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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2013

Modeling the Skills and Practices of Scientists through an “All-Inclusive” Comparative Planetology Student Research Investigation

To effectively prepare the nation's future Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) workforce, students in today's classrooms need opportunities to engage in authentic experiences that model skills and practices used by STEM professionals. Relevant, real-world authentic research experiences allow students to behave as scientists as they model the process of science. This enables students to get a true sense of STEM-related professions and also allows them to develop the requisite knowledge, skills, curiosity, and creativity necessary for success in STEM careers. Providing professional development and opportunities to help teachers infuse research in the classroom is one of the primary goals of the Expedition Earth and Beyond (EEAB) program. EEAB, facilitated by the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) Directorate at the NASA Johnson Space Center, is an Earth and planetary science education program designed to inspire, engage, and educate teachers and students in grades 5-12 by getting them actively involved with exploration, discovery, and the process of science. The program combines the expertise of scientists and educators to ensure the professional development provided to classroom teachers is scientifically valid and also recognizes classroom constraints. For many teachers, facilitating research in the classroom can be challenging. In addition to addressing required academic standards and dealing with time constraints, challenges include structuring a research investigation the entire class can successfully complete. To build educator confidence, foster positive classroom research experiences, and enable teachers to help students model the skills and practices of scientists, EEAB has created an "allinclusive" comparative planetology research investigation activity. This activity addresses academic standards while recognizing students (and teachers) potentially lack experience with scientific practices involved in conducting research. Designed as an entry level research engagement investigation, the activity introduces, illustrates, and teaches the skills involved in each step of the research process. Students use astronaut photos, provided through the ARES Crew Earth Observations (CEO) payload on the International Space Station (ISS) as well as remote sensing imagery of other planetary worlds. By including all the necessary tools to complete the investigation, students can focus on gaining experience in the process of science. Additionally, students are able to extend their experience of modeling the skills and practices of scientists through the opportunity to request new data of Earth from the ISS. Professional development offered through in-person and webinar trainings, along with the resources provided, enable educators to gain first-hand experience implementing a structured research investigation in the classroom. Through data and feedback collected from teachers, this type of "all-inclusive" investigation activity aims to become a model that can be utilized for other research topics and STEM disciplines.

Graff, Paige↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Examining Artifacts from GLOBE Program Research Symposia & Using Network Analysis Techniques to Characterize Students’ Authentic STEM Investigations

For the past several years, the GLOBE Program's International Virtual Science Symposia (IVSS) and Student Research Symposia (SRS) have provided opportunities for U.S. and international students to present their Earth science research investigations to the GLOBE community through online or in-person events. This presentation will share the techniques and findings of an evaluation study that used student posters and written reports to characterize their research investigations through multiple lenses and frameworks. The study began with a list of characteristics drawn from a literature review, an analysis of sample projects, and several reviews by expert stakeholders and scientists, which comprehensively covered diverse relevant frameworks including citizen science, student STEM learning through authentic experiences, and The GLOBE Program model. Once applied to 207 student projects, this list of codes revealed the frequency and prevalence of various qualities and experiences represented by GLOBE student research investigations. An innovative application of social network analysis techniques to the coded dataset revealed frequently cooccurring characteristics. This networking approach identified and conceptually mapped several "clusters" of characteristics that typified student projects, empirically based on the submitted projects themselves. The basic quantitative investigation of frequencies indicates the extent to which various characteristics are present in - or absent from - GLOBE SRS and IVSS projects, while the network analysis provides a descriptive framework for typifying projects. Ultimately, the descriptive framework fostered a suite of assessment tools to help The GLOBE Program's staff, scientists, and research project judges understand the diversity of student research projects. GLOBE can use these tools to identify and respond to areas of need; for instance, the descriptive framework illustrates the potential for further education and training resources related to data analysis, interpretation of data, and credibility of scientific claims. This presentation will share the novel utilization of network analysis techniques to holistically assess and react to student research contributions.

