Great Ideas for Integrating Earth and Space Science Education II
Presiding: D A Morrow, Space Science Institute; S Stockman, Science Systems and Applications, Inc.
ED24A-01 15:30h
Native American Science Education: A Compelling Opportunity for the Integration of Earth and Space Science
The strong relationships between Earth and sky in the worldviews of Native American people presents a wonderful opportunity for collaborations that can co-create compelling educational opportunities for both Native and non-Native learners. This paper will discuss the relationship among successful science education for Native Americans, standards-based science education, and informal science education. It will address some strategies for combining best practice in education with a deep cultural authenticity. Presenting astronomy in a culturally relevant and correct way is not only of value to the Native learner, but it is also of value to the non-Native learner because cultural relevance for Native people demands that science be presented via different learning modalities (e.g. visual, kinesthetic, tactile) and in a way that is more interconnected with other science and non-science disciplines. This kind of multi-modal and interdisciplinary approach is valuable and progressive for Non-native learners as well.
ED24A-02 15:45h
Using the Earth as an Effective Model for Integrating Space Science Into Education Outreach Programs
Our methods of teaching Earth and space science as two disciplines do not represent the spirit of earlier scientists such as Aristotle, da Vinci, and Galileo. We need to re-evaluate these methods and take advantage of the excitement created in the general public over the recent space science exploration programs. The information that we are obtaining from both the Mars missions and Cassini-Huygens focuses on interpreting geomorphology, mineral compositions and gas identification based on Earth as a baseline for data evaluation. This type of evaluation is an extension of Hutton's 18th century principle of Uniformitarianism, the present is the key to the past, or Earth is the key for understanding extraterrestrial bodies. Geomorphological examples are volcanic activity, meteoritic impacts, and evidence of water altering surface features. The Hawaiian, or shield, type volcanoes are analogues for Olympus Mons and the other volcanoes on Mars. Other examples include comparing sand dunes on Earth with possible Martian dunes, known stream patterns on Earth with potential stream patterns on Mars, and even comparing meteoritic impact features on Mars, the Earth, Moon and Mercury. All of these comparisons have been developed into inquiry-based activities and are available through NASA publications. Each of these activities is easily adapted to emphasize either Earth science or space science or both. Beyond geomorphology, solar storms are an excellent topic for integrating Earth and space science. Solar storms are traditionally part of space science studies, but most students do not understand their effect on Earth or the intense effects they could have on humans, whether traveling through space or exploring the surfaces of the Moon or Mars. Effects are not only limited to space travel and other planetary surfaces but also include Earth's magnetosphere, which in turn, affect radio transmission and potentially climate. Like geomorphology courses, there are extensive NASA programs available via either the Internet or CD (e.g., those distributed by P. Reiff, Rice University) that provide inquiry-based activities for students. There is great potential to share the connections of Earth and space science by using NASA developed education materials. The materials can be adapted for the classroom, after school programs, family outreach events, and summer science enrichment programs.
ED24A-03 16:00h
Astrobiology Connects Earth and Space
Astrobiology is the discipline connecting Earth and space science. The study of life beyond Earth requires core research on the origin and evolution of life as we know it with Earth being the only example. From extremophiles to the oldest known fossil life and microbial life around the planet, Astrobiology brings excitement to these areas of basic research because it provides context for new information and leads to thoughts about the nature of life and human existence. The NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI) brings astrobiology to students, teachers, and the public in many ways. In everything from our "Ask An Astrobiologist" resource to graduate courses for teachers, and museum exhibits and IMAX films, NAI connects earth and space science. With sixteen research teams around the country, each conducting Education and Public Outreach projects, NAI is one of NASA's most visible junctures between Earth and space science.
