Chris Lewicki has been awarded a two-year Space Grant Fellowship, co-sponsored by the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering. Chris will serve as the Program Manager for the University of Arizona's Student Satellite Project.
Rose Finn received a two-year Space Grant Fellowship, co-sponsored by Steward Observatory.
Rose reports:
My goal when applying for the UA/NASA Space Grant was to get involved with education outreach that focused on teacher training. I feel this is the best way to implement lasting changes since the teacher will be reaching students every day, year after year.
Originally I wanted to organize some sort of workshop for teachers that would emphasize hands-on, astronomy related activities. After talking with several people already working in education at Steward Observatory and NOAO, I discovered that a similar program already exits. The program is called Project ASTRO, and its goal is to form "ongoing partnerships between teachers and astronomers".
As a Project ASTRO participant, I attended a two-day training workshop and met my cooperating teacher (Ron Zwick, Earth Science Teacher, Cholla High School). We have planned a unit on the planets, We also plan to collaborate on other topics and activities that introduce students to the electromagnetic spectrum and infrared astronomy. In addition, we will organize a star party with the aid of the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Club.
Ideally, this year will be used to develop several presentations and activities on the planets. This spring and next year I will be able to visit other schools and work with more teachers.
As part of my Space Grant, I will also work as a counselor for Astronomy Camp. There are several different camps throughout the year for beginning teenagers and adults, advanced teenagers and teachers. Again, the emphasis is learning astronomy by doing astronomy; the campers use the 40 and 60-inch telescopes on Mt. Lemmon and the 61-inch telescope on Mt. Bigelow for introductory observing in the beginning camps and research in the advanced.
My goal when applying for the UA/NASA Spacegrant was to get involved with education outreach that focused on teacher training. I feel this is the best way to implement lasting changes since the teacher will be reaching students every day, year after year. As a result, teacher training is the thread that links the various programs and projects I am undertaking for the outreach component of my Spacegrant.
Originally I wanted to organize some sort of workshop for teachers that would emphasize hands-on, astronomy related activities. After talking with several people already working in education at Steward Observatory and NOAO, I discovered that a similar program already exits. The program is called Project ASTRO, and its goal is to form "ongoing partnerships between teachers and astronomers".
Last year as a Project ASTRO participant, myself and Mike Meyer worked with Ron Zwick, an Earth Science Teacher at Cholla High School. We collaborated on a unit on the planets, and activities included a liquid nitrogen presentation on the planets, a scale model of the solar system and an activity on remote sensing and the topology of Venus. I am participating in Project Astro again this year. My new cooperating teacher is Randy Palacio, a 7th grade teacher at Roskruge Middle School. During my first visit we went over the phases of the moon, and I am looking forward to visiting again to do activities on the seasons and Venus.
Over the summer, I worked with Ron Zwick and his students from the Cholla HS Summer Institute. For three weeks, we learned basic astronomy using the internet. Toward the end of the summer session, the students and Ron came to Steward Observatory for a night time observing session with the 21 inch telescope. It was the first time most of them had ever looked through a telescope - we even had some parents come!
As part of my spacegrant, I worked as a counselor for Astronomy Camp. The first camp I participated in was the Advanced Teen Camp, and the following week we had the Astronomy Camp for Educators. Working at the teacher camp was most in line with my spacegrant goal of long-term impact on education. I gave a talk on doing research in the classroom, and a large fraction of the teachers present were interested in trying to implement such a program. I gave them information on how to structure the timeline, set up tables, etc., but they wanted more details and examples. As a result, I am currently putting together some examples of projects my students completed when I was teaching, and I will make these documents available over theweb. I am compiling some web-based activities that teachers can use to introduce their students to research and possible topics to pursue in astronomy. I hope to give this talk again at next summer's Astronomy Camp for Educators, and I will be armed with a packet of explicit materials for implementing a research program into a middle or high school science curriculum.
Finally, during the next year, I will be working with astronomy professor Chris Impey, compiling the results of a survey he has conducted on science literacy. Chris has given this survey to the students in his Introductory Astronomy courses over the last ten years, and I am very interested in seeing what the results tell us about science literacy and secondary education.
Barbara Cohen has been awarded a two-year Space Grant Fellowship, co-sponsored by the Department of Planetary Sciences.
