 |
| Photo Credit: NES Virtual Campus |
I have had the excellent opportunity of being a NASA Explorer School Teacher and Team Leader with our school since 2006.
It has been an absolutely amazing ride! And still is!
This opportunity is OPEN to ALL teachers! Its FREE and EASY! ALL you need is your desire to spark your students' interest in the areas of STEM and they may possibly choose to ma
jor in those courses or select STEM careers.
I just returned from the NASA Kennedy Space Center (Orlando, FL) with two 5th grade students who presented at the 2011 National NASA Explorer School (NES) Student Symposium, along with approx 70 other students from around the nation. These two female students were a part of my NASA Science Design Team and they constructed a lunar plant growth chamber as a part of their engineering project. I was also fortunate to have attended the 2009 NES Symposium where my students presented their hydroponic systems and
2010 NES Symposiun where my students where they constructed and presented their lunar habitat. This is a "once-in-a-lifetime" trip and experience for your students to present at one of the chosen NASA Centers in front of world acclaimed NASA scientists and engineers. What a way for students to prove what they learned better than tell real scientist/engineers and have them question their thinking while congratulating them on their work. Wow!
But I must tell you tha t this experience will you will help you bring excitement to your lessons which may result in your students gaining the ability to conduct investigations.
I had a very weak science background (like most elementary teacher) and from being a part of the NASA Explorer School Program (NES) I have gained so much background information from their Aerospace Education Specialist (AES), their summer workshops, free teaching resources, webinars, videos, and most importantly the special oppo rtunities that are available to students and teachers.
I now have a pretty decent scientific tool kit and mind set that helps me to facilitate and teach the process of scientific inquiry on a much higher level. I have learned when teaching inquiry that I have to plan my lessons aro und my students' abilities and understanding of inquiry and keep that in the foreground and keep the science/math content in the background. Does that mean I don't front load them with some content? Of course not, I don't ignore the content. I want to foremost assure that my students are gaining a greater understanding of the subject matter and this is done best when they understand the inquiry process.
Wow! I will repeat it was an AMAZING Ride with NASA!
NASA LEARN (Learning Environments and Research Network) and NASA Explorer Schools have teamed up to offer exciting webinars featuring NASA educational resources for educators.
Received NASA webinar info from:
This application is not just for students, teachers use this tool as well for collaborations, mentoring, and facilitating staff developments.