Ann Martin↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The Virginia Earth System Science Scholars (VESSS) Experience: Inspiring High School Students in Stem Through Mentorship and Collaborative Skills Development

Since 2016, the Virginia Earth System Science Scholars (VESSS) program offered by the Virginia Space Grant Consortium (VSGC) has provided an interactive science, technology, engineering, and mathematics learning experience for Virginia high school juniors and seniors. The VESSS program was created through a partnership with VSGC, NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC), and Hampton University to engage students in learning about Earth’s climate change and its global impacts. High school students from all areas of Virginia learn about Earth science and climate change in a 16 week online course focused on the Earth’s surface and interior, atmospheric composition, weather, water energy cycles, and climate variability. Students that complete the online course are invited to a no-cost seven-day residential summer academy at NASA LaRC where students are divided into teams based on four of the major spheres of study for Earth: atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. Each team is guided by a Master Teacher and teams of undergraduate student interns who were also previous VESSS scholars. Students interview for team positions and are given a role reflecting an actual satellite design team position such as project scientist, research scientist, budget analyst, launch and orbit analyst, contamination analyst, and education and public outreach specialist. The students spend a week mentored by NASA and industry scientists and engineers as they learn how to select science goals and objectives, select science instruments, balance a mission budget, determine the mission launch location and orbit, and communicate the importance of the mission to the public. Each team produces a mission proposal, and at the end of the week, each team presents their portion of the mission to a panel of experts, followed by a question and answer period. Through this week students learn teamwork, communication, time management, meeting management, and research skills. Project work is supplemented by team-building activities, NASA facility tours, and lectures by acclaimed guest speakers such as Dr. Christine Darden, a NASA “Hidden Figure.” Students have conveyed through course evaluations and testimonials not only the vast personal learning and growth they achieved, but also the new perspectives they gained on future STEM career fields and opportunities to explore.

Elaine Seasly↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

NASA’s Student Airborne Science Activation for Minority Serving Institutions: Inaugural Program, Educational Outcomes, and Lessons Learned

The NASA Student Airborne Science Activation (SaSa) for Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) held its inaugural summer research program for early career undergraduates interested in the Geosciences. SaSa is a NASA Science Activation funded 8-week summer internship program. Twenty-four first- and second-year undergraduates from MSIs across the U.S. participated in the summer program - June 6 to July 29, 2022. Students had the opportunity to gain hands-on research experience in all components of an airborne science campaign including flying on-board a NASA research aircraft to collect atmospheric measurements. Students conducted independent research projects related to the atmosphere, ocean, and geosciences that feed into NASA’s broader Earth Science Division’s and Decadal Survey goals using air quality, meteorological, and oceanic measurements from surface, airborne, and satellite-based observations. The program split its time between partner institution, University of Maryland Baltimore County and NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Wallops Island, Virginia. Students also made site visits at partner institutions, including: Hampton University, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Morgan State University, Howard University, and Coppin State University and attended lectures from visiting faculty and NASA Subject Matter Experts. Students were guided on their research projects by near-peer graduate mentors, SaSa program leadership, co-Is at partner institutions, and NASA scientists to address two major research themes: 1) how human-caused air pollution has human and environmental implications, and 2) how large-scale meteorological factors influence local weather conditions. Students sorted into research groups, based on sub-discipline areas in the Geosciences, including: “Clouds, Aerosols and Radiation”, “Meteorology and Planetary Boundary Layer”, “Air Quality: Particle Pollution and Trace Gases”, and “Air-Water-Land Interface”. Their research was presented as 3-minute lightning talks and in-person poster presentations at a close-out event at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The students’ inter- and trans-disciplinary research experiences centered in the use of multiple ground, airborne, and satellite remote sensing NASA Earth Science Division assets. Providing a unique experience aligned to recognize the societal benefits that NASA contributes in the areas of resource management, air quality monitoring and policy decisions, energy and weather predictions, and research on the Earth’s climate. The SaSa program aims to increase the number of students from MSIs that identify as underrepresented or underserved individuals in the Geosciences discipline, Earth System Science graduate programs, and the NASA workforce. A summary of the summer research program, educational, scientific, and programmatic outcomes, as well as lessons learned will be presented.

NASA↗
NASA NTRS1994

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 40: Technical communications in aerospace education: A study of AIAA student members

This paper describes the preliminary analysis of a survey of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) student members. In the paper we examine (1) the demographic characteristics of the students, (2) factors that affected their career decisions, (3) their career goals and aspirations, and (4) their training in technical communication and techniques for finding and using aerospace scientific and technical information (STI). We determine that aerospace engineering students receive training in technical communication skills and the use of STI. While those in the aerospace industry think that more training is needed, we believe the students receive the appropriate amount of training. We think that the differences between the amount of training students receive and the perception of training needs is related partially to the characteristics of the students and partially to the structure of the aerospace STI dissemination system. Overall, we conclude that the students' technical communication training and knowledge of STI, while limited by external forces, makes it difficult for students to achieve their career goals.

