Previous | Session 132 | Next
L. F. Ruberg (Mid-Atlantic Region Space Science Broker), S. Shipp (Lunar Planetary Institute), D. A. Smith (Space Telescope Science Institute), Space Science Preservice Educators Working Group Collaboration
As the National Commission on Mathematics and Science Teacher for the 21st Century reports, “…the most direct route to improving mathematics and science achievements for all students is better mathematics and science teaching.”
Expanding science teacher education to include preservice teachers, those who are still in university and college programs, provides a way to align teacher-training experiences with national science education standards, state-of-the-art content, and research questions. But, many scientists may wonder, how they can help teacher education? Their world and that of the classroom teacher seems quite disconnected.
The NASA space science support network of mission-related educational forums and regional-based broker facilitators has initiated a working group specifically focused on building relationships with education faculty and others invested in pre-service teacher preparation. The goals of this working group are to: 1) develop a deeper understanding of pre-service programs and needs; 2) identify diverse ways to meet those needs relating to space science education; and 3) articulate these findings and recommendations to the space science community.
This presentation will feature several examples of NASA space science regional efforts to better understand preservice teacher needs to improve science and mathematics content understanding and teaching effectiveness. The goal for this presentation is to stimulate scientist awareness of and interest in how they can be involved in helping preservice teachers meet the challenge for stronger content knowledge through partnerships with their local science experts. By identifying, enabling, and leveraging such partnerships, the space science community can help facilitate better preparation of science teachers, and bring the excitement of space science directly into the classroom.
If you would like more information about this abstract, please follow the link to http://marssb.cet.edu. This link was provided by the author. When you follow it, you will leave the Web site for this meeting; to return, you should use the Back comand on your browser.
The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: lruberg@cet.edu
Previous | Session 132 | Next
Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 36 5
© 2004. The American Astronomical Society.