in the following few minutes you will
learn about an exciting educational
program hosted at the NASA Lewis
Research Center in Cleveland Ohio it's
called new West NASA's educational
workshops for elementary school teachers
the United States is training scientists
and engineers foreign-born seven out of
every 10 and the colleges and
universities were from a foreign land
the remaining three out of ten were from
the United States it told me that our
educational system cannot be poor but
we're making a mistake someplace and we
need to turn kids on and it has to be
early in their school life by the third
or fourth grade or we've lost them the
teachers here that participated in the
newest program are special they've been
in the program that less than 100
teachers have had at Louis and I should
clarify that by saying elementary
science teachers have had it Louis
newest program has only been in
existence for three years and so this is
a very small select group within the
United States it was developed to
disseminate knowledge in aerospace
education down into the lower grades
where we need to turn the kid on you
uniquely have the ability to go and
motivate excite touch so many children
at the age when they are in their
formative stages in particular in things
like getting into interested in science
and math and technology where this
country as you know as well as I has
gone downhill I'll say in the number of
last year's and people being kids being
interested in that and it's at the age
of kids with you're associating with
where they really i believe makeup they
may not make up their minds but if they
don't get some type of interest
in their heart for this they're never
going to pick it up later it's unlikely
that you're gonna pick it up later and
so it's critical for in a very parochial
sense for the future of the space
program for you to go out and do what
what we'd like you to do as a result of
this program to turn our students on to
help them dream of reaching for the
unknown to motivate them to go the extra
distance these are some of the
challenges facing teachers in America's
schools today with recent surveys and
studies showing that American students
are falling behind the rest of the
industrialized world in the areas of
mathematics and the hard sciences nASA
has taken an increased interest in
trying to reach these children through
various workshops seminars and unsigned
help sessions NASA in conjunction with
the National Science Teachers
Association and the National Council of
teachers of mathematics is attempting to
get the educators excited about space
and to get space theme related
curriculum integrated into the daily
lesson plans of these teachers NASA
supports two programs which bring the
teachers to its centers for two weeks of
intensive hands-on learning and training
these two programs new mass NASA
educational workshops for math science
and technology teachers and new West
NASA educational workshop for elementary
school teachers involve about 200 select
educators out of the thousands that
apply each year each NASA Center hosts
22-24 educators and neither new master
new West new mast works with secondary
science and math teachers while newest
concentrates getting elementary school
teachers motivated and excited about
teaching their students math and science
and incorporating the aspects of the
space program into their lessons during
the summer of nineteen ninety
the Lewis Research Center in Cleveland
Ohio played host to 22 educators in the
newest program I'm really kind of proud
of you be part of a program that helps
our elementary school teachers do the
difficult job that you all know better
are better than I do what you do it's
awfully important for the nation to do
what you're doing you know or we have an
administrator who's the head of NASA
who's absolutely committed to using NASA
which has kind of a unique charm or
unique appeal i think to our young the
astronauts and flying and all that sort
stuff that really does capture them i
know
captures them and maybe even coops than
just a little bit into doing some of the
tougher coursework that they would
otherwise opted not to do pay attention
to the man in the science I agree with
our administrator that you know it's
really a unique opportunity for this for
NASA as a national arm civil space
program so whatever nice program to use
all the leverage that we can bring
unique things that we can bring to make
make that sort of thing happen in any
way we can help you all who really are
on the front line of making that happen
we really want to do to be partners
popular as the program began these 22
educators found themselves back in
school again 14 days of intense hands-on
learning lecturing field trips this time
together gave the educators a chance to
grow together and to develop deep
friendships as well as grow
intellectually the emotional impact is
something that can be replicated so I
guess for me the emotional thing is
something of these two weeks is
something that I'm really going to is
really going to stay with me for that
that's been
I really want piggyback you what Ben
it's just that says the personal contact
was going to be really something I'm
going to remember and I really thank you
for all the local materials and I will
definitely be able to dispense to at
least 125
you should be here
the first day of newest was a time for
everybody to get acquainted get situated
and get brought up to speed on what they
could expect in a talk by Pam bacon from
NASA headquarters educational programs
office the teachers were told what NASA
hope to gain in return Caroline Benson
of nsta space science and technology
division gave a presentation about nsta
and other programs the organization has
to offer teachers then the work began
with group lectures every morning by
John hartsville aerospace educational
specialist hartsville talked and a range
of subjects in the fields of Aeronautics
and aerospace the history of flight the
solar system the space shuttle and
eating and sleeping in space to name a
few he also had some materials to let
the teachers see for themselves what it
was like to be an astronaut
additionally hartsville introduced some
simple projects which Illustrated
aerodynamic concepts that could be used
in the classroom using inexpensive
supplies your host gave talks on
motivating students projects to be used
in the classroom reviewed common Hallie
and lunar geology with the teachers
right see if nectar ok see you next on I
guarantee you can see every one of these
outside and introduce them to different
projects on how to incorporate everyday
things into space science related topics
so take 344 514 so if you'll divide your
344,000 by 16 that'll tell you how much
to your loaf ways the newest
participants afternoon were filled with
tours of various facilities on the Lewis