Kennedy, John M.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Engineering the future with America's high school students

The number of students enrolled in engineering is declining while the need for engineers is increasing. One contributing factor is that most high school students have little or no knowledge about what engineering is, or what engineers do. To teach young students about engineering, engineers need good tools. This paper presents a course of study developed and used by the authors in a junior college course for high school students. Students learned about engineering through independent student projects, in-class problem solving, and use of career information resources. Selected activities from the course can be adapted to teach students about engineering in other settings. Among the most successful techniques were the student research paper assignments, working out a solution to an engineering problem as a class exercise, and the use of technical materials to illustrate engineering concepts and demonstrate 'tools of the trade'.

Farrance, M. A.↗
NASA NTRS1995

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 55: Career goals and educational preparation of aerospace engineering and science students: An international perspective

Results are presented of a survey of aerospace engineering and science students conducted in India, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The similarities and differences among aerospace engineering and science students from the five countries are examined in the context of two general aspects of educational experience. First, the extent to which students differ regarding the factors that led to the choice of a career in aerospace, their current levels of satisfaction with that choice, and career-related goals and objectives is considered. Second, the importance of certain communications/information-use skills for professional use is examined, as well as the frequency of use and importance of specific information sources and products to meet students' educational needs. Overall, the students who participated in this research remain relatively happy with the choice of a career in aerospace engineering, despite pessimism in some quarters about the future of the industry. Regardless of national identity, aerospace engineering and science students appear to share a similar vision of the profession in terms of their career goals and aspirations. The data also indicate that aerospace engineering and science students are well aware of the importance of communications/information-use skills to professional success and that competency in these skills will help them to be productive members of their profession. Collectively, all of the students appear to use and value similar information sources and products, although some differences appear by country.

Pinelli, Thomas E.↗
NASA NTRS2022

Characterizing Student-Driven Research Investigations Contributed to the GLOBE Program Citizen Science Initiative in a Formal Education Context

The Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program offers citizen science opportunities to participants of all ages, with a focus on youth in formal classroom contexts. This study uses student investigation research reports and posters submitted to the 2018 International Virtual Science Symposium (IVSS) and Student Research Symposium (SRS) as testbeds for characterizing student-driven Earth system citizen science investigations. Secondarily, this study aimed to capture GLOBE’s alignment to existing citizen science outcomes frameworks in the literature, which have primarily focused on adults and non-formal settings. Based on a literature review, the evaluation team identified 89 potential characteristics in 27 categories to typify investigations from both formal education and citizen science perspectives. We coded the artifacts from 207 student projects, conducted quantitative analysis of frequencies, and performed a semantic network analysis. By using this networking approach, we conceptually mapped several clusters of co-occurring characteristics, defining a descriptive framework for GLOBE projects. We identified three tiers of citizen science projects, increasing in the sophistication of participants’ demonstrated science practices. The framework includes additional components that reflect student citizen scientists’ thoughtfulness and connection to context as well as their projects’ reflection of their motivation and self efficacy. Through these findings, we have identified areas where student citizen scientists would benefit from further support, and suggest here further research to incorporate the experiences of students into the broader understanding of citizen science outcomes.

network analysis↗
NASA NTRS2000

Hand-Held Sunphotometers for High School Student Construction and Measuring Aerosol Optical Thickness

Science education is taking the teaching of science from a traditional (lecture) approach to a multidimensional sense-making approach which allows teachers to support students by providing exploratory experiences. Using projects is one way of providing students with opportunities to observe and participate in sense-making activity. We created a learning environment that fostered inquiry-based learning. Students were engaged in a variety of Inquiry activities that enabled them to work in cooperative planning teams where respect for each other was encouraged and their ability to grasp, transform and transfer information was enhanced. Summer, 1998: An air pollution workshop was conducted for high school students in the Medgar Evers College/Middle College High School Liberty Partnership Summer Program. Students learned the basics of meteorology: structure and composition of the atmosphere and the processes that cause weather. The highlight of this workshop was the building of hand-held sunphotometers, which measure the intensity of the sunlight striking the Earth. Summer, 1999: high school students conducted a research project which measured the mass and size of ambient particulates and enhanced our ability to observe through land based measurements changes in the optical depth of ambient aerosols over Brooklyn. Students used hand held Sunphotometers to collect data over a two week period and entered it into the NASA GISS database by way of the internet.

Almonor, Linda↗
NASA NTRS2004

Student Interns Work on Mars

The exceptional imagery and data acquired by the Mars Exploration Rovers since their January 2004 landing have captured the attention of scientists, the public, and students and teachers worldwide. One aspect of particular interest lies with a group of high school teachers and students actively engaged in the Athena Student Interns Program. The Athena Student Interns Program (ASIP) is a joint effort between NASA s Mars Public Engagement Office and the Athena Science Investigation that began in early 1999 as a pilot student-scientist research partnership program associated with the FIDO prototype Mars rover field test . The program is designed to actively engage high school students and their teachers in Mars exploration and scientific inquiry. In ASIP, groups of students and teachers from around the country work with mentors from the mission s Athena Science Team to carry out an aspect of the mission.

