STEM+Opportunities

As part of NASA’s commitment to the effective preparation of teachers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, disciplines, educators are invited to apply to become a NASA Endeavor Fellow. Each fellow is fully funded to complete five graduate courses in an innovative, online format. In these courses, participants learn to apply research-based pedagogical strategies and cutting-edge STEM content to their classroom. Applications for Cohort 4 will be accepted through **Oct. 15, 2011**.
 * [|NASA Endeavor Science Teaching Certificate Project: K-12 Educator Fellowships]** (All Grade Levels)

The overarching goal of this CAE workshop is for participants to become familiar with research-validated active engagement teaching strategies and assessment materials, as well as how to implement them in their college courses, through role-playing, modeling, practice, and more! The workshop is designed for college instructors, postdocs and graduate students currently teaching or preparing to teach introductory astronomy courses. The session will be held **Oct. 22-23, 2011**, at Mesa Community College in Mesa, Ariz.
 * [|NASA CAE (Center for Astronomy Education) Astronomy 101 Teaching Excellence Workshop in Mesa, Ariz.]** (Higher Education)

Join Dr. Donald Lubowich, coordinator of the Astronomy Outreach Program at Hofstra University, for a series of events bringing astronomy to concertgoers at several events this summer. This NASA-sponsored program will include optical and radio telescope observations of the Sun, moon, planets, multi-colored double stars, star clusters and nebulae. Videos, posters, hands-on activities and the sounds of the Sun will also be available. Events are scheduled through **Oct. 28, 2011**.
 * [|Music and Astronomy Under the Stars]** (All Grade Levels)

NASA's USRP offers U.S. undergraduate students with a minimum 3.0 grade point average mentored research experiences at NASA centers. Upcoming sophomores, juniors or seniors with a major or concentration in engineering, mathematics, computer science, or physical or life sciences may apply. Participants work practical problems to provide solutions that will be applied in aerospace or on future NASA missions. Applications for the 2012 spring session are due **Oct. 31, 2011**.
 * [|Spring 2012 NASA Undergraduate Student Research Project]** (Higher Education)

NASA's Dropping In a Microgravity Environment, or DIME, competition challenges high school students to design and build an experiment to be conducted in a microgravity drop tower. Teams may be formed from any type of organization or club, such as a science class, a scout troop or a youth group. Each team must have an adult advisor. Winning teams will have the opportunity to conduct their experiments in a drop tower at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Ohio. Proposals are due **Nov. 1, 2011**.
 * [|NASA's Dropping In a Microgravity Environment Competition]** (Grades 9-12 and Informal Education)

NASA's "What If No Gravity?", or WING, competition challenges students in grades 5-8 to design and build an experiment to be conducted in a microgravity drop tower. Teams may be formed from any type of organization or club, such as a science class, a group of friends, a scout troop or a youth group. Each team must have an adult advisor. NASA staff will operate the winning WING teams' experiments at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Ohio. Proposals are due on **Nov. 1, 2011**.
 * [|NASA's “What If No Gravity?” Competition]** (Grades 5-8)

Sign up for this free online, six-week course that begins on **Nov. 2, 2011**. For instructors interested in teaching online, the Technology Integration Certificate series introduces you to best practices of online learning. Learn how to create your own online course from start to finish. Participants will get an overview of online teaching models, learning management systems, instructional design models, Web 2.0 collaborative tools and online assessments.
 * [|Electronic Professional Development Network Course: Technology Integration – Turn Your Classroom Digital]**(Grades K-12)

The overarching goal of this CAE workshop is for participants to become familiar with research-validated active engagement teaching strategies and assessment materials, as well as how to implement them in their college courses, through role-playing, modeling, practice, and more! The workshop is designed for college instructors, postdocs and graduate students currently teaching or preparing to teach introductory astronomy courses. The session will be held **Jan. 7-8, 2012**, at the Hilton Austin in Austin, Texas.
 * [|NASA CAE (Center for Astronomy Education) Astronomy 101 Teaching Excellence Workshop in Austin, Texas]** (Higher Education)

In this CAE workshop, participants will explore a variety of technologies that enable instructors to engage students and provide feedback efficiently. The workshop will train teachers and provide them with curriculum materials from multiple computer simulations, computerized databases of Think-Pair-Share questions, and a library of animated ranking and sorting tasks. There is a $35 fee for the workshop. The session will be held **Jan. 8, 2012**, at the Hilton Austin in Austin, Texas.
 * [|NASA CAE (Center for Astronomy Education) Advanced Special Topics Workshop: Using Technology in the Classroom]** (Higher Education)

In this CAE Special Topics Workshop, collaborator and CAE Great Lakes Regional Exchange Coordinator, Michael LoPresto, will lead a half-day workshop on best practices in implementing Lecture-Tutorials for Introductory Astronomy. The overarching goal of this workshop is for participants to create effective active engagement learning environments using research-validated Lecture-Tutorial instruction strategy. This session will be held **Jan. 20, 2012**, at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
 * [|NASA CAE (Center for Astronomy Education) Teaching Excellence Special Topics Workshop on Implementing Lecture-Tutorials for Introductory Astronomy]** (Higher Education)

