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At least 163 records · Page 9

MCTP Summer Research Internship Program. Research Presentation Day: Experience Mathematics and Science in the Real World

This paper presents the summaries of the MCTP Summer Research Internship Program. Technological areas discussed include: Mathematical curriculum development for real world problems; Rain effects on air-water gas exchange; multi-ring impact basins on mars; developing an interactive multimedia educational cd-rom on remote sensing; a pilot of an activity for for the globe program; fossils in maryland; developing children's programming for the american horticultural society at river farm; children's learning, educational programs of the national park service; a study of climate and student satisfaction in two summer programs for disadvantaged students interested in careers in mathematics and science; the maryland governor's academy, integrating technology into the classroom; stream sampling with the maryland biological stream survey (MBSS); the imaging system inspection software technology, the preparation and detection of nominal and faulted steel ingots; event-based science, the development of real-world science units; correlation between anxiety and past experiences; environmental education through summer nature camp; enhancing learning opportunities at the Salisbury zoo; plant growth experiment, a module for the middle school classroom; the effects of proxisome proliferators in Japanese medaka embryos; development of a chapter on birth control and contraceptive methodologies as part of an interactive computer-based education module on hiv and aids; excretion of gentamicin in toadfish and goldfish; the renaissance summer program; and Are field trips important to the regional math science center?

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Educational Applications on the World Wide Web: An Example Using Amphion

There is a great deal of excitement about using the internet and the World Wide Web in education. There are such exciting possibilities and there is a wealth and variety of material up on the web. There are however many problems, problems of access and resources, problems of quality -- for every excellent resource there are many poor ones, and there are insufficiently explored problems of teacher training and motivation. For example, Wiesenmayer and Meadows report on a study of 347 West Virginia science teachers. These teachers were enrolled in a week-long summer workshop to introduce them to the internet and its educational potential. The teachers were asked to review science sites as to overall quality and then about their usefulness in their own classrooms. The teachers were enthusiastic about the web, and gave two-thirds of the sites high ratings, and essentially all the rest average ratings. But alarmingly, over 80% of these sites were viewed as having no direct applicability in the teacher's own classroom. This summer I was assigned to work on the Amphion project in the Automated Software Engineering Group under the leadership of Michael Lowry. I wished to find educational applications of the Amphion system, which in its current implementation can be used to create fortran programs and animations using the SPICE libraries created by the NAIF group at JPL. I wished to find an application which provided real added educational value, which was in line with educational curriculum standards and which would serve a documented need of the educational community. The application selected was teaching about the causes of the seasons -- at the approximately the fourth, fifth, sixth grade level. This topic was chosen because it is in line with national curriculum standards. The fourth, fifth, sixth grade level was selected to coincide with the grade level served by the Ames Aerospace Encounter, which services 10,000 children a year on field trips. The hope is that eventually the Ames Aerospace Encounter could be used as a test bed for the lessons developed. The topic is one which is difficult to teach and the necessity for new methods is documented in the educational literature. Current educational standards indicate that seasons should be part of the elementary school curriculum.

Friedman, Jane↗

Technology Development, Implementation, and Assessment: K-16 Pre-Service, In-Service, and Distance Learning Initiatives

