Previous | Session 132 | Next
W. H. Waller, R. Pertaub (Tufts University and NASA/NESSIE), L. Ruberg, S. Jones (Wheeling Jesuit University and NASA/MARSSB)
Many pre-service teachers go on to teach science at the elementary, middle, and high-school levels. As such, their potential impact on the overall scientific literacy of Americans is huge. Despite the enormous importance of science teaching in society, most colleges and universities do not offer science courses that address the teachers' specific needs for combined content and pedagogy. In this presentation, we explore the NEED to provide effective pre-service training in Astronomy and Space Science, document the DILEMMA extant in most colleges and universities, and describe some new APPROACHES to engaging pre-service teachers in astronomical inquiry. Finally, we seek out further INPUT from astronomers and educators who are actively addressing the challenge of improving astronomy education for pre-service teachers.
We gratefully acknowledge the support of NASA's Space Science Education and Public Outreach Program.
If you would like more information about this abstract, please follow the link to http://www.mos.org/nessie. 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: william.waller@tufts.edu
Previous | Session 132 | Next
Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 36 5
© 2004. The American Astronomical Society.