Call to Action for Science Education: Building Opportunity for the Future - NASEM

The National Academies Press recently released their "Call to Action for Science Education: Building Opportunity for the Future" (which may be read online for free here [link]). The report highlights several important findings; but, the ones I would like consideration of as we move into fall are; how might we "elevate the status of science education". One of the recommendations (recommendation 3) discusses the importance of the state accountability measures (the state assessment) for science. Are you interested in learning more about the assessment? Are you interested in supporting it's development? Please let us know- it is so important that this tool is meaningful for your space. Recommendation 4 addresses opportunity and access to materials. Are you needing a resource, tool or piece of equipment? Please let us know and we are happy to help you coordinate an effort.

Field Trip Funding- Ethanol Plants

Did you know there are 11 ethanol plants that do field trips in the state? Did you know there is funding available? Kansas Corn Commission and Renew Kansas are working together to provide educators with resources to teach students about ethanol and corn. Renew Kansas represents the state’s ethanol plants, who provide funding for ethanol lab supplies and offer to give plant tours. Any teacher or school interested in taking a group of students on a ethanol plant tour are encouraged to request funds to support your trip. Students must be middle school or older for these tours. Please allow us two weeks for approval of funding.

Request Additional Information here: (Link)

Chemistry Storylines RELEASE Dates and Professional Development

The University of Colorado, Boulder has recently announced the release date of their storylines for High School Chemistry. They are also offering several high quality professional developments for high school teachers this summer. Keep your eye out for more information on their units and find information about their professional development offerings here: (Link). Please let me know if you have questions regarding this opportunity and I am happy to support you.

Learn more about this opportunity here: (Link)

NITARP for 2022 is now available! It's available at our website: (Link)

NITARP, the NASA/IPAC Teacher Archive Research Program, gets teachers involved in authentic astronomical research. We partner small groups of educators with a mentor professional astronomer for an original research project. The educators incorporate the experience into their classrooms and share their experience with other teachers. The program runs January through January. Applications for the 2022 class of educators are available now and due on Monday, September 13, 2021. The program is funded completely via NASA ADAP, and is contingent on the availability of funding.

Some things that make our program different from many (if not most) other astronomy programs for educators: (1) Each team does original research using real astronomical data, not canned labs or reproductions of previously done research; (2) Each team writes up the results of their research and presents it in a science poster session at an American Astronomical Society meeting (the AAS is the professional organization for astronomers in the US). The posters are distributed throughout the meeting, in amongst other researchers' work; the participants are not "given a free pass" because they are educators and students. Each team also presents the educational results of their experience in the program. (3) The program runs over 13 months, not just a few days or weeks. (4) Teachers are encouraged to involve their students from the beginning of the program.

Most of our educators are high school classroom educators, but 8th grade, community college, and informal educators have participated as well. The kinds of educators we are looking for are those who already know the basics of astronomy, and are interested in learning exactly how astronomy research is conducted. All educators must be US-based.

This program involves three trips — to an American Astronomical Society (AAS) meeting in January 2022, to Pasadena, CA in summer 2022, and to the AAS meeting in January 2023. The January 2021 meeting is in Salt Lake City, UT; the January 2022 meeting is in Seattle, WA.

While most of the work on these teams is done remotely using video conferencing and other online collaboration tools, the structure of the program heavily relies on three different face-to-face visits, necessarily requiring interstate travel and meeting in groups. If the January 2022 AAS meeting is held online because of the pandemic, we may not be able to have a NITARP class of 2022. We will monitor the situation closely and inform applicants of progress as decision points come up.

The application itself consists of short answers to a few questions. We release the questions in May so that you have time both to hear about the program and to get started writing; the website to which you need to upload your PDF answers will be available no later than early August. Please let us know if you wish to be explicitly notified via email when the site is open for submissions.

For more information, please see website ( Link ), or if you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at our central email, nitarp@ipac.caltech.edu.

Direct link to the PDF application instructions is here: (Link)

Celebrate trees by joining the GLOBE citizen science community in the 2021 Community Trees Challenge, where Science is Better Together!

Who can participate: Everyone! (students and teachers at all grade levels, informal educators, and the public in GLOBE countries.) While getting out and taking observations might not be possible for everyone, this challenge provides multiple ways to participate and learn all about trees.

How to participate: During the 2021 Community Trees Challenge, the GLOBE Program is asking citizen scientists to observe, learn, engage, and create as they track their progress on the Trees Challenge Activity Tracker. You can choose the best journey for your interests, or try to complete all the activities. Work together as a family, as a group of friends, or independently.

By completing these activities, you will improve your science observation skills, enrich your understanding of trees as part of our landscape, learn why NASA studies trees, be a part of a NASA-sponsored citizen science project, as well as join a citizen science community. Your observations of tree height contribute to a global database that is free and open so that anyone – scientists, students, communities, and citizen scientists – can conduct research.

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is 7X more powerful than the Hubble Telescope, and will do its observing one million miles from Earth. Launching is currently scheduled for late 2021. It will be the premier space observatory for the next decade and will enable a much closer look back towards the formations of the first galaxies.

Teachers will have first-hand access to information on this infrared phenomenon at the 13th annual Ad Astra Kansas Galaxy Forum on Saturday, August 21. Speaking will be Dr. Scott Acton of Ball Aerospace and Technologies. He has worked on the JWST since 1998 and once took a bicycle tour to give over 75 presentations about in 10 countries. This is his first in Kansas. This FREE event will run from 1-3 p.m. at the Cosmosphere in Hutchinson. Both in-person and virtual options to attend available. Open to teachers and students.

In addition, presenting on the subject of space radiation and astrophysics will be Wichita State University physics professor Dr. Nick Solomey. He will describe how we use different types of particles to look into places in space we cannot see directly with light, like the Sun's core or black holes.

Giving an update on Mars and Perseverance is Sarah Lamm, a master student in geology at Kansas State University. She has worked with ChemCam data from Curiosity Rover. Also, she has had three internships at Los Alamos National Laboratory, and one at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. She is also a NASA Solar System ambassador.

Speaking about an interstellar university project in Kansas is Steve Durst. A board member and co-founder of AAKF, he has focused on space news and exploration for over 40 years. This project is part of a long-term mission of promoting space sciences in Kansas.

Questions? Or to register for in-person attendance, mailto:jeanettesteinert@att.net

To view virtually, livestreaming will be on Ad Astra Kansas Foundation Facebook

Teachers' info here

Presenter bios here

JWST info here

Ad Astra Kansas Foundation website

Spend your summer exploring at the Kansas Wetlands Education Center, near Great Bend, KS. The center is open from 9-5 Monday through Saturday and 1-5 on Sunday afternoons. Each day visitors can enjoy our interactive exhibit hall, classroom of live animals, video about Cheyenne Bottoms, and get information about bird activity in the marsh. Special programming is offered throughout the summer. Check our website, https://wetlandscenter.fhsu.edu, for events and more information. A highlight will be the launch of a children's book: Ava, A Year of Adventure in the Life of an American Avocet. The 32 page, fully illustrated story, follows the migration of a shorebird as it travels to Cheyenne Bottoms, the largest marsh in the interior of the United States. The book is full of science information and terminology, supplemental lesson plans will also be available on the education page of our website. Each K-6 classroom in Barton County will receive a copy and each school and community library within 70 miles of the center will receive a copy.

For incoming 9th and 10th graders, KWEC is hosting one of the FHSU KAMS Camps, Echo Tech: Birds and Bytes, the week of June 21. Visit https://www.fhsu.edu/kams/summer-camps/index for more information. Day camps for 1st-6th grade will be held in July. A STEM Drop-in date will also be scheduled. Our annual end of summer party is a chance to learn about space and watch the Perseid Meteor Shower on August 13.

Teachers should also check out a professional development opportunity hosted by KWEC and the Kansas Association of Conservation and Environmental Education. Teaching and Learning Outdoors is a hybrid workshop with the in-person portion scheduled for June 8. Participants will receive four environmental education curriculum guides full of lessons and activities.

Racial Equity in STEM Education

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR) seeks to support bold, ground-breaking, and potentially transformative projects addressing systemic racism in STEM. Contexts may include, but are not limited to: preK-12, two- and four-year undergraduate, and graduate institutions; municipal organizations; STEM workplaces; and informal STEM contexts, such as museums, community organizations, and media. Full proposals are due July 13 and October 12, 2021 and March 22, 2022.

Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program

NSF issued a request for applications (RFA) to recruit, prepare and retain highly effective K-12 STEM teachers and teacher leaders in high -need school districts. There are five tracks that include stipends, scholarships, fellowships, research, and capacity building. Eligible entities include Institutions of Higher Education, including Community Colleges and non-profit organizations offering teacher preparation or residency programs. Full proposals are due August 31, 2021.

Department of Navy STEM Education & Workforce Program

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is interested in proposals to cultivate a diverse, world-class STEM workforce to maintain the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps’ technological superiority. The funding opportunity announcement (FOA) explicitly encourages programs that improve the capacity of education systems and communities to create impactful STEM educational experiences for students of all ages and the naval related workforce. Applications are due October 8, 2021.