This summer 22 kindergarten through 8th grade teachers attended a 3-week Teacher Enhancement Institute (TEI) at NASA Langley Research Center. TEI is funded by NASA Education Division and is a collaborative effort between NASA Langley's Office of Education and Christopher Newport University. Selected teacher teams were drawn from Langley's 5-state precollege service region, which includes Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. The goal of TEI was for teachers to learn aeronautics and the broad application of science and technology through a problem-based learning (PBL) strategy. PBL is an instructional method using a real world problem, also known as an ill-structured problem, as the context for an in-depth investigation. Most real life problems are ill-structured, as are all the really important social, political and scientific problems. The teachers were immediately immersed in an ill-structured problem to design a communication strategy for the White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security to educate and disseminate aviation information to the general public. Specifically, the communication strategy was to focus on aeronautics principles, technology and design associated with US general aviation revitalization and aviation safety programs. The presented problem addressed NASA's strategic outcome to widely communicate the content, relevancy and excitement of its missions and discoveries to the general population. Further, the PBL scenario addressed the technological challenges being taken up by NASA to revolutionize air travel and the way in which aircraft are designed, built, and operated. It also addressed getting people and freight safely and efficiently to any location in the world at a reasonable cost. With a "real" need-to-know problem facing them, the teachers set out to gather information and to better understand the problem using inquiry-based and scientific methods. The learning in this aeronautics scenario was driven by the direction taken by participants. With the support of the TEI faculty, the teachers quickly identified NASA Langley researchers that served as consultants to help solve the problem. To achieve their goal, the teacher teams developed lesson plans for elementary and middle school students, wrote a newspaper, published a brochure to educate the general public, constructed games for children of all ages, and produced a video. As a second problem, the TEI participants will design their own aeronautic lesson plan and immerse their 1997-98 school year students in the problem. The problem is for the students "to create a traveling hands-on, minds-on aeronautics museum exhibit created for children by children." As a culminating activity, the Virginia Air and Space Center in Hampton, VA, will set up a special display of the exhibits in the Summer 1998. The TEI faculty will visit each TEI teacher's classroom during the academic school year to observe the implementation of the unit. In addition to the classroom observations, electronic follow-up sessions will be conducted during the school year to support the teachers' efforts in developing their PBL units to integrate technology in math and science instruction. These sessions eill be conducted using the Internet. Teachers will be connected through a chat-line to share ideas, ask questions, and generate solutions.

Petersen, Richard↗

Teaching with Space: K-6 Aviation, Space and Technology Resource Guide

Teaching with Space permits easy and quick identification of resources you will find most beneficial. This guide captures the essence of resources with applicability across the elementary curriculum. Specific product reviews and suggested uses in the classroom are provided to enable informed decision-making. Materials from NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration may be obtained in limited quantities at no cost from public domain sources when available. Pricing in this guide is based on duplication, warehousing, and overhead costs associated with distributing these items. Although this resource guide is a prototype guide distributed on a limited basis, we trust you will find it useful in locating quality instructional resources. Your suggestions and comments are most welcome, and will receive the fullest consideration as we work to expand and validate this guide for national distribution. Based on teacher criteria for quality, educational soundness, compatibility with the curriculum, ease of use, and affordability, the guide will be updated as new resources become available, and in response to teacher feedback. You may provide us with additional items for consideration at any time. We also are planning to develop a resource guide for middle and high school teachers, and your input is welcome for that effort too. This guide is just one way that space can help you in the classroom.

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Intelligent Tutor

NASA also seeks to advance American education by employing the technology utilization process to develop a computerized, artificial intelligence-based Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS) to help high school and college physics students. The tutoring system is designed for use with the lecture and laboratory portions of a typical physics instructional program. Its importance lies in its ability to observe continually as a student develops problem solutions and to intervene when appropriate with assistance specifically directed at the student's difficulty and tailored to his skill level and learning style. ITS originated as a project of the Johnson Space Center (JSC). It is being developed by JSC's Software Technology Branch in cooperation with Dr. R. Bowen Loftin at the University of Houston-Downtown. Program is jointly sponsored by NASA and ACOT (Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow). Other organizations providing support include Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, the National Research Council, Pennzoil Products Company and the George R. Brown Foundation. The Physics I class of Clear Creek High School, League City, Texas are providing the classroom environment for test and evaluation of the system. The ITS is a spinoff product developed earlier to integrate artificial intelligence into training/tutoring systems for NASA astronauts flight controllers and engineers.