Bowman, C. D.↗
NASA NTRS2009

NASA's Student Launch Projects: A Government Education Program for Science and Engineering

Among the many NASA education activities, the Student Launch projects are examples of how one agency has been working with students to inspire math, science and engineering interest. There are two Student Launch projects: Student Launch Initiative (SLI) for middle and high school students and the University Student Launch Initiative (USLI) for college students. The programs are described and website links are provided for further information. This document presents an example of how an agency can work with its unique resources in partnership with schools and communities to bring excitement to the classroom.

Shepherd, Christena C.↗
NASA NTRS2016

Student Design Challenges in Capillary Flow

For some grade 8-12 students, capillary flow has bridged the gap between the classroom and research facility, from normal gravity to microgravity. In the past four years, NASA and the Portland State University (PSU) have jointly challenged students to design test cells, using Computer-Aided Design (CAD), to study capillary action in microgravity as PSU has done on the International Space Station (ISS). Using the student-submitted CAD drawings, the test cells were manufactured by PSU and tested in their 2.1-second drop tower. The microgravity results were made available online for student analysis and reporting. Over 100 such experiments have been conducted, where there has been participation from 15 states plus a German school for the children of U.S. military personnel. In 2016, a related NASA challenge was held in partnership with the ASGSR, again, based on the research conducted by PSU. In this challenge, grade 9-12 students designed and built devices using capillary action to launch droplets as far as possible in NASAs 2.2 Second Drop Tower. Example results will be presented by students at this conference. The challenges engage students in ISS science and technology and can inspire them to pursue technical careers.

capillary flow↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Growing Beyond Earth: Student Citizen Science Contributing to Space Crop Production

Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden and NASA have been partnering since 2015 to conduct a citizen science education program for middle and high school students called Growing Beyond Earth (GBE). Growing Beyond Earth is a multi-classroom science project designed to advance NASA’s research on growing plants in space. GBE was implemented locally and scaled nationally under two NASA Grants. Now serving more than 250 schools and over 10,000 middle and high school students nationwide, GBE successfully improved STEM education. It also contributed student-generated data to NASA, improving NASA research on the ground and on ISS, with two student-selected crops grown in space. GBE is unique in its focus on real scientific research, enabling student “citizen scientists” to contribute data toward NASA mission planning. Each classroom receives a Fairchild-designed plant habitat analogous to the plant growing equipment aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Fairchild and NASA scientists train teachers to conduct in-classroom GBE experiments, and students then share experimental data online with NASA. As NASA looks toward a long-term human presence beyond Earth’s orbit, there are specific science, technology, engineering, and math challenges related to food production in space. During this presentation, learn how GBE is addressing those challenges by expanding the diversity and quality of edible plants that can be grown aboard spacecraft. We will share the significant scientific and educational results that have come out of this partnership and explain how we quickly pivoted to allow students to continue to contribute during the COVID-era. Finally, we will explain how on Earth, GBE is also advancing technologies for growing plants in urban, indoor, and other resource-limited settings through the GBE Maker challenge for High School, University, and Professional communities of Makers across the country to develop the next generation of space crop production technologies. These programs are supported by NASA.

Growing Beyond Earth↗
NASA NTRS1994

(abstract) Student Involvement in the Pluto Mission

The Pluto Fast Flyby mission development baseline consists of 2 identical spacecraft (120 - 165 kg) to be launched to Pluto/ Charon in the late 1990s. These spacecraft are intended to fly by Pluto and Charon in order to perform various remote-sensing scientific investigations and have a mission development cost less than $400M (FY92$) through launch plus 30 days. The Pluto team is committed to involving students in all areas of mission development and operations. In November 1992, the Pluto team sent a request for information to industry and universities looking for ways to lower the mass and cost of the mission. A number of universities responded with creative and promising technological developments. In addition to contracts with industry and other federal labs, contracts were signed with schools which allowed students to apply their research, enabling the Pluto team to use valuable resources on a variety of advanced technology endeavors. Perhaps the most exciting aspect of these investigations was that the deliverables that the students produced were not just final reports, but actual prototype hardware complete with write-ups on lessons learned in machining, programming, and design. Another exciting development was a prototype adapter competition in which 7 universities competed to design, build, and test their idea of a lightweight spacecraft-propulsion stack adapter. Georgia Tech won with an innovative dodecahedron composite lattice cone. Other students from other universities were involved as well. All in all, over 40 students from 20 different colleges made significant contributions to the Pluto Fast Flyby mission development through their efforts. This paper will give an overview of Pluto student involvement, the technologies which they examined, and useful results for the mission.

