A Program for Secondary School Teachers - Sponsored by NASA
The goal of this program is to increase teachers' own understanding of key topics in the field of astrobiology and to provide a practical context in which science can be taught with an interdisciplinary approach. The program consists of 14 weekly meetings, starting on October 18, 2004 and ending on March 7, 2005. During the program educators will engage in a variety of hands-on activities complemented by lectures that address some of the research areas recommended in the NASA Astrobiology Roadmap. Time will be especially devoted to the discussion of the results of activities run by the participants in their classrooms. Scientists from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics will bring to the program the latest news in the fields of astrobiology and the search for planets in other solar systems and will be available for interaction with the participants. A highly integrated science, astrobiology offers a rich venue for life science, physical science, and earth and space science teachers to engage st udents with intriguing questions and ideas that introduce them to scientific inquiry out of curiosity. At the same time, astrobiology allows teachers to meet many science content learning standards, as described, for example, in the National Science Education Standards. As an integral part of the program, teachers of the same discipline will work together to identify the science content learning standards in the Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework that they will be able to address with the proposed set of astrobiology activities.
For more information on the program refer to the Syllabus or contact Irene Porro.
You can submit your application electronically or by mail (PDF - print, fill out, and send).
THE APPLICATION DEADLINE IS OCTOBER 4, 2004.