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Web-Enhanced Instruction and Learning: Findings of a Short- and Long-Term Impact Study and Teacher Use of NASA Web Resources

Over a three-year period, researchers and educators from the Pennsylvania State University (PSU), University Park, Pennsylvania, and the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC), Edwards, California, worked together to analyze, develop, implement and evaluate materials and tools that enable teachers to use NASA Web resources effectively for teaching science, mathematics, technology and geography. Two conference publications and one technical paper have already been published as part of this educational research series on Web-based instruction and learning. This technical paper, Web-Enhanced Instruction and Learning: Findings of a Short- and Long-Term Impact Study, is the culminating report in this educational research series and is based on the final report submitted to NASA. This report describes the broad spectrum of data gathered from teachers about their experiences using NASA Web resources in the classroom. It also describes participating teachers responses and feedback about the use of the NASA Web-Enhanced Learning Environment Strategies reflection tool on their teaching practices. The reflection tool was designed to help teachers merge the vast array of NASA resources with the best teaching methods, taking into consideration grade levels, subject areas and teaching preferences. The teachers described their attitudes toward technology and innovation in the classroom and their experiences and perceptions as they attempted to integrate Web resources into science, mathematics, technology and geography instruction.

McCarthy, Marianne C.↗

Wisconsin Earth and Space Science Education

The Wisconsin Earth and Space Science Education project successfilly met its objectives of creating a comprehensive online portfolio of science education curricular resources and providing a professional development program to increase educator competency with Earth and Space science content and teaching pedagogy. Overall, 97% of participants stated that their experience was either good or excellent. The favorable response of participant reactions to the professional development opportunities highlights the high quality of the professional development opportunity. The enthusiasm generated for using the curricular material in classroom settings was overwhelmingly positive at 92%. This enthusiasm carried over into actual classroom implementation of resources from the curricular portfolio, with 90% using the resources between 1-6 times during the school year. The project has had a positive impact on student learning in Wisconsin. Although direct measurement of student performance is not possible in a project of this kind, nearly 75% of participating teachers stated that they saw an increase in student performance in math and science as a result of using project resources. Additionally, nearly 75% of participants saw an increase in the enthusiasm of students towards math and science. Finally, some evidence exists that the professional development academies and curricular portfolio have been effective in changing educator behavior. More than half of all participants indicated that they have used more hands-on activities as a result of the Wisconsin Earth and Space Science Education project.

Bilbrough, Larry↗

S'COOL Takes Students to New Heights

Students Cloud Observations On-Line (S'COOL) is a hands-on educational project which supports NASA's Clouds and the Earth s Radiant Energy System (CERES) satellite instrument; part of the Earth Science Enterprise studying our planet. S'COOL meets science, math, technology and geography Standards of Learning (SOLs) as students observe clouds and related weather conditions, compute data and locate vital information while obtaining ground truth observations for the CERES instrument. These observations can then be used to help validate the CERES measurements; particularly detection of clear sky from space. Participants to date have been in 20 states and 5 countries and have reported great interest and learning among their students. Many have used this project as a stepping stone to further learning in other areas of Earth Science; and to do more with the Internet in the classroom. Satellite images and clues to their interpretation are used on the website ( http://asd-www.larc.nasa.gov/SCOOL/) . Background information is also given on Earth's Radiation Budget and it s importance in understanding our climate. Students can retrieve both their observations and the corresponding satellite data and participate in the validation efforts. A number of suggestions for studies to be done with the data, and related lesson plans, are available. Teachers can tailor this project to the appropriate level and subject matter needed for their students. The recommended grade level is 4th through 12th grade. The project is now open to new participants. We particularly seek schools in more remote areas, to obtain wider geographic coverage for ground truth data; so the project has been designed to use, but not require, computer technology. AGU participants attending the S'COOL presentation will be given a handout describing the project. Material for introducing the project in the classroom will be demonstrated in a participatory style.

Green, Carolyn J.↗

Learning Effectiveness of the NASA Digital Learning Network

Student participation in actual investigations which develop inquiry and intellectual skills has long been regarded as an essential component of science instructions (Schwab, 1962; White, 1999). Such investigations give students an opportunity to appreciate the spirit of science and promote an understanding of the nature of science. However, classroom research conducted over the past 20 years describes science teaching as primarily teacher centered. Typical instruction consists of whole class, noninteractive activities in which individual seatwork has constituted the bulk of classroom interactions (Tobin and Gallagher, 1997). Students typically learn science from textbooks and lectures. Their main motivation is to do reasonably well on tests and examinations (Layman, 1999). During the past five years, infrastructure constraints have reduced to the point that many schools systems can now afford low cost, high quality video conferencing equipment (International Society for Technology in Education, 2003). This study investigates the use of interactive video conferencing vs. face to face interaction with hands-on, inquiry based activities. Some basic questions to be addressed are: How does the delivery method impact the students understanding of the goals of the experiment? Are students explanation of the strategies of experimentation different based on the method of instruction that was provided. Do students engaged in a workshop with the instructor in the room vs. an instructor over video conferencing have different perception of the understanding of the subject materials?

