1. A New Educational Scaffolding Approach to Support Authentic Solar Research in the Classroom
N. DeMuth (El Camino College), C.E. Walker (NOAO), D.M. Isbell (NOAO), S.M. Pompea (NOAO)
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2. Overview
Challenge: How to get a great research program to more teachers and students?
Introduction to the program
A solution to the challenge
The supporting educational materials
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3. Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, Arizona
Solar Observatory
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4. Astronomy Research-Based Science Education (A-RBSE)
Now in its 11th year at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, A-RBSE introduces middle school and high school teachers from around the country to astronomy research and provides them with the scaffolding to perform research projects with their students.
Teacher Leaders in Research Based Science Education (TLRBSE) is a multi-year teacher professional development program sponsored by NSF and administered through the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO). The program reaches the formal education community through a national audience of well-trained and supported middle- and high-school teachers.
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5. A-RBSE Research Programs
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6. A-RBSE Program Highlights
A 14-week distance learning course covering astronomy content, research, mentoring and leadership
A two-week summer workshop with 4 nights on Kitt Peak observing with 4 different telescopes
Each research group presents their results on the final day of the workshop
Every year, a new cohort of teachers prepare for research through an on-line course in the spring. In the summer they conduct astronomy research at NOAO, working with astronomer-mentors to gather and analyze their data. They then return to their classrooms and engage their students in inquiry-based astronomy research using this authentic data.
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7. A-RBSE Program Highlights
More observing opportunities for students and teachers on Kitt Peak, Arizona and remotely from an observatory in New Mexico
Opportunities to submit research articles to the project’s journal
Travel to the National Science Teachers Association conference
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8. Over 150 Teachers
To reach a wider audience, supportive educational materials and data for research projects are being put on-line.
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9. Supporting Educational Materials
Science education research has shown for teachers to carry research into the classroom and for students to work with data, they need strong content background.
The following materials provide
scaffolding to support teacher implementation of
A-RBSE data
a structure within which students can place new
facts, concepts, & insights into astronomy research.
Preparation of these materials relied on interviews with past A-RBSE teachers and their astronomer-mentors as well as information from National Academy Press publications.
How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School, The National Science Education Standards, and Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards: A Guide for Teaching and Learning.
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10. Supporting Educational Materials
Solar Websites Overviews Interactives and Movies Lesson Plans History of Solar Astronomy Fundamentals (e.g., Spectral Lines) Sunspots Magnetic Fields Multi-wavelength Solar Observations Tools for Research and Presenting Research Books, Magazines, DVDs, Videos & Posters on the Sun
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11. Supporting Educational Materials
Sample Research Articles
Background Activities
Icebreakers, Sunspots, Rotation Period,
Butterfly Diagram, Light-waves and
Spectroscopes, Magnetism, Polarization,
Stellar Evolution, Stellar Classification,
Digital Images
Background Science Content Powerpoints
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12. Background Science Content Powerpoints
Note usability by teachers who haven’t gone through TLRBSE
Scaffolding can be used as template for other RBSE strands - variable stars, AGN, etc.
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13. Supporting Educational Materials
Sample Teaching Materials
Calendar
Daily Point Sheet
Expectations & Evaluation for Research Poster
Expectations & Evaluation for Research Paper
Student Self-Evaluation
Support Files from the Solar Research Program & Other A-RBSE Research Programs
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14. Calendar
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17. Support Files from the Solar Research Program
User’s Guide to the Solar Spectra Data Analysis Package
Assignment in Preparation for the Solar Research Project
The Solar Research Project
Determining Magnetic Field Strength of
Sunspots via Zeeman Split Spectral Lines
Technical Glossary
Tutorial on Zeeman Split Spectral Lines
Estimating Magnetic Field Strength
Solar Data Files (Raw, Reduced and Analyzed)
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18. Summary
To address the needs of a wider audience of teachers and students, steps have been taken to supply web-based foundational resources for the A-RBSE solar research program.
Teachers can use this “solar scaffolding” to support the implementation of authentic solar research in the classroom.
The scaffolding files on the webpage will serve as a template for other A-RBSE research.
They will also enable non-A-RBSE middle and high school teachers to download and use A-RBSE data in their own classrooms.
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19. Contact Information
Connie Walker
National Optical Astronomy Observatory
950 N. Cherry Ave.
Tucson, AZ USA
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