http://nai.nasa.gov
ED24A-04 16:15h
Community Cosmos -- A Park-based Educator Enrichment Program in the Earth and Space Sciences
I will describe a community-wide educator enrichment program in the Earth and Space Sciences that is being developed at Halibut Point State Park in Rockport, MA. Through wide-ranging partnerships, we will provide two on-site hands-on workshops in Earth and Space Science that will serve the interests of school teachers, scout leaders, park interpreters, amateur astronomers, and other community educators. Each 3-day workshop will address the 3 broad topics of (1) living on Earth, (2) the Earth in space, and (3) the origins of the Earth, Solar System, Milky Way, and Universe. Natural resources at Halibut Point State Park will be used to enrich each of these topics. Astrobiology will be the topical "glue" that binds all 3 topics. Research of the PI will be featured through personal presentations on starbirth and starburst activity in galaxies. A wide selection of NASA education materials will be showcased -- including those developed for Project ASTRO, Family ASTRO, Great Explorations in Math and Science (GEMS), EarthKam, the Night Sky Network, and the Spitzer E/PO Program. These workshops will serve as models for similar programs in Earth and Space Science Education at state and national parks throughout the United States.
http://www.mos.org/nessie
ED24A-05 16:30h
Advantages of a Unified Earth and Space Science Approach for Geoscience Education: Perspectives from the National Center for Atmospheric Research
The intellectual divisions common among scientists involved in research in specific disciplines are frequently not shared by the broader community of learners. For example, in K-12 education, the Earth sciences and the space sciences have generally been taught in an integrated approach, until opportunities for more advanced courses become available at the higher grade levels in some fortunate school districts. When scientists involved in EPO activities retain a perspective limited to their particular science mission, rather than stepping back to a broader perspective that places the research in a larger context, they risk limiting the usefulness of these activities to a broad cross-section of learners that seek to learn in a contextual framework. The re-integration of Earth and space sciences within NASA's Science Mission Directorate provides an opportunity to more systematically take advantage of the fact that Earth is one of many examples of possible planetary evolution scenarios presented in our solar system and beyond. This development should encourage integration of research across the SMD into a broader context that encourages the development of higher learning skills and a systems thinking approach. At the National Center for Atmospheric Research, the interdisciplinary nature of the research problems we address requires an approach that integrates Earth and space science, and we parallel this in our education and outreach activities, ranging from our exhibits on climate change to our professional development workshops and online courses to our websites and curriculum development efforts. The Windows to the Universe project (http://www.windows.ucar.edu), initiated at the University of Michigan with support from NASA in 1995 and now developed and maintained at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, has maintained this integrated approach from its inception with great success - leading to over 6 million users of our English and Spanish language content, curriculum activities, and interactives from around the world in 2004. An exciting new web-based development interface utilizing templates and an image database allows scientists from around the world to collaborate with the Windows to the Universe team, becoming remote developers on the website. This approach has proven to work effectively for scientists eager to efficiently get their science research results out to the public, taking advantage of their specialized expertise and yet not requiring them to become specialists in informal or formal K-12 education.
http://www.ncar.ucar.edu/eo
ED24A-06 16:45h
Geospatial Education in Alaska's High Schools: A new Initiative of the Alaska Space Grant Program
In the summer of 2004, the Alaska Space Grant Program (ASGP) made its first step to start a new and unique initiative to bring geospatial education to the high schools. Setting up this education outreach effort in the largest of the 50 states of US that has a population density of about one person per square mile, has its unique benefits and challenges. It is particularly rewarding as one reaches out to distant native and minority communities in their own local environment. Introducing Earth and Space Science topics with a geospatial context makes such educational efforts of local relevance. Training in the use of Earth and Space Science data and tools is of practical significance to the distant communities and also contributes to the development of a new technically skilled geospatial workforce that is prepared to meet the state and national needs. In the summer of 2004 ASGP ran the first two week summer workshop on "Global Positioning System (GPS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) for Alaska School Teachers". Fourteen high school teachers from various parts of the state participated and received training on the use of GPS and GIS and carried out small projects of significance to their local regions. Follow up visits were made by the course instructors to some selected schools and within six months, two high schools incorporated these in their class room teaching (www.gi.alaska.edu/~prakash/teaching/geos595). To reach out to schools that do not have well established computational facilities, ASGP build a mobile GIS laboratory with 15 laptops-GPS-GIS software assemblage. This mobile set up will be used in the second two week summer course scheduled to be run in June 2005. This batch of teachers will be more comfortable introducing GPS/GIS technology in their class rooms where they will have the possibility to use the same hardware and software setup as they used during their training, ensuring even greater success of this initiative.