Hix, Billy↗

MODSIM World 2007 Conference and Expo: Select Papers and Presentations from the Education and Training Track

This NASA Conference Publication features select papers and PowerPoint presentations from the Education and Training Track of MODSIM World 2007 Conference and Expo. Invited speakers and panelists of national and international renown, representing academia, industry and government, discussed how modeling and simulation (M&S) technology can be used to accelerate learning in the K-16 classroom, especially when using M&S technology as a tool for integrating science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) classes. The presenters also addressed the application ofM&S technology to learning and training outside of the classroom. Specific sub-topics of the presentations included: learning theory; curriculum development; professional development; tools/user applications; implementation/infrastructure/issues; and workforce development. There was a session devoted to student M&S competitions in Virginia too, as well as a poster session.

Pinelli, Thomas E.↗

Professionals and Emerging Scientists Sharing Science

The Year of the Solar System (YSS) celebration begins in the fall of 2010. As YSS provides a means in which NASA can inspire members of the public about exciting missions to other worlds in our solar system, it is important to remember these missions are about the science being conducted and new discoveries being made. As part of the Year of the Solar System, Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) Education, at the NASA Johnson Space Center, will infuse the great YSS celebration within the Expedition Earth and Beyond Program. Expedition Earth and Beyond (EEAB) is an authentic research program for students in grades 5-14 and is a component of ARES Education. Students involved in EEAB have the opportunity to conduct and share their research about Earth and/or planetary comparisons. ARES Education will help celebrate this exciting Year of the Solar System by inviting scientists to share their science. Throughout YSS, each month will highlight a topic related to exploring our solar system. Additionally, special mission events will be highlighted to increase awareness of the exciting missions and exploration milestones. To bring this excitement to classrooms across the nation, the Expedition Earth and Beyond Program and ARES Education will host classroom connection events in which scientists will have an opportunity to share discoveries being made through scientific research that relate to the YSS topic of the month. These interactive presentations will immerse students in some of the realities of exploration and potentially inspire them to conduct their own investigations. Additionally, scientists will share their own story of how they were inspired to pursue a STEM-related career that got them involved in exploration. These career highlights will allow students to understand and relate to the different avenues that scientists have taken to get where they are today. To bring the sharing of science full circle, student groups who conduct research by participating in Expedition Earth and Beyond, will also have the opportunity to virtually share their research. These virtual team presentations will allow these emerging scientists to celebrate their own exploration, and in doing so, contribute to the excitement of the Year of the Solar System. As the public joins NASA in the celebration of YSS, students across the nation will not only be excited by the science and discoveries being made, but will prime themselves with experience to perhaps someday become the new leaders in science, discovery, and NASA.

Graff, P. V.↗

NASA/JSC ISSLive!

Just 150 miles above us, the International Space Station (ISS) is orbiting. Each day, the astronauts on board perform a variety of activities from exercise, science experiments, and maintenance. Yet, many on the ground do not know about these daily activities. National Aeronautics Space Agency/ Johnson Space Center (NASA/JSC) innovation creation ISSLive! - an education project - is working to bridge this knowledge gap with traditional education channels such as schools, but also non-traditional channels with the non-technical everyday public. ISSLive! provides a website that seamlessly integrates planning and telemetry data, video feeds, 3D models, and iOS and android applications. Through the site, users are able to view astronauts daily schedules, in plain English alongside the original data. As an example, when an astronaut is working with a science experiment, a user will be able to read about the activity and for more detailed activities follow provided links to view more information all integrated into the same site. Live telemetry data from a predefined set can also be provided alongside the activities. For users to learn more, 3D models of the external and internal parts of the ISS are available, allowing users to explore the station and even select sensors, such as temperature, and view a real-time chart of the data. Even ground operations are modeled with a 3D mission control center, providing users information on the various flight control disciplines and showing live data that they would be monitoring. Some unique activities are also highlighted and have dedicated spaces to explore in more detail. Education is the focus of ISSLive!, even from the beginning when university students participated in the development process as part of their master s projects. Focus groups at a Houston school showed interest in the project and excitement towards including ISSLive! in their classroom. Through this inclusion, students' knowledge can be assessed with projects, oral presentations, and other assignments. For the public citizens outside of the traditional education system, ISSLive! provides a single, interactive, and engaging experience to learn about the ISS and its role in space exploration, international collaboration, and science. While traditional students are using ISSLive! in the classroom, their parents, grandparents, and friends are using it at home. ISSLive! truly brings the daily operations of the ISS into the daily lives of the public from every generation.

