NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

What you teach, how you teach it and how it helps students are issues educators face daily. Wouldn't it be an enormous help if you could read articles that directly address these concerns? If that's your situation, you may want to take a look at the latest issue of Threshold, Cable in the Classroom's quarterly magazine. The current issue is collaboration with NASA to address concerns relating to math and science education. The material, however, can be related to practically every area of the curriculum.

Image to left: NASA teams up with Cable in the Classroom for the Spring 2005 issue of Threshold. Credit: Cable in the Classroom

The magazine focuses on a particular education-related theme in each issue. For every edition, Threshold partners with a different national education organization with recognized expertise in that issue's topic. So it's no big surprise that for the theme of math and science, Threshold editors sought out NASA for collaboration. When it comes to math and science, NASA is on the cutting edge. And when it comes to education, NASA's at the forefront. After all, you're on a NASA education Web site right now, aren't you? Take a look at the Spring 2005 issue of Threshold for provocative and useful articles presented as only NASA can.

You can download all the articles for free in PDF format -- ready for printing, saving or forwarding to colleagues. Check the Web site to order a subscription or single copy of the whole issue -- workshop copies (quantities of 50 or more) are available for 99 cents each or single copies for $4. Threshold is also available in digital magazine format for just $4.99 per year.

In "The Cutting Edge of Science & Math," you'll find:

• "Science at a Crossroads," a roundtable discussion focusing on the need to assess teaching in an era of increasing accountability;



• a glimpse of the future of immersive learning experiences featuring the NASA's Signals of Spring project as it could look with ubiquitous broadband technologies;



• "Math That Matters," which makes the case for replacing the traditional algebra/calculus mathematics track in K-12 with one oriented around data literacy;



• an examination of where science inquiry is heading through the use of new techniques and technologies -- and whether that future will improve learning;





• a discussion of what "scientifically based research" really means and its role in earning an "effective" rating in Department of Education’s What Works Clearinghouse;



• an essay about the importance of making opportunities in science and mathematics accessible to blind students;



• "When Worlds Collide," a profile of the learning that takes place when museums and other informal learning centers work closely with schools;



• a look at how visualization technologies and teaching strategies are making it possible for more students than ever to understand abstract math and science concepts, featuring NASA's Mars Student Imaging Project.

"In the last century, creative inventors and superbly trained scientists and mathematicians took us into space," said NASA Explorer Schools Program Manager Peggy Steffen in the issue's opening essay, "Mission Critical." "This should serve as proof that the sky is no limit. If we make the right decisions now, we can inspire today's children to be the next generation of explorers."

Cable in the Classroom, the cable industry's education foundation, partners with a different national education organization with every issue of Threshold. Past partners have included the National School Boards Association, the American Library Association and the American Association of School Librarians, the National Education Association, International Society for Technology in Education and the National Council for the Social Studies.

NASA's commitment to education is a part of its Mission Statement: "To understand and protect our home planet, to explore the universe and search for life, to inspire the next generation of explorers... as only NASA can." For this issue, NASA consulted with Cable in the Classroom on the editorial theme, content and authors.

Maggie Griffin/NASA Educational Technology Services