NAI
2012 Annual Science Report
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory - Icy Worlds
Reporting | SEP 2011 – AUG 2012
EPO Activity: Icy Worlds E/PO: Teacher Professional Development
Project Progress
Teacher Professional Development:
Rachel Zimmerman Brachman led teacher professional development workshops on “NASA Astrobiology: The Search for Life Beyond Earth” at two California Science Education Conferences, on October 23, 2011 in Pasadena, CA and on October 21, 2012 in San Jose, CA. These sessions were well attended, with 30 teachers at each workshop.

Nikki Chambers, a high school biology teacher at West High School in Torrance, California, teaches high school Astrobiology. She has partnered with the Icy Worlds NAI team since 2009. Nikki was one of the top 12 teachers nominated for California Teacher of the Year for her work developing and implementing an Astrobiology curriculum for her classroom. In the 2012-2013 school year, Nikki has 70 high school students in her Astrobiology classes. We are so proud of her accomplishments in promoting Astrobiology for high school students.
The Icy Worlds E/PO team participated in a day-long Astrobiology training for Atlanta-area teachers following the Astrobiology Science Conference, in collaboration with E/PO leads from all of the current NAI teams.