Sixteen teachers from 10 states are participating this week in a workshop at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards designed to aid educators in incorporating NASA-based material into their science and math curriculum.
Focused around the theme of “Transportation Systems: From Earth, to the Moon and on to Mars,” the NASA Explorer Schools professional development workshop finds the teachers interacting with aerospace engineers, research pilots and former astronaut C. Gordon Fullerton during briefings and tours highlighting Dryden’s aeronautical research and Space Shuttle support roles.
The teachers are being given the opportunity to “fly” a test mission on a flight simulator and sit in the cockpit of an NASA F/A-18 mission support aircraft. The educators are also learning about the unique issues involved in life support for the flight crews of high-altitude research aircraft during the sessions, which began June 19 and will conclude on Friday, June 24.
The 16 represent schools competitively selected as participants in the 2004 NASA Explorer School (NES) program, the second year of the program.
“The second year NES development workshop focuses on using NASA-specific content to integrate into the school’s science and mathematics programs,” said Linda Tomczuk, NASA Dryden’s NES program coordinator.
NES workshops provide an opportunity for middle school educators to enhance their background and skills in mathematics, science and technology. They observe state-of-the-art research, conduct hands-on experiments and investigations, learn more about instructional technology, and collect information and resources for use in their classrooms and during community events.
Since its inauguration in 2003, the NES program has established three-year partnerships annually with 50 new middle schools teams. The partnerships include teachers and educational administrators serving grades four through nine in schools from diverse communities across the country. Schools in the program are eligible to receive grants up to $17,500 over the three-year period to support science and mathematics curriculum.
For a list of NASA Explorer Schools on the Internet, visit: http://explorerschools.nasa.gov
For information about NASA Education programs, visit: http://education.nasa.gov
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Beth Hagenauer
NASA Dryden Flight Research Center
Phone: 661/276-7960
beth.hagenauer@dfrc.nasa.gov