Astronomy in Research-Based Science Education (A-RBSE): A Review of a Decade of Professional Development Programs in Support of Teacher and Student Research at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory
Abstract
We will review the evolution of the Research Based Science Education (RBSE) and Teacher Leaders in Research Based Science (TLRBSE) programs at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory over the last eleven years. The program has evolved from an NSF-funded program in teacher enhancement to an observatory-supported core education initiative. The present manifestation of our program is an umbrella of programs designed to aid teachers in doing research with astronomical data archives, small telescopes, large research-grade telescopes, and the Spitzer Space Telescope. The professional development program has addressed basic questions on the nature of research, best techniques to bring it into the classroom, the value of authentic research, and the mix of on-line versus in- person professional development. The current program is used to test new models of teacher professional development that for outreach programs for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope program, the Thirty-Meter Telescope program, and the National Virtual Observatory program. We will describe a variety of lessons learned (and relearned) and try to describe best practices in promoting teacher and student research. The TLRBSE Program has been funded by the National Science Foundation under ESI 0101982, funded through the AURA/NSF Cooperative Agreement AST-9613615. NOAO is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), Inc. under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2006
- Bibcode:
- 2006AGUFMED13A1217P
- Keywords:
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- 0820 Curriculum and laboratory design;
- 0825 Teaching methods;
- 0830 Teacher training;
- 0845 Instructional tools