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Astrobiology in Secondary Classrooms (ASC):
A Changing World in A Changing Universe
Astrobiology Workshop at Tennessee State University
June 19 to 23, 2006
Astrobiology in Secondary Classrooms (ASC) is a new interdisciplinary astrochemistry curriculum currently being developed as part of the education and public outreach program of the NASA Goddard Center for Astrobiology (GCA). Join us for a week in June at TSU in Nashville, Tennessee to learn about this new curriculum from scientists at the NASA Center for Astrobiology, faculty members from TSU, presenters from other partner universities, and master teachers who have worked on the curriculum. Teachers who attend the summer professional development will be expected to field-test some or all of the activities in the new curriculum and provide feedback to the NASA staff for improving the activities.
The Goal of the workshop is to provide secondary teachers with the content and skills to integrate astrochemistry, chemistry, biology, astronomy, earth and space science in an interdisciplinary approach into their science courses through the topic of astrobiology.
Dates: June 19 to 23, 2006
8:00-4:30 Monday-Thursday and 8:00 to 2:00 Friday
Location: TSU Main Campus, Lawson Hall Room 107 A&B (the SEMAA Aeronautics Educational Lab) Nashville, Tennessee
Grade Levels: Free workshop for 7 th to 12 th grade teachers who are interested in field-testing the new astrobiology curriculum being developed by NASA Goddard: interdisciplinary topics in astrochemistry, biology, and physics
One-Week Session Includes the Following:
- 5 days of instruction, labs, and fieldtrips
- Stipend for five days
The Activities explore the fundamental questions of astrobiology and investigate the role comets may have played in supplying the raw material for the origin of life on Earth. Teachers will learn how to engage students in problem-solving strategies that apply chemistry to Earth and space science, the electromagnetic spectrum, and other important secondary school concepts.
Participating teachers will:
• Field-test the activities in their classroom during the 2006-07 school year
• Use the astrobiology materials in the new curriculum with their students
• Learn current space science research information from NASA scientists
• Engage in discussions with university professors and other teachers about the emerging field of
astrobiology
• Map astrobiology concepts based on national science standards to the standards in their state & school system
• Use interdisciplinary, hands-on methods that develop inquiry skills in their students
• Focus on careers in the area of astrobiology and use NASA-resources including web-based
materials
• Explore engaging technology for hands on activities
For more information:
Contact Judy Butler
Phone: (615) 516-1017
Funding: Funding has been provided by the NASA Astrobiology Institute under RTOP 344-53-51 to the GCA
Links to sites related to the content of the ASC workshop:
Partners for the ASC Project
The ASC curriculum project is funded by the NASA Goddard Center for Astrobiology
(Provided by the NASA Astrobiology Institute under RTOP 344-53-51 to the GCA)
Dr. Michael Mumma leads a team that is researching the early environments of the Earth, before and during the period when life arose, including the origin of the Earth and other planets and investigation of sources of water and of the prebiotic chemicals on the ancient Earth. Title: Origin and Evolution of Organics in Planetary Systems http://astrobiology.gsfc.nasa.gov/
Astrobiology Institute
http://nai.arc.nasa.gov/
Astrobiology Roadmap
http://astrobiology.arc.nasa.gov/roadmap/index.html
Minority Institute Astrobiology Collaborative
MIAC members are involved in developing of the ASC curriculum: Astrobiology in Secondary Schools
http://www.dragonflyenterprises.org/TSU/MIAC/index.htm
Tennessee State University: About TSU Departments Involved with Astrobiology
Center of Excellence Information Systems: http://coe.tsuniv.edu/
Greg Henry and the discovery of extra solar planets at TSU: http://schwab.tsuniv.edu/
Institute for Understanding Biological Systems: http://www.dragonflyenterprises.org/TSU/IUBS/Index.htm
South Carolina State University: Center for NASA Research and Technology
Astrobiology at South Carolina State University
Astronomer, Donald Walter is part of the astrobiology research at NASA Goddard Center for Astrobiology and is a member of the curriculum development team for the ASC curriculum
Astrobiology at South Carolina State University
http://www.cnrt.scsu.edu/content/about/mission.html
Benedict College Dr. Larry Lowe in the Department of Biological and Physical Sciences
http://www.larryllowe.com/
Carnegie Institution of Washington: NASA Astrobiology Institute
http://astrobiology.ciw.edu/
Indiana Princeton Tennessee Astrobiology Initiative
Detection of bio-sustainable energy and nutrient cycling in the deep subsurface of Earth and Mars
http://www.indiana.edu/~deeplife/homepg.html
MU-SPIN: Minority University Space Interdisciplinary Network
http://muspin.gsfc.nasa.gov/
Astrobiology Information Web Sites
University of Washington
What are the evolutionary pathways by which complex organisms originate from microbes?
http://depts.washington.edu/astrobio/
Web site developed by Dr. Woody Sullivan in the Department of Astronomy
http://www.astro.washington.edu/woody/
University of California at Los Angeles:
UCLA The IGPP Center for Astrobiology: From Genes to Stars: An Integrated Study of the Prospects for Life in the Cosmos http://www.astrobiology.ucla.edu/
Penn State University Astrobiology Research Center
http://psarc.geosc.psu.edu
Astrobiology: Exploring the Living Universe
http://astrobiology.arc.nasa.gov/
SETI Institute
www.seti.org
MBL Astrobiology: NASA Astrobiology Institute Lead Team
Astrobiologists at the Marine Biological Laboratory, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Brown University seek an understanding about the evolution of early life forms and how changing environments prompted the development of complex systems in organisms. http://astrobiology.mbl.edu/index.html
Mars exploration program: http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov
Planet Quest: http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/science/science_index.html
Education and Outreach Sites for Astrobiology
Arizona State University Mars Education Program
http://marsed.asu.edu/
The Astrobiology Teacher Resource Materials
http://nai.arc.nasa.gov/teachers/
TERC Astrobiology Project: Teachers' Guide for including information on why to include astrobiology in the curriculum
http://astrobio.terc.edu/
Johnson Space Center--Astrobiology Section of Space Quest
http://questdb.arc.nasa.gov/content_search_astro.htm
Challenger center on line
http://www.challenger.org/