Pluto student involvement design universities tech↗
NASA NTRS2022

Thinking Inside the Box: A Hands-on Student Activity for Building a Contamination Containment Glovebox to Encourage Problem Solving in a Collaborative Environment

Engineers from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and education experts from the Virginia Space Grant Consortium (VSGC) partnered together to create a hands-on student activity to teach students about problem solving, working in a collaborative environment, and about the unique career fields of contamination control and planetary protection. The activity focuses on contamination containment gloveboxes, which are sealed containers where operators outside the glovebox can safely manipulate hazardous or contamination-sensitive materials inside the glovebox through glove ports on the container. The activity utilizes common household materials and teams of students work together to design and build a glovebox using the materials provided. Once the glovebox has been constructed, students perform a task under a time constraint by using their glovebox to assemble a puzzle “contaminated” with corn starch. In a post-activity debrief, teams discuss lessons learned such as how the actual built glovebox differed from the sketched design, the challenge of managing a budget for materials, how the team dealt with surprises, and if their glovebox allowed enough room for the operator to perform the task. This activity has been part of VSGC’s Virginia Earth System Science Scholars (VESSS) summer academy program for high school students since 2016, and has been an engaging method to teach students teamwork, creativity, hands-on experimentation, communication, and reasoning skills while also teaching them about unique engineering fields such as contamination control and planetary protection.

Student activity↗
NASA NTRS2018

ExMASS: A viable model for authentic student-scientist research partnerships

The Exploration of the Moon and Asteroids by Secondary Students (ExMASS) program provides students the opportunity to conduct authentic, student-led, open-inquiry research with assistance from their teacher and a scientist. One goal of the program is to enhance participants’ attitudes toward science. Most students enter the ExMASS program with positive attitudes toward science. However, the attitude survey developed for ExMASS measured small but statistically significant increases in attitudes. This paper discusses the ExMASS program, an attitude towards science survey designed for the program’s specific audience, and the results of statistical analyses of the survey. The validity of the attitudes survey was tested with an exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The results of the EFA revealed two salient factors measured by the survey: 1) Personal Importance of Science and 2) Importance of Science to Society. A reliability analysis revealed a Cronbach alpha value of 0.89. Paired t-tests revealed statistically significant differences in students’ attitudes before and after the program. For Factor 1, participants’ before scores were statistically significantly lower than their post scores, t(88) = 3.16, p<0.05. For Factor 2, participants’ before scores were statistically significantly lower than their post scores, t(88) = 4.47, p<0.05. ExMASS has been shown to be a practical model for programs designed to increase high school student attitudes toward science. More information on the ExMASS program is available at https://www.lpi.usra.edu/exploration/education/hsResearch/.

science↗
NASA NTRS1978

Instructor and student pilots' subjective evaluation of a general aviation simulator with a terrain visual system

Ten student pilots were given a 1 hour training session in the NASA Langley Research Center's General Aviation Simulator by a certified flight instructor and a follow-up flight evaluation was performed by the student's own flight instructor, who has also flown the simulator. The students and instructors generally felt that the simulator session had a positive effect on the students. They recommended that a simulator with a visual scene and a motion base would be useful in performing such maneuvers as: landing approaches, level flight, climbs, dives, turns, instrument work, and radio navigation, recommending that the simulator would be an efficient means of introducing the student to new maneuvers before doing them in flight. The students and instructors estimated that about 8 hours of simulator time could be profitably devoted to the private pilot training.

Kiteley, G. W.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Applied aerodynamics experience for secondary science teachers and students

The Department of Aerospace Engineering, Mechanics & Engineering Science at the University of Florida in conjunction with the Alachua County, Florida School Board has embarked on a four-year project of university-secondary school collaboration designed to enhance mathematics and science instruction in secondary school classrooms. The goals are to provide teachers with a fundamental knowledge of flight sciences, and to stimulate interest among students, particularly women and minorities, toward careers in engineering, mathematics, and science. In the first year of the project, all thirteen of the eighth grade physical science teachers and all 1200 of the eighth grade physical science students in the county participated. The activities consisted of a three-day seminar taught at the college level for the teachers, several weeks of classroom instruction for all the students, and an airport field trip for a subgroup of about 430 students that included an orientation flight in a Cessna 172 aircraft. The project brought together large numbers of middle school students, teachers, undergraduate and graduate engineering students, school board administrators, and university engineering faculty.

Abbitt, John D., III↗