Barbara reports:
I am a fifth-year PhD student whose research focuses on using noble gas isotope dating techniques to study lunar and other extraterrestrial materials. My Space Grant Fellowship activities for the next two years will revolve around interactive public outreach. I am continuing my rewarding experience with the Space Grant Science Speakers program and hope to increase publicity and use of this program. I will also be working with the Flandreau Planetarium and Science Center on the U of A campus in order to gain experience in exhibit design and public activities in a museum setting. Additionally, I keep my ears open for unique opportunities focused on women and girls in science, such as this fall's WISE booth at KidsFest 97, and the Tucson Girl Scouts' Professional Day.
David Adams has been awarded a two-year Space Grant Fellowship, co-sponsored by the Institute for the Study of Planet Earth (ISPE).
He describes his Space Grant outreach project as follows:
As a Space Grant Fellow, I intend to develop an outreach program that is specifically targeted toward Spanish-speaking adolescents in theTucson area school districts. The Hispanic community has traditionally been underrepresented at the University of Arizona, particulary in the Physical Sciences. In order to attract these young people to the study of the physical sciences at the university level, the university must be accessible to them. One way of attracting these students is to design outreach programs that take into account some the special needs of this community.
Specifically, my outreach program will be focused on some of the issues dealing with climate variability here in southern Arizona. The program I propose will be implemented in two tiers. To begin with, an initial trip to several middle and/or high schools with bilingual programs will include a presentation on natural climate variability in southern Arizona. This initial visit is intended to engage the students' interest in some of the basic issues in climate studies. The second stage will involve the selection of small groups of particularly motivated students to participate in visits to our department laboratories. During these visits the students will examine climate data such as long-term precipitation and temperature records. Simple (and fun!) exercises, such as mapping and graphing these data, will be carried out with the goal of developing a basic understanding of how climate varies from year to year and to develop hypotheses as to why this is the case. Instruction will be carried out entirely in Spanish which is beneficial as it demonstrates to the students that Spanish is also a language of science.
The time these students spend on campus, I believe, will be invaluable in terms of developing familiarity with the university environment and demonstrating that university and science as a field of study are, not only accessible, but also fun.
Over the summer I was fortunate to have two high school students from the Mexican state of Sinaloa participate in my outreach program. In May, as part of my outreach program, I gave a talk on climate/meteorology to the faculty and students at a preparatoria (high school)in Culiacan, Sinaloa. The Universidad Autonoma de Sinaloa, which has jurisdiction over many of the public high schools in Sinaloa, has implemented a climate/meteorology program into the high school curriculum. As a result I was invited to give this talk. I was very impressed with the interest level of the students. From this meeting, we arranged for two students, Guillermo and Cesar Avila to come to work with me while they studied English and Pima Community College. During the entire month of July and into the middle of August, we met in the afternoons in Dr. Andrew Comrie's climate lab in the Department of Geography and Regional Development. During these meetings, I instructed them in some to the basics of working with meteorological data including the basics of FORTRAN programming. We also spent a great deal of time examining satellite images and weather forecast products for the southwestern U.S. and Northwestern Mexico during the heart of our 'monsoon' season (one of my topics of research). It was really a fantastic experience, I believe, for each of us. Guillermo and Cesar expressed a great deal of interest in one day attending the University of Arizona. I really think they would be valuable additions to the Arizona student body.
Presently, I am continuing my visits to classrooms here in the Tucson area. My focus is still Spanish-speaking students with very limited English skills. However, I have expanded my talks to include elementary school children. In this talks, I focus on some simple classroom experiments that can be related to atmospheric phenomena. I will also continue giving talks at the middle and high school levels. In January, I hope to return to the Biosphere 2 to give climate lectures as I did last year. However, I am still waiting for the invitation!
For the summer, I plan to again invite local high school students to participate in my outreach program over the summer. I may also return to Culiacan, Sinaloa to give another talk and, if I am lucky, attract some interested Mexican students to come to the U of A.
Hydrology and Water Resources (2 year award)
Terrie Hogue's fellowship is co-sponsored by the Department of Hydrology and Water Resources and the Institute for the Study of Planet Earth (ISPE).
