach need these templates in order to move ahead. Brett Moulding responded by stating that there is a need to develop a template so that lesson delivery is consistent to ensure that teachers do not have to re-interpret a different format. He also emphasized that who develops the template is not as significant as its wide and consistent use.

Hammel stated that she would present slides pertaining to a summary of the presentation delivered by Stephen Pruitt and the panel discussions. She broke the presentation into two components: What are the NGSS? and What are the NGSS implications for NASA? Hammel described the former as a vision in which students are at the center of performances that demonstrate their understanding of doing science. She emphasized that the goal is that all students learn and enjoy using science to make sense of phenomena.

Hammel then addressed the implications of the Framework and the NGSS for NASA. She explained that NASA will need to change some of its materials to ensure that programs and lessons are more like the Framework and the NGSS. She noted that the National Science Teachers Association EQuIP rubric would help in accomplishing this.

Hammel moved on to the panel discussions. She began with the Session 1 panel and noted that the role of NASA is to answer the questions of how and why. NASA provides real-life resources and direct examples of what science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) career pathways can be. She noted that Maya Garcia of the Office of the State Superintendent of Education for the Government of the District of Columbia did a good job providing a teacher’s voice on how one can transition the NGSS into the Washington, D.C., school district. Garcia addressed the question of how the Framework can reach all students. The answer to this question is the Framework’s flexibility. Hammel also noted that Holly Ryer of the Space Science Telescope Institute discussed how the NGSS focuses on real-world activity; and Sam Shaw of the South Dakota Department of Education used South Dakota as an example of a state that will use the Framework to develop its own standards.

CURRICULUM SUPPORT RESOURCES

The Breakout Group 2 speaker was Richard McCray of the University of California, Berkeley. The group’s guiding questions were the following:

  • 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 to encourage educator use?
  • What new opportunities can be explored, and what challenges need to be overcome?

McCray began by explaining that NASA has great curriculum development and teacher training examples; however, many of the examples do not scale up to the entire nation. He provided an example of a poster focused on allowing teachers, each with several high school students, to study infrared astronomy for a full year, including

Suggested Citation:"7 Enabling Actions." National Research Council. 2015. Sharing the Adventure with the Student: Exploring the Intersections of NASA Space Science and Education: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21751.
×

2 weeks at NASA Ames Research Center, participation in a flight on SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy), and presentation of results at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society; it is a wonderful program that does not scale up due to the cost of $50,000 per teacher.

He then posed the question of how to get NASA resources to teachers. He stated that the solution is better partnerships with textbook publishers and with state curriculum developers. He emphasized that if NASA is developing teacher resources, then it needs a plan for how to make partnerships. He also noted that the National Science Foundation (NSF) does a good job with encouraging its education developers to work with commercial entities, which is something that NASA can learn from NSF.

McCray then addressed the topic of information technology access among different socioeconomic groups. He mentioned that more than 95 percent of upper socioeconomic groups have iPhones or tablets, whereas only 65 percent of the poorest individuals have access to these technological resources.

He also discussed information technology as it relates to teacher training. A workshop participant mentioned that massive open online courses can be an effective tool in teacher preparation for the use of new material.

An audience member commented that his group recently finished a project in partnership with a publisher to develop cosmology curriculum for freshmen-level and college non-majors, and he believes that this information will reach a lot of people. He emphasized a point made earlier by McCray that there is useful material that is not being disseminated well.

McCray then discussed ongoing changes in the publishing industry and that the workshop community would have to examine whether copyright and intellectual property ownership presents an obstacle to the partnerships that it needs.

COLLABORATIONS

The Breakout Group 3 speaker was Greg Schultz of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. The group’s guiding questions were the following:

  • 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?

Schulz began by reporting that the group talked a lot about collaborations and partnerships. He referenced a panel on the first day of the workshop in which a participant stated that the Space Telescope Science Institute has documented approximately 500 currently ongoing partnerships between the institute and other groups and institutions. (See Figure 7.1.) He said that some are large organizations and others are with a school district or local efforts. Thus, categorizing partnerships and what they really entail is vital to understanding them.

