ED11B-01 INVITED
Standards-based Materials for World-Wide Distribution in the IHY
The National Science Education standards and related science literacy efforts
are a vital tool for improving STEM education and for guiding development
of both formal and informal science education products. The
space physics community is in a position to develop excellent
curricula and materials that are most effective when they are designed
to meet these standards. This presentation will highlight materials
and projects from the Stanford Solar Center and how clear links were
made between the space physics concepts being taught and the basic
science education standards they support. We will primarily
focus on our Space Weather Monitor project, in which we distribute, through the International Heliophysical
Year,
scientific instruments and educational materials for use in high
schools around the world. Although the US standards do not
technically apply, we have found them valuable when designing
materials for broad distribution.
http://solar.center.stanford.edu/SID
ED11B-02
Space Physics Concepts addressed in the California and National Science Content Standards
The Space Physics community has developed a number of activities, curricula, and outreach efforts for K-12 classrooms. In order for these efforts to be adopted in the classroom, they must be accompanied by professional development opportunities and directly address the state science standards. This paper presents the results of a survey of the California and National Science Standards that are directly applicable to solar, heliospheric, magnetospheric and ionospheric physics. The results have been compiled on a website to allow Space Physics EPO curriculum and activity designers to easily reference the specific content standards. Examples of Space Physics "hooks" are also provided to demonstrate how our science can help motivate space and physics concepts in the classroom. (See http://measure.igpp.ucla.edu/ScienceContentStandards/)
ED11B-03
All About EVE: Education and Public Outreach for the Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment (EVE) of the NASA Solar Dynamic Observatory
With the aim of meeting NASA goals for education and public outreach as well as support education reform efforts including the National Science Education Standards, a suite of education materials and strategies have been developed by the Cooperative Institute for Environmental Sciences (CIRES) with the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado for the Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment (EVE), which is an instrument aboard the Solar Dynamic Observatory. This paper will examine the education materials that have been developed for teachers in the classroom and scientists who are conducting outreach, including handouts, a website on space weather for teachers, a slideshow presentation about the overall Solar Dynamic Observatory mission, and a DVD with videos explaining the construction and goals of the EVE instrument, a tour of LASP, and an overview of space science careers. The results and potential transferability of a pilot project developed through this effort that engaged English Second Language learners in a semester-long course on space weather that incorporated the used of a Sudden Ionospheric Disturbance (SID) Monitor will be highlighted.
ED11B-04
The Challenge of Mathematics-based Education and Public Outreach
In this report, we will present some of the ways in which mathematics can be brought back into E&PO
programs that support space science education. We will show that these same math-enhanced space
science education products and methods can enrich mathematics courses by showing the application of
mathematics to many problems in space science and astrophysics. By pursuing math enrichment of science
content, the population of teachers that can be reached by these enhanced E&PO programs is effectively
doubled. Moreover, students benefit from a 'double dose' of science education by seeing it in both their math
and science curricula. Mathematics is, undeniably, the foundation of all scientific research, and is a
cornerstone of contemporary STEM education. However, it tends to be overshadowed by the qualitative
teaching of general scientific concepts in the K12 classroom, primarily because mathematics is perceived as
a difficult topic to most students. Consequently, by 9th grade, virtually all students are suddenly confronted
by the wall of rigorous science courses in biology, chemistry and physics. These courses demand a higher
math literacy than students previously experienced in traditional earth science courses. The challenge is to
make this wall seem less of a sudden transition, and more of an incremental step to a more quantitative way
of thinking in science classrooms.
http://spacemath.gsfc.nasa.gov
ED11B-05
Standards and Priorities for Developing the GEMS Space Science Sequences
The GEMS Space Science Sequences for grades 3–5 and for grades 6–8 were developed at Lawrence Hall
of Science in partnership with NASA educational outreach programs. The development process began with
an assessment of teacher needs, including compatibility with state and national education standards. This
presentation discusses the features of the Space Science Sequences and how they were developed to
balance the need to satisfy educational standards with other priorities for space science education.