She summarizes her proposed Space Grant Outreach project as follows:
As a graduate student in the Department of Hydrology and Water Resources at the University of Arizona, I am presented with an excellent opportunity to educate children about the importance of water in their lives, not only here in the arid southwest, but around the world. As part of the NASA Outreach Program, I have proposed an educational "hands-on" program geared towards elementary age school-children. This program will be modeled as a monthly "Water Smart Day" in local elementary schools where children will be exposed to various topics such as the hydrologic cycle, floods, current water issues in the news, and conservation of our most precious resource. These important topics, presented in a simplified format, will expose children to some of the scientific hydrologic research being done at the University of Arizona, as well as teach important facts about water. I hope to gear part of this program towards the "at-risk" kids, those who would not normally be exposed to such topics, and who could especially benefit from such an outreach program. The goal of this program is simple: if we can reach children about the importance of water and science in their lives, lessons learned will be taken home and out into the community. Water is the one of our most precious resources, and there is no better place to begin understanding its importance then in the young and impressionable years of the elementary age child.
Planetary Sciences (2 year award).
Josh Emery's Fellowship is co-sponsored by the Department of Planetary Sciences.
He summarizes his Space Grant outreach project as follows:
My feelings are that the major obstacle standing in the way of public knowledge of space science is not lack availability of information or resources, but rather is lack of interest and knowledge base. Coverage of space science in the popular press has been greatly improving as late and will most likely keep improving. Most urban areas already have fairly impressive outreach programs in place or at least under construction, especially Tucson with Kitt Peak and the UofA both working hard to contribute to the community. The problem is that in order to reach out to people they have to be interested. People are generally more interested in topics about which they already have some knowledge base, even if that base if rudimentary. If people know a little about space science, then they will be more tempted to read that magazine article or attend that community space science function. Following this line of reasoning, I believe that it is extremely important to introduce children to space science (and all subject matters really) very early in thier lives. Pre-schools and elementary schools generally do an excellent job of teaching the basics (i.e. reading, writing, arithmetic) but generally don't cover other subject areas. When time is found to introduce students to the non-basics, science is usually the last to be covered. If time is found to teach thechildren science, it is almost invariably not in the form of space science. A large number of students make it the whole way through kindergarten to 12th grade without ever learning about our solar system let alone our universe. I therefore believe that it is imperitive that we introduce our children to space science early, when their minds are still hungry for knowledge of all types. This way, when the oppurtunity comes to them later in life to learn more, they will have the base of knowledge and the interest to do so.
Over the past year I have been trying to improve myself so that I can be competent to do the job I outlined above. I have been studying early childhood teaching methods and talking to some elementary and pre-school teachers in order to learn from them what children are being taught today, what they believe their students are capable of and also to get some feedback on my own ideas. I have tried a few times to go into some pre-school and after school programs and give the children a sort of science day with a focus on space sciene. I quickly learned that I was in a bit over my head. The children were eager and excited, but excited children in large groups are tough to handle, something that seems obvious but I learned the hard way. Also the time needed for organizing and preparing such a project is infinitely greater than I had anticipated. I also realized that children respond much more effectively to a person or group who return on a fairly regular basis. So a one-shot science day is not going to be nearly as effective as an organized, regular program. Because of my utter over failure this past year, my plans have changed a bit. For the upcoming year I plan to participate in a program which is already organized, and I hope regular. This way I can get more experience with teaching and I can hopefully see what is needed for a successful implementation of my ideas.
A graduate student in Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering (AME) was awarded a 2 year Space Grant Graduate Fellowship beginning in the Fall of 1996. AME, his nominating department, is co-sponsoring Jeff's award. Jeff has the distinction of being the first UA Space Grant Undergraduate Research Intern (1993-94) to continue on to graduate school at UA and to be awarded a Space Grant Graduate Fellowship!
Jeff describes his Space Grant outreach project as follows:
I am working on a site on the internet where people of all ages and backgrounds can come explore the impact that the space program has on their everyday lives. The American space program has produced thousands of "spinoffs" through a process of technology-transfer; many of these are revolutionary and most are taken for granted. My site will educate people about high-technology research as it relates to the space program, and to how it relates to us here on Earth. There is much to be learned and this is a very important topic for all people to understand.
Also, as part of my outreach project, I am working with organizations to provide web services for public, mainly student use. I have already created:
A web page for the AIAA SSTC (Space-Systems Technical Committee) which describes what the committee is about; and biographies on all memebers.