Harris, Philip D.↗

ISSLIVE! Bringing the Space Station to Every Generation

Just 200 miles above us, the International Space Station (ISS) is orbiting. Each day, the astronauts on board perform a variety of activities from exercise, science experiments, and maintenance. Yet, many on the ground don?t know about these daily activities. ISSLive! - an education project - is working to bridge this knowledge gap with traditional education channels such as schools, but also non-traditional channels with the non-technical everyday public. ISSLive! provides a website that seamlessly integrates planning and telemetry data, video feeds, 3D models, and iOS and android applications. Through the site, users are able to view astronauts? daily schedules, in plain English alongside the original data. As an example, when an astronaut is working with a science experiment, a user will be able to read about the activity and for more detailed activities follow provided links to view more information -- all integrated into the same site. Live telemetry data from a predefined set can also be provided alongside the activities. For users to learn more, 3D models of the external and internal parts of the ISS are available, allowing users to explore the station and even select sensors, such as temperature, and view a real-time chart of the data. Even ground operations are modelled with a 3D mission control center, providing users information on the various flight control disciplines and showing live data that they would be monitoring. Some unique activities are also highlighted, and have dedicated spaces to explore in more detail. Education is the focus of ISSLive!, even from the beginning when university students participated in the development process as part of their master?s projects. Focus groups at a Houston school showed interest in the project, and excitement towards including ISSLive! in their classroom. Through this inclusion, student?s knowledge can be assessed with projects, oral presentations, and other assignments. For the public citizens outside of the traditional education system, ISSLive! provides a single, interactive, and engaging experience to learn about the ISS and its role in space exploration, international collaboration, and science. While traditional students are using ISSLive! in the classroom, their parents, grandparents, and friends are using it at home. ISSLive! truly brings the daily operations of the ISS into the daily lives of the public from every generation.

Harris, Philip D.↗

Design and Performance of a Wideband Radio Telescope

The Goldstone Apple Valley Radio Telescope (GAVRT) is an outreach project, a partnership involving NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), the Lewis Center for Educational Research (LCER), and the Apple Valley Unified School District near the NASA Goldstone deep space communication complex. This educational program currently uses a 34-meter antenna, DSS12, at Goldstone for classroom radio astronomy observations via the Internet. The current program utilizes DSS12 in two narrow frequency bands around S-band (2.3 GHz) and X-band (8.45 GHz), and is used by a training program involving a large number of secondary school teachers and their classrooms. To expand the program, a joint JPL/LCER project was started in mid-2006 to retrofit an additional existing 34-meter beam-waveguide antenna, DSS28, with wideband feeds and receivers to cover the 0.5-to- 14-GHz frequency bands. The DSS28 antenna has a 34-meter diameter main reflector, a 2.54-meter subreflector, and a set of beam waveguide mirrors surrounded by a 2.43-meter tube. The antenna was designed for high power and a narrow frequency band around 7.2 GHz. The performance at the low end of the frequency band desired for the educational program would be extremely poor if the beam waveguide system was used as part of the feed system. Consequently, the 34-meter antenna was retrofitted with a tertiary offset mirror placed at the vertex of the main reflector. The tertiary mirror can be rotated to use two wideband feeds that cover the 0.5-to-14-GHz band. The earlier designs for both GAVRT and the DSN only used narrow band feeds and consequently, only covered a small part of the S- and X-band frequencies. By using both a wideband feed and wideband amplifiers, the entire band from 0.5 to 14 GHz is covered, expanding significantly the science activities that can be studied using this system.

