NAI
2011 Annual Science Report
Arizona State University
Reporting | SEP 2010 – AUG 2011
EPO Activity: EPO Formal Education, Task 2: Earth and Space Science Teacher Leadership Academy
Project Progress
NASA Triad Project
In 2010, the American Geological Institute (AGI; now American Geosciences Institute) and Arizona State University School of Earth and Space Exploration (ASU SESE) were awarded a NASA cooperative agreement in support of the NASA Triad program, a three-part effort to infuse NASA research into STEM education at the national level. The ASU part of the project is led by Co-I’s Steven Semken and Wendy L. Taylor
The Triad Program is named for its three partners and its three principal components: (1) infusion of NASA STEM content into AGI’s secondary Earth science curricula; (2) national lead teacher professional development workshops; and (3) an online professional development guide for teachers running NASA STEM workshops. ASU SESE’s extensive portfolio of NASA-funded research, including NAI-associated research, is the principal source of content for this activity, and most of the scientists involved in Triad are NAI collaborators as well. The project has completed its first of two years, and major deliverables so far include infusion of NASA resources into AGI’s print and virtual curriculum component as well as two Teacher Leadership Academies offered in summer 2011 (one at ASU and one at NASA JSC, Houston). Participating teachers (Figure 1) and ASU Follow the Elements PI, Dr. Ariel Anbar spent a day (July 15, 2011) focusing on Astrobiology content and resources. Other Follow the Elements participating scientists, Meenakshi Wadhwa (ASU Center for Meteorite Studies) and Phil Christensen (ASU Mars Space Flight Facility) also presented as part of the workshop (Figures 2-3).
Figure 1: NASA Triad Teacher Leadership Academy. Arizona teachers participating in the July 2011 Leadership Academy at R. S. Dietz Museum of Geology, ASU Tempe campus.
Figure 2: NASA Triad Teacher Leadership Academy. Dr. Phil Christensen, Follow the Elements participating scientist, presented an overview of Mars geology to the teachers attending the 2011 Leadership Academy.
Figure 3: NASA Triad Teacher Leadership Academy. Dr. Meenakshi Wadhwa, Director of ASU’s Center for Meteorite Studies, presented an overview of the significance of meteorites as part of the 2011 Leadership Academy.