Schulz then stated that the group discussed individual activities or partnerships that people do on their own time. He highlighted individuals that work at NASA centers who allocate time to education and public outreach, and he emphasized that there could be more encouragement to do that. He also stated that the group thought that scientists would benefit from training that explains educators’ needs and the context for the NGSS. The encouragement could focus on starting small and growing activities. He explained that one of the group members mentioned that scientists should be reminded of opportunities to interact with the public, even if the opportunities are not funded through NASA.

Schulz explained that the group talked about making connections with other parts of NASA, such as the Office of Education or the Office of Communications, to better inform activities and avoid duplicating efforts. He stated that another advantage of forum-like organizations could be fostering larger partnerships than those brought together by individual scientists or smaller projects.

He also added that the NASA education forums bring together scientists and educators. The forums can also bring together those in the education workshop community for professional development opportunities, dissemination of findings, and sharing of best practices. Through this, they can learn to align their products and programs with the NGSS, Schulz said.

Suggested Citation:"7 Enabling Actions." National Research Council. 2015. Sharing the Adventure with the Student: Exploring the Intersections of NASA Space Science and Education: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21751.
×

images

FIGURE 7.1 Two Hubble Space Telescope images produced in 1995 and 2014. The Space Telescope Science Institute has documented many partnerships with small and large organizations such as the partners involved with the creation of the Eagle Nebula images. SOURCE: 1995 image courtesy of NASA, ESA, STScI, and Paul Scowen and Jeffrey Hester of Arizona State University; 2014 image courtesy of NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA).

An audience member encouraged those in the audience to think about ways in which the broader science community can be engaged in education and public outreach activities. Schulz agreed and stated that a culture shift needs to be made. He explained that there has been more willingness within the past 20 years among younger scientists who want to do better education and public outreach. If organizations can encourage their scientists to invest their time in this, then everyone can benefit.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The Breakout Group 4 speaker was Albert Byers of the National Science Teachers Association. The group’s guiding questions were the following:

  • 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?
Suggested Citation:"7 Enabling Actions." National Research Council. 2015. Sharing the Adventure with the Student: Exploring the Intersections of NASA Space Science and Education: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21751.
×
  • What new opportunities can be explored, and what challenges need to be overcome?

Byers began with the group’s discussion of NASA actions for professional development efforts. He stated that one way to improve professional development is to define best or promising practices or program development models from research. He explained that the group also wanted to communicate that there is still value in small programs. The group also discussed the value of inventorying the best models in order to disseminate them across the agency electronically. Byers explained that the inventory then needs to be disseminated to school districts. He stated that the group also suggested that there was value in focusing on a common needs assessment with research-based evaluation models. The group discussed using the K-12 Science Education Framework as the foundation for program development.

On the issue of new opportunities and new challenges, Byers stated that one of the big challenges the group identified was scientific literacy for underserved populations and adults. He explained that the group discussed interagency collaboration, which ties into the CoSTEM (Committee on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Education) effort with respect to professional development. They also talked about intra-agency (within NASA) collaboration and across missions using the Framework.

An audience member noted that professional development that includes actual scientific research is intensive and expensive. Another audience member highlighted that Byers’ group discussion did not include professional development for scientists about education. She stated that bringing educators to conferences to talk about the standards would likely be well received. Another audience member then explained that one of the opportunities in program development is the potential for collaborations with the Office of Education, which is something that the education community needs to do.

EVALUATION

The Breakout Group 5 speaker was Theresa Schwerin of the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies. The group’s guiding questions were the following:

  • 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?

Schwerin began with a list of the group’s responses to the first question regarding NASA actions to build upon its impact in science and engineering education. Their first solution focused on being clear about evaluation requirements from the start, when a project is funded. The group also suggested standards for evaluation across a program to ensure that there is a clear understanding of what is expected when it is proposed. She then explained that the group also thought it was important to measure implementation and the end result. It also suggested investigating the feasibility of providing evaluators that the community can access.

Schwerin then addressed the second question on new opportunities and challenges. She first discussed the Wavelength system3 and the need to examine how it is being used, as well as the assets contained within that system. She stated that creating a registry that includes teachers and students and a way for them to create profiles to apply for programs is a way to track individuals and obtain good, rich data. She provided the example of the Office of Education’s one-stop shop for undergraduate and graduate fellowships. She explained that some of the anecdotes at the workshop highlighted its success. Students like it because they have one place to go to apply for programs. She mentioned the possibility of creating this kind of registry for teachers to use.

The group also suggested pulling together findings across projects to have a collection of results and evaluation methods. Schwerin mentioned that the group talked about communication and how the dialog established at the forum meetings can be continued. It discussed the solution of having annual reviews of education projects and ensuring that managers and policy makers have the information they need. The group recommended using

______________

3 See the “Introduction and Background” chapter for a discussion on NASA Wavelength.

Suggested Citation:"7 Enabling Actions." National Research Council. 2015. Sharing the Adventure with the Student: Exploring the Intersections of NASA Space Science and Education: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21751.
×

current information technology to collect, report, and make data available. Schwerin posed the question of whether the workshop community can collect not only data that stakeholders and Congress want to know, but also deeper evaluation data.

The group also discussed bringing in representatives from projects and programs to report results to policy makers and administration. Schwerin explained the significance of finding a way to let the people doing the projects tell their story. The group also suggested having contractors collect and analyze data. Schwerin then moved on to the creation of a repository of questions and measures (i.e., evaluation instruments) that have been approved.

Schwerin stated that the group talked about taking the lessons learned, which was a theme across the workshop. She noted the significance of having one index of resources and pushing information out to many different places. She suggested building the NASA SMD education and public outreach community out further.

An audience member commented that previously there was talk about the difficulty in gaining access to student data that are protected; however, many larger districts have research departments and institutional review boards. He explained that his group has worked with districts before, and sometimes the data may be obtainable. He stated that if there is collaboration with districts, then the information is available without requiring students to self-register.

Another audience member suggested that it would also be helpful to have people who are experienced in education or learning research available as advisors so that information can be drawn and research can be put into practice.

Finally, an audience member commented that there does not seem to be an attempt to provide an overall story of how education is effective for NASA. He believes that this is the critical piece around which to focus a strategy. He noted that SMD is one piece of the conversation happening across Congress, the Office of Management and Budget, and the nation.

Suggested Citation:"7 Enabling Actions." National Research Council. 2015. Sharing the Adventure with the Student: Exploring the Intersections of NASA Space Science and Education: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21751.
×
Page 44
Suggested Citation:"7 Enabling Actions." National Research Council. 2015. Sharing the Adventure with the Student: Exploring the Intersections of NASA Space Science and Education: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21751.
×
Page 45
Suggested Citation:"7 Enabling Actions." National Research Council. 2015. Sharing the Adventure with the Student: Exploring the Intersections of NASA Space Science and Education: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21751.
×
Page 46
Suggested Citation:"7 Enabling Actions." National Research Council. 2015. Sharing the Adventure with the Student: Exploring the Intersections of NASA Space Science and Education: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21751.
×
Page 47
Suggested Citation:"7 Enabling Actions." National Research Council. 2015. Sharing the Adventure with the Student: Exploring the Intersections of NASA Space Science and Education: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21751.
×
Page 48
Suggested Citation:"7 Enabling Actions." National Research Council. 2015. Sharing the Adventure with the Student: Exploring the Intersections of NASA Space Science and Education: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21751.
×
Page 49
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On December 2-3, 2014, the Space Studies Board and the Board on Science Education of the National Research Council held a workshop on the NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) education program - "Sharing the Adventure with the Student." The workshop brought together representatives of the space science and science education communities to discuss maximizing the effectiveness of the transfer of knowledge from the scientists supported by NASA's SMD to K-12 students directly and to teachers and informal educators. The workshop focused not only on the effectiveness of recent models for transferring science content and scientific practices to students, but also served as a venue for dialogue between education specialists, education staff from NASA and other agencies, space scientists and engineers, and science content generators. Workshop participants reviewed case studies of scientists or engineers who were able to successfully translate their research results and research experiences into formal and informal student science learning. Education specialists shared how science can be translated to education materials and directly to students, and teachers shared their experiences of space science in their classrooms. Sharing the Adventure with the Student is the summary of the presentation and discussions of the workshop.

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