ED34B-02
Engaging Students and Teachers in Immersive Learning Experiences Alongside NASA Scientists and With Support from Institutional Partnerships

Wednesday, 16 December 2015: 16:15
303 (Moscone South)
Andrea P Jones1, Lora Bleacher2, Timothy D Glotch3, Jennifer L Heldmann4, Jacob E Bleacher5, Kelsey E Young6, Barbara Selvin3, Richard Firstman3, Darlene Sze Shien Lim4, S. Suzette Johnson7, Shannon E Kobs-Nawotniak8 and Scott S Hughes9, (1)Planetary Science Institute Tucson, Tucson, AZ, United States, (2)NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, United States, (3)Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, United States, (4)NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, United States, (5)NASA GSFC, Greenbelt, MD, United States, (6)University of Maryland College Park, College Park, MD, United States, (7)Idaho Space Grant Consortium, Moscow, ID, United States, (8)Idaho State University, Department of Geosciences, Pocatello, ID, United States, (9)Idaho State University, Idaho Falls, ID, United States
Abstract:
The Remote, In Situ, and Synchrotron Studies for Science and Exploration (RIS4E) and Field Investigations to Enable Solar System Science and Exploration (FINESSE) teams of NASA’s Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute conduct research that will help us more safely and effectively explore the Moon, Near Earth Asteroids, and the moons of Mars. These teams are committed to making their scientific research accessible and to using their research as a lens through which students and teachers can better understand the process of science.

In partnership with the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University, in spring of 2015 the RIS4E team offered a semester-long course on science journalism that culminated in a 10-day reporting trip to document scientific fieldwork in action during the 2015 RIS4E field campaign on the Big Island of Hawaii. Their work is showcased on ReportingRIS4E.com. The RIS4E science journalism course is helping to prepare the next generation of science journalists to accurