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4 Analysis of NASA's K-12 Education Portfolio
Pages 57-89

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From page 57...
... The committee reviewed the seven core projects in the headquarters Office of Education Elementary and Secondary Program in depth: the Aerospace Education Services Project; NASA Explorer Schools; Digital Learning Network; ­Science, Engineering, Math and Aerospace Academy; the Education Flight ­Projects; Educator Astronaut Project; and the Interdisciplinary National ­ Science P ­ roject Incorporating Research and Education Experience (INSPIRE)
From page 58...
... Developing and Sustaining Interest Inspiring, engaging, and sustaining the interest of teachers and students in STEM subjects is one of the main goals of NASA's current education program, and is one of the greatest contributions that NASA can make to K-12 STEM education. The excitement generated by space flight and exploration puts NASA in a unique position to draw teachers and students into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and related fields.
From page 59...
... Two challenges for NASA in designing activities to "inspire and engage" are to attend to what is needed to translate initial excitement into a meaningful learning experience and a sustained, longterm interest and to support teachers in providing appropriate follow-up activities for an initial activity. Reaching and engaging students who are typically underrepresented in STEM fields is a challenge that many of NASA's programs, particularly those managed by headquarters Office of Education, are designed to address.
From page 60...
... NASA seeks to provide curricular support resources that "use NASA themes and content to enhance student skills and proficiency in STEM disciplines, inform students about STEM career opportunities, and communicate information about NASA's mission activities" (National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2006c)
From page 61...
... The National Science Education Standards suggest that "[e] ffective science curriculum materials are developed by teams of experienced teachers, scientists, and science curriculum specialists using a systematic research and development process that involves repeated cycles of design, trial teaching with children, evaluation, and revision" (National Research Council, 1995, p.
From page 62...
... A recent inventory of NASA's education portfolio (Schwerin, 2006) catalogued 150 professional development activities for K-12 teachers across the headquarters Office of Education, the mission directorates and the centers.
From page 63...
... Aerospace Education Services Project The Aerospace Education Services Project (AESP) , which was established 45 years ago, is designed to provide customized opportunities for showcasing NASA-related curriculum materials and activities in formal and informal settings with educators in the states and U.S.
From page 64...
... NASA Explorer Schools (NES) (includes the Digital Learning Network [DLN]
From page 65...
... Build internal and external partnerships with formal and informal education com munities to create unique learning opportunities and professional development experiences. Educator Astronaut Project (EAP)
From page 66...
... In fact, particularly with the extra load of the NES, requests have become so frequent that the aerospace education specialists are not able to deliver all needed services in a face-to-face ­manner; thus, they have begun to use the DLN to reach schools, particularly the NASA Explorer Schools, through the Internet and videoconferencing.
From page 67...
... In this respect, a high turnover rate for specialists, which was noted in the 2006 evaluation report, is a problem. In addition, the specialists' role in the NASA Explorer Schools appears to be limiting the amount of time for them to work in other schools (Horn and McKinley, 2006)
From page 68...
... During the 3-year partnerships, the project provides summer professional development workshops for teams of teachers and administrators, as well as ongoing professional development during the school year. Students have opportunities to participate in research, problem solving, and design challenges relating to NASA's missions.
From page 69...
... . That approach combines project design and evaluation through a series of attempts to address a problem where different hypotheses about how the problem might be solved are tested and modified until the best solution is identified.
From page 70...
... indicate that they have enjoyed the training activities and that their content knowledge and teaching strategies have been influenced by the professional development opportunities. Students' self-report data indicated that the project has had a positive effect on their content knowledge of and interest in STEM subjects.
From page 71...
... In fact, the evaluation results suggest that creating meaningful and comprehensive changes in teaching and learning in STEM subjects was an ongoing challenge for the NES project. Digital Learning Network The Digital Learning Network (DLN)
From page 72...
... Project Strengths DLN has the potential to allow students to interact with NASA scientists and engineers. The project has been expanded to include webcasts and some podcasts, which take better advantage of new information and communications technology.
From page 73...
... Sites are expected to continue SEMAA operations beyond NASA funding, supported by financial and inkind contributions provided by other STEM education stakeholders. SEMAA consists of three major components: NASA K-12 curriculum enhancement activities, family café, and aerospace education laboratories.
From page 74...
... Home-based family initiatives are handson, STEM-focused activities for SEMAA students and their parents or adult family members to work on at home. An aerospace education laboratory is an electronically enhanced, computerized laboratory that serves as a training facility for preservice and inservice teachers for curriculum enhancement activities.
From page 75...
... are a collection of projects targeted to elementary and secondary teachers and students and to informal education organizations and institutions. The projects are intended to offer hands-on experiences for students; they are implemented through the agency's flight platforms such as the international space station and the space shuttle.
From page 76...
... Usually, two education downlinks occur each month. The sessions are hosted by people in the formal and informal education communities, NASA centers and education programs, and the space station's international partners.
From page 77...
... Project Strengths EFP activities have the potential to provide very powerful experiences that engage students with STEM subjects. First-hand interaction with data, such as the EarthKAM images, and direct conversations with astronauts can also be a mechanism for building insight about the nature of science, engineering, and space exploration.
From page 78...
... , established in 2003, trains outstanding teachers to become members of the Astronaut Corps. To date, 190 teachers have been identified as the top tier of program applicants, and they have been made members of the Network of Educator Astronaut Teachers (NEAT)
From page 79...
... Because the project is so new and because the first flight of an educator astronaut took place in summer when schools were not in session, it is impossible to accurately assess the project's impact. Interdisciplinary National Science Project Incorporating Research and Education Experience The Interdisciplinary National Science Project Incorporating Research and Education Experience (INSPIRE)
From page 80...
... The author encourages the incorporation of hands-on activities and suggests that INSPIRE make use of existing informal education organizations, such as Boys and Girls Clubs and faith-based organizations. For example, INSPIRE might use youth organization staff as cofacilitators, adapting effective procedures from youth organizations and creating similar learning environments or spaces that have proven successful for those organizations.
From page 81...
... As currently stated in the administrative plans for the core projects submitted to the office, the broad goals and objectives of the Elementary and Secondary Program have often been used as a substitute for individual project goals. Moreover, the projects have not consistently attempted to provide project-specific goals and objectives that would be
From page 82...
... Special attention should be given to the question of when it is appropriate for NASA to take the lead on projects and when it is appropriate to develop partnerships. NASA also needs to have a systematic approach, based on educational value, for determining which projects that originate from ­centers or TABLE 4-1  Objectives for Seven Core Education Programs EFP and Objectives AESP SEMAA NESa EAP INSPIRE Provide short-duration professional X X development to engage teachers Provide long-duration professional X X X X development to educate teachers Provide curricular support resources that X X X • use NASA themes and content to enhance student skills and proficiency in STEM • inform students about STEM career opportunities • communicate information about NASA mission activities Student involvement: provide K-12 X X X X X students with authentic first-hand opportunities to participate in NASA mission activities, thus inspiring interest in STEM disciplines and careers Dissemination X X Coordination X X NOTES: AESP = Aerospace Education Services Project; SEMAA = Science, Engineering, Mathematics and Aerospace Academy; NES = NASA Explorer Schools; EFP = Education Flight Projects; EAP = Educator Astronaut Project; and INSPIRE = Interdisciplinary National Science Project Incorporating Research and Education Experience.
From page 83...
... Drawing on Outside Expertise in Education The design and implementation of NASA's K-12 STEM education programs and projects should be informed by the substantial knowledge base in the cognitive and learning sciences and education. Such expertise is not a typical qualification for agency staff, since NASA is primarily a science and engineering agency.
From page 84...
... and a partnership between the SMD forums and Lawrence Hall of Science to develop space science GEMS guides. In fact in a recent summative evaluation of the education and public outreach effort of the Office of Space Science (Gutbezahl, 2007)
From page 85...
... cases, the NASA materials and activities that the committee judges as h ­ aving the highest quality were those developed in the context of partnerships between NASA scientists and other personnel and existing educational organizations. Developing partnerships is also a strength of the AESP specialists.
From page 86...
... Expert Review Peer-reviewed competition and expert review is another mechanism by which expertise in education can be brought to bear on projects and programs. Again, tapping outside expertise was an operating principle for the Office of Space Science: "Use outside advice from the scientific, educational, and minority communities in the planning, development, implementation, and assessment of all our education and outreach activities" (Rosendahl et al., 2004)
From page 87...
... Currently, NASA produces a number of curriculum support materials that incorporate a variety of instructional activities for students, as evidenced in the large catalogues listing available materials. The current formal review process was developed by the Office of Earth Science and adapted by the Office of Space Science and is now coordinated by the Science Mission ­Directorate. The review is based on the assumption that materials have been field tested and have undergone formative evaluation prior to submission for review.
From page 88...
... The committee recognizes, however, that maintaining this focus in all of NASA's K-12 activities presents challenges for those projects not directly linked to science or engineering missions. One such challenge is how to keep education field staff, such as the AESP specialists, SEMAA staff, or educator astronauts, apprised of NASA's current work and related education resources.
From page 89...
... ANALYSIS OF NASA'S K-12 EDUCATION PORTFOLIO 89 are not necessarily linked to space science. There is evidence of this kind of pressure from schools in both NES and SEMAA.


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