Final Thoughts

Post date: Apr 18, 2017 11:5:25 AM

As I’ve slowly exited the NASA bubble over the last three days, I’ve been trying to process everything that I experienced and learned last week. Since I began teaching I have been continually searching for ways to anchor high school math in real world applications. The NASA education resources give me a vast foundation to draw from that I didn’t realize existed prior to this experience. The week also reinforced how important it is for students to leave high school as critical thinkers. Every single NASA expert that spoke to us continually asked the big questions of what, why, and how. What do we need to accomplish? Why do we need to accomplish it? How are we going to create success?

In addition to the incredible NASA resources and experiences I had that I will be able to draw from for years to come, I also interacted with some of the best educators in the nation, including two National STEM Teacher of the Year winners. Having the opportunity to work and learn with such skilled and passionate teachers was incredible. Although this is the end of my regular updates, my mind is filled with ways that I can impact student learning in my classroom and beyond. The official program may be over, but my work is just beginning.