Weinreb, Sander↗

Using the NASA Giovanni DICCE Portal to Investigate Land-Ocean Linkages with Satellite and Model Data

Data-enhanced Investigations for Climate Change Education (DICCE), a NASA climate change education project, employs the NASA Giovanni data system to enable teachers to create climate-related classroom projects using selected satellite and assimilated model data. The easy-to-use DICCE Giovanni portal (DICCE-G) provides data parameters relevant to oceanic, terrestrial, and atmospheric processes. Participants will explore land-ocean linkages using the available data in the DICCE-G portal, in particular focusing on temperature, ocean biology, and precipitation variability related to El Ni?o and La Ni?a events. The demonstration includes the enhanced information for educators developed for the DICCE-G portal. The prototype DICCE Learning Environment (DICCE-LE) for classroom project development will also be demonstrated.

Acker, James G.↗

NASA Resources for Educators and Public

A variety of NASA Classroom Activities, Educator Guides, Lithographs, Posters and more are available to Pre ]service and In ]service Educators through Professional Development Workshops. We are here for you to engage, demonstrate, and facilitate the use of educational technologies, the NASA Website, NASA Education Homepage and more! We are here for you to inspire you by providing in-service and pre- service training utilizing NASA curriculum support products. We are here for you to partner with your local, state, and regional educational organizations to better educate ALL! NASA AESP specialists are experienced professional educators, current on education issues and familiar with the curriculum frameworks, educational standards, and systemic architecture of the states they service. These specialists provide engaging and inspiring student presentations and teacher training right at YOUR school at no cost to you! Experience free out-of-this-world interactive learning with NASA's Digital Learning Network. Students of all ages can participate in LIVE events with NASA Experts and Education Specialists. The Exploration Station provides NASA educational programs that introduce the application of Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics, to students. Students participate in a variety of hands-on activities that compliment related topics taught by the classroom teacher. NASA KSC ERC can create Professional Development Workshops for teachers in groups of fifteen or more. Education/Information Specialists also assist educators in developing lessons to meet Sunshine State and national curriculum standards.

Morales, Lester↗

A Storm's Approach; Hurricane Shelter Training in a Digital Age

New York City's Office of Emergency Management (OEM) originally ran hundreds of classroom based courses, where they brought together civil servants to learn how to run a Hurricane Shelter (HS). This approach was found to be costly, time consuming and lacked any sense of an impending disaster and need for emergency response. In partnership with the City of New York University School of Professional studies, Gronstedt Group and Daden Limited, the OEM wanted to create a simulation that overcame these issues, providing users with a more immersive and realistic approach at a lower cost. The HS simulation was built in the virtual world Second Life (SL). Virtual worlds are a genre of online communities that often take the form of a computer-based simulated environments, through which users can interact with one another and use or create objects. Using this technology allowed managers to apply their knowledge in both classroom and remote learning environments. The shelter simulation is operational 24/7, guiding users through a 4 1/2 hour narrative from start to finish. This paper will describe the rationale for the project, the technical approach taken - particularly the use of a web based authoring tool to create and manage the immersive simulation, and the results from operational use.

Boyarsky, Andrew↗

'How To' Clean Room Video

One of the projects that I am completing this summer is a Launch Services Program intern 'How to' set up a clean room informational video. The purpose of this video is to go along with a clean room kit that can be checked out by employees at the Kennedy Space Center and to be taken to classrooms to help educate students and intrigue them about NASA. The video will include 'how to' set up and operate a clean room at NASA. This is a group project so we will be acting as a team and contributing our own input and ideas. We will include various activities for children in classrooms to complete, while learning and having fun. Activities that we will explain and film include: helping children understand the proper way to wear a bunny suit, a brief background on cleanrooms, and the importance of maintaining the cleanliness of a space craft. This project will be shown to LSP management and co-workers; we will be presenting the video once it is completed.

McCarty, Kaley Corinne↗