For teachers in elementary and middle schools, space science, and often science in general, competes with
other demands on the curriculum, most notably reading and math. A curriculum devoted to space science
must be concise and carefully targeted to key concepts in order for teachers to consider it as a viable use of
their classroom time. Correlation to standards was one tool used to focus the content of the Space Science
Sequences and to assign the level at which the content would be taught. Other priorities, such as addressing
misconceptions and including content related to current research, were often synergistic with standards. In
cases where the Space Science Sequences reach beyond content standards, they retain a focus on
processes found in the National Standards, such as explanations based on evidence and the use of scientific
models.
http://www.lawrencehallofscience.org/gems/CurriculumSequences.htm
ED11B-06
Meeting Classroom Needs: Designing Space Physics Educational Outreach for Science Education Standards
As with all NASA missions, the Coupled Ion Neutral Dynamics Investigation (CINDI) is required to have an
education and public outreach program (E/PO). Through our partnership between the University of Texas at
Dallas William B. Hanson Center for Space Sciences and Department of Science/Mathematics Education, the
decision was made early on to design our educational outreach around the needs of teachers. In the era of
high-stakes testing and No Child Left Behind, materials that do not meet the content and process standards
teachers must teach cannot be expected to be integrated into classroom instruction. Science standards, both
state and National, were the fundamental drivers behind the designs of our curricular materials, professional
development opportunities for teachers, our target grade levels, and even our popular informal educational
resource, the "Cindi in Space" comic book. The National Science Education Standards include much more
than content standards, and our E/PO program was designed with this knowledge in mind as well. In our
presentation we will describe how we came to our approach for CINDI E/PO, and how we have been
successful in our efforts to have CINDI materials and key concepts make the transition into middle school
classrooms. We will also present on our newest materials and high school physics students and professional
development for their teachers.
http://cindispace.utdallas.edu/education/
ED11B-07
Exploring Magnetism: from Standards-based physical science concepts to cutting edge NASA research.
The increasing focus on educational standards in the K-12 classroom can appear to push out extra topics,
like cutting-edge NASA science. But that need not be the case. All NASA science is rooted in basic physical
science and mathematics concepts. Relating modern investigations to their basic principles is an effective
way to not only insert these topics into classroom curricula, but also give the basic concepts relevance to
current events. We have used the topic of magnetism to form the basis of a series of teacher's lesson
guides, called "Exploring Magnetism", that connect the basic science concepts to the science of NASA
missions studying the Sun-Earth Connection, such as STEREO, RHESSI, FAST, and THEMIS. We will present
the broad features of this well reviewed and tested lessons series and discuss experiences in its application
in the classroom.
http://cse.ssl.berkeley.edu/ExploringMagnetism
ED11B-08
A Community-Based Approach to Developing a Solar and Space Physics Education Literacy Framework
The Sun-Earth Connection is an exciting vehicle through which teachers can introduce students at all grade levels to a wide variety of science concepts. Yet solar and space physics concepts remain difficult topics for teachers to introduce in the classroom. It is a challenge for educators and curriculum developers to map heliophysics concepts onto existing state and national science standards. To meet this challenge, the primary goal of this project is to construct a Solar and Space Physics Education Literacy Framework (SSPELF) using input from various community stakeholders participating in a consensus building workshop format. This framework will draw upon the lessons learned and best practices from previous science literacy framework efforts in climate, atmospheric and ocean sciences. In particular the SSPELF will adopt the structure from these previous efforts which uses high level "essential principles" and more concrete "fundamental concepts" that expanded upon those principles. Once the SSPELF has been developed, its components will be linked to national and state standards as well as the 2061 Benchmarks. Additionally, space physics education materials that have been cataloged in an existing compendium will be linked to the frameworks, and so to national standards. Finally, the Framework and compendium will be disseminated through professional development workshops intended to show teachers how heliophysics education materials can be used in their classroom to satisfy standards based learning objectives.