Design a space settlement! Space settlements are permanent communities in orbit, as opposed to being on the moon or other planets. Designing a space settlement involves physics, mathematics, space science, environmental science and many other disciplines. This contest is for 11-18-year-old students from anywhere in the world. Individuals or teams may enter. Grades 6-8, 9-10 and 11-12 are judged separately, except for the grand prize. Submissions must be received by **March 15, 2012**.
 * [|2012 NASA Space Settlement Design Contest]** (Grades 5-12)

NASA is sponsoring the Odyssey of the Mind Long-Term Problem -- Weird Science. To solve this problem, teams create and present a performance about a team of scientists on an expedition to uncover the cause of mysterious events. The performance must include a technical representation of the mysterious events, a moving backdrop that helps portray traveling and a team-created device that the scientists use on the expedition. Visit the site for more information and dates for regional competitions.
 * [|Odyssey of the Mind -- Weird Science]** (All Grade Levels)

Celebrate NASA's Year of the Solar System by hosting a "From Earth to the Solar System" exhibit. This collection of high-resolution images showcases the excitement of planetary exploration. The images are freely available to organizations worldwide to host their own exhibitions. The artistic and informative images weave together themes in astrobiology, planetary science and astronomy. The collection represents the current state of exploration as seen through the eyes of the scientific community.
 * [|Host a "From Earth to the Solar System" Exhibit]** (Informal Educators)

Register today to take part in the new NASA Explorer Schools project. NES offers multiple pathways for participation and recognition for middle school (grades 4-8) and high school (grades 9-12) classrooms. The project requires no application process. Project materials are freely available to all types of schools. Participants may be individual educators, teams of educators or whole schools. Participants have access to NASA opportunities and are recognized for innovative use of NASA educational resources and demonstration of best practices in STEM education.
 * [|NASA Explorer Schools Registration Open]** (Grades K-12)

The Wallops Rocket Academy for Teachers and Students, or WRATS, provides high school teachers with a technical flight experience to reinforce concepts in the classroom. Teachers and students participate virtually in hands-on experiences based on NASA's sounding rocket engineering and science data collection. WRATS includes interactive Web-based data to teach lessons in physics and engineering. Teachers also receive resources to integrate the data into classroom lessons.
 * [|Wallops Rocket Academy for Teachers and Students]**(Grades 9-12)

The Wallops Rocket Academy for Teachers and Students, or WRATS, provides high school teachers with a technical flight experience to reinforce concepts in the classroom. Teachers and students participate virtually in hands-on experiences based on NASA's sounding rocket engineering and science data collection. WRATS includes interactive Web-based data to teach lessons in physics and engineering. Teachers also receive resources to integrate the data into classroom lessons.
 * [|Wallops Balloon Experience for Education]**(Grades 9-12)

Mars scientists are asking students from around the world to help them understand the red planet. Send in a rock collected by you or your classroom from your region of the world, and we will use a special tool like the one on the rover to tell you what it's made of. Then everyone can compare their rocks to the ones found on Mars.
 * [|Rock Around the World]**(Grades K-4)

A series of free curriculum supplements from the National Institutes of Health aimed at promoting science education achievement is now aligned to individual state education standards in science, math, health and English language arts for grades K-12. The ongoing series promotes inquiry-based, interdisciplinary learning. The series currently includes 16 supplements on such topics as genetics, infectious diseases and cell biology. Visit the site to request these free education supplements.
 * [|Free Teaching Tools Aligned to State Science Education Standards]**(Grades K-12)

The Ames Education Associates Program is a unique experiential learning program that provides students or faculty members at U.S. colleges or universities, postdoctoral fellows and active K-12 teachers the opportunity to "experience NASA." Educational Associates will participate in and contribute to a project at a NASA facility for a minimum of two months, and a maximum of 12. The program operates year round and positions may start and end at any time.
 * [|Teacher and Student Opportunity: Ames Education Associates Project]**(Higher Education)

The NASA Astrobiology Institute Research Scholarship Project offers research-related travel support that enables graduate or postdoctoral students to circulate among two or more NAI teams or participating institutions of the NAI. Requests are accepted on a continuous basis.
 * [|Research Scholarship: NASA Astrobiology Institute]**(Higher Education)

Inspire the nation's future explorers by joining NASA and the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports in a variety of exciting physical and hands-on educational activities to encourage students to train like astronauts. Students in grades 3-5 will track their progress, learn the science behind nutritional and physical fitness, and relate physical Earth-based needs to the requirements of exploring in space.
 * [|Teacher Opportunity: Fit Explorer Challenge]**(Grades K-12, Informal)