A help page for two AIAA student design competitions sponsored by the SSTC. This help page is for students putting together proposals for the design competition who have questions about any aspect of the proposal preparation process. URL: http://ares.ame.arizona.edu/ That's it for now. There may be some more projects as the semester progresses...
Renewable Natural Resources (1 year award)
Jake's Space Grant Fellowship is co-sponsored by the Department of Renewable Natural Resources and The Institute for the Study of Planet Earth (ISPE).
He describes his Space Grant outreach project as follows:
I am working to establish an interactive science outreach program with students in science classes in southeastern Arizona. Elementary-, middle-, and high school students will be involved in a large-scale, experimental research project designed to assess the effects of potential climate change on the ecosystems in which they live and are active. In particular, students will help me investigate potential scenarios of anthropogenically-induced changes in precipitation distribution (i.e., amount and seasonality) on the recruitment of trees at a woodland/grassland boundary. Students will help apply simulated precipitation at predetermined, experimental rates, and will help assess the effects of different treatments on tree and grass populations. We will discuss our results in terms of potential effects of climate change on vegetation distribution, with a focus on subsequent ramifications for residents of southeastern Arizona.
My outreach program is moving along at great speed: I met with my first set of students (and parents) during the first week of February - we all had a great time. Their knowlege and interest amazed me. I am quite excited about the curriculum (e.g., we wrap Saran-wrap around the globe to simulate carbon dioxide; students fill out and interpret their own data sheets in the field), and support from teachers, parents, and students has been quite high. I will be conducting at least three field trips in the first two weeks of March with students from Tucson and Sierra Vista. My goal is to talk to and conduct field trips with at least 150 students (plus parents and teachers) by the end of the semester. And, I am looking into working with community groups (of adults) under a modified curriculum - education is a process that doesn't end with school.
It's the end of the schoolyear, so I'm planning on putting my outreach program on the summer back burner (not like it's cool outside or anything - yikes!). Overall, the year was a great success. I spoke with a total of about 330 students ranging in age from 8 to 13, including a Tucson Home School Group, Daughters on Campus, and 6th and 7th grade science classes from Smith Middle School, Fort Huachuca Military Reservation. In addition, most of these students joined me on a total of six field trips to my research site at Lower Garden Canyon. There, we discussed the effects of global climate change on ecosystems and ecotones, and collected, summarized, and analyzed data from my research plots. I enjoyed being grilled about my experimental design and research methodology by kids about half my size! I've also found out I like teaching - so that's a big change for me. My wife, the teacher, is delighted. So, I look forward to next year. I've already got speaking requests, and want to expand up to include the eighth grade.
I will be going to my outreach demonstration site for the next several Saturdays to get things set up for the first groups of students. The main task is going to be getting some seedlings established and growing in the plots - we lost them all in last fall's drought! (How's that for a demo of reality?). The first three sets of students will be from Sunnyside High School. And, Sunnyside is picking up the travel tab by using their own buses! The next set will be from Mountain View High School or Salpointe. And, I'll be speaking to and field tripping with the AZ Sonoran Desert Museum junior naturalists later this month and in March.
I went to the Desert Museum last weekend (February 22-23), and will this weekend, to talk to the Junior Naturalists and a Climate Change/Science Teacher Training and Curriculum Symposium. I will travel locally on the 6th and 7th of March (Desertview speaking and field trip), and to the study site (field trip with Junior Naturalists) on the 8th. I may travel to Benson and the study site on the 13th and 14th. I travel locally on the 20th and 21st (Desertview again). I have a field trip for my global change class scheduled for either the 12th or 19th April. I will be local on the 17 and 18th of April (Sunnyside HS).
Space Engineering Research Center (SERC) (1 year award)
Steve describes his Space Grant outreach project: As a start I'm planning to massage the paper I wrote for my planetary science class. The topic is oxygen as a resource on mars. The paper deals primarily with where oxygen can be found and how you would go about getting it. I will work on bringing down the reading level so that highschool students will be able to enjoy it. I plan on putting it on the SERC website in both the original and re-written forms so that people will be able to learn more about the work we are doing at SERC.
Planetary Sciences (2 year award)
Cynthia's award is co-sponsored by the Department of Planetary Sciences.
Here's a brief summary of my outreach project: I'm working on developing the Galileo Satellite Science objectives into a set of curriculum modules adaptable for grades K-12. These modeules will be available on the Galileo educational web pages, as well as in stand-alone format for teachers without web access.
