The Effect of an Authentic Science Research Experience on Teachers and Students through NITARP

As part of the NASA/IPAC Teacher Archive Research Project program (NITARP), four high school teachers have participated with selected students in a research project using archival Spitzer data to search for young stellar objects in two bright-rimmed clouds: BRC 27 and BRC 34. Our scientific research findings are presented in another poster, Johnson et al. A key initiative in science education is integrating authentic scientific research into the curriculum. Since the NITARP program funds a limited number of teachers and students, our group has investigated the role of team leaders (both teachers and students) in educating and inspiring other teachers and students. This project allows our students to assume an active role in the process of project development, teamwork, data collection and analysis, interpretation of results, and formal scientific presentations. This poster presents our observations on methods used by student team leaders in disseminating the information to other students within the school, as well as to other local schools and interest groups. Since three of the four teachers on our team are female, we have also looked at how these teachers inspire young women to participate in this program and to pursue STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) careers. This program was made possible through the NASA/IPAC Teacher Archive Research Project program (NITARP) and was funded by NASA Astrophysics Data Program and Archive Outreach funds.