grounds the icing research tunnel
propulsion systems laboratory engines
make their thrust by taking air
put in front of them and pretty low
speed and throwing out the back as fast
as they can throw it out the back and
they do it by pumping it through there
and you do it by eating the zero-gravity
facility
and the hangar where the research
aircraft use it Louis or kept
we always tell the people since we fly
in an urban area we give them an Ohio
Bell card a mastercard cassette on their
way there were also group activities
where the teachers got hands-on
experience with projects for classroom
and breakout groups to give energy to
the orbiter the momentum it's staying
down here it's a smaller bounce and then
children work with the weight larger
heavier how much farther is it going to
go and we start doing predictions and
don't forget to tell your students there
were no wrong answers in science on
oohing unexpected results so watch again
just the ball part I'll watch the
orbiter so it doesn't here we go to the
fire breakout groups consisted of six to
eight teachers working on various
projects which were then shared with the
rest of the teachers during the last
days of the workshop the group's worked
with a leader your host John hartsfield
and Richard Kuna a NASA physicist the
groups included electromagnetic spectrum
as I described some behavior of light
reflection comet halley what it really
is in order for them to measure the risk
of the large living on Space Station
freedom and Donna Watson with NASA pilot
bill Ricky on her experience in the t-34
this plane is used by NASA Lewis in
aerospace projects in conjunction with
local high schools and the office of
educational programs one day the group
got to tour the Federal Aviation
Administration's facilities at the
cleveland hopkins airport they split up
into groups and got to go up into the
tower the track on or terminal radar
approach control and saw a presentation
on careers in aeronautics another group
project the teachers had to do was
construct an egg survival system
which was then tested so to speak at the
microgravity drop tower needless to say
some of them needed a little refinement
afterwards
but the highlight for many of the
participants was an interactive video
conference with astronaut story Musgrave
and the newest group down at the Johnson
Space Center in Houston Texas Musgrave
gave a slide presentation on a manned
space flight aboard the shuttle and his
philosophies and then took questions
from both newest groups the activity
left some deep impressions on the
teachers when story spent so much time
with a little child bent over looking
into the sand he did that on purpose
there was a quite a message that it was
brought home to me and it kind of hold
everything together that we're doing
here and he said we can spend a lot of
time and we're doing a lot of research
and we're looking at things from
different angles but do stop and look
look at what we have right here he
brought earth homes so close to me that
i will look at everything around me and
much a different viewpoint than i had
ever done before as the two weeks ation
came to a close a banquet was held for
the teacher after dinner the teachers
had to present their space exploration
songs
our kids from your eternity excl re SP
HCG was the lady her name was Flo for a
classroom teacher who said she had to go
so she packed up her things to move to
Mars but little did she know she had to
travel through the stars Cassiopeia
Andromeda Hercules then plaques and
certificates of participation were
handed out and the evening clothes with
an emotional groups signing of the song
wind beneath my wings
me
you
me
on the final day several of the teachers
shared their impressions of the workshop
with Fred pavan le director of the
administration and computer services
Directorate the benefits of the newest
program are incredible they will
multiply and it is like a ripple effect
taking the 22 teachers that have
experienced something here at Lewis we
will go on and spread that throughout
the country the difference I think
between passing out information to
teachers at a convention meeting people
at a symposium at a conference and
passing out information to 20,000
educators the chances of it really
getting into the classroom are very slim
and then you can take 22 teachers bring
them to a NASA Center let them meet the
people and all of a sudden the
information that NASA wants to give us
becomes a part of us and we now have a
new ownership in it and when someone has
an ownership in something you take that
very personally and you will make sure
that it is taken care of and it is given
out to others what I have discovered in
the two weeks that I've been here at
Lewis is that the people of the Lewis
research center are NASA's greatest
resource they are tremendous these are
professional people who treated us as
professionals they opened their doors
they open their minds they would listen
to us they answered our questions I it
was exciting for us to see the pride
that they had in their work there was a
one gentleman at the zero-gravity
facility who really took pride in what
he was doing and he gave us that sense
of pride that we can take back to our
classrooms I think probably this is
singer Lee the most important activity
in which I could have participated this
summer it was not only an exciting and
productive experience to visit the
laboratories to meet with the people
they have an opportunity to ask
questions of them I was particularly
impressed with
dedication to what they're doing and our
enthusiasm for it but I also gained much
from the outstanding elementary school
teachers that were involved in this
two-week newest workshop these are
really incredible people they not only
talk shop during the time that they were
at the Lewis facility they talked shop
16 hours a day and that may be a
conservative estimate because that was
only during the times that I saw them so
I gained many ideas on teaching science
and math elementary school-aged children
I gained much from my colleagues in the
workshop I gained much from the leaders
of the workshop not only what they were
willing to share with us but the
modeling they did in terms of their
enthusiasm for the whole space program
following their visit to Lewis research
center the newest teachers are supported
and followed up on through the year by
Anita so Lars NASA newest coordinator at
Lewis Research Center the participants
are mailed updates and follow-up
materials and are called twice a month
in an effort to see how their new
curriculum is working if you are
interested in learning more about the
newest our new mass programs please
write National Science Teachers
Association space science and technology
programs 5110 Roanoke place suite101
college park maryland 207 40