The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Professional Development Workshop Series: Example of an Excellent Mechanism of Scientific Dissemination

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Lunar Institute for Educators pilot workshop was held at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD in July of 2010. At this workshop, educators of grades 6-12 learned about lunar science, exploration, and how our understanding of the Moon has changed since the Apollo missions. The workshop exposed teachers to science results from recent lunar missions, particularly LRO, through presentations and discussions with lunar scientists. It allowed them to explore real LRO data, participate in hands-on lunar science activities, and learn how to incorporate these data and activities into their classrooms. Other workshop activities focused on mitigating student, and teacher, misconceptions about the Moon. As a result of the workshop, educators reported feeling a renewed excitement about the Moon, and more confidence in teaching lunar science to their students. Quarterly follow-up professional development sessions will monitor the progress of the workshop participants throughout the year, and provide additional support to the teachers, as needed. Evaluations from the 2010 pilot program are being used to improve LRO workshops as they expand contextually and geographically in the coming years. Ten workshops will be held across the United States in 2011 and 2012. Areas that have been underserved, with respect to NASA workshops, will be specifically targeted. Educator professional development workshops such as this one are an excellent mechanism for scientists to disseminate the latest discoveries from their missions and research to educators across the country and to get real data in the hands of students, further strengthening the students’ interest and understanding of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) content and careers. Making a model: educators construct topographic maps of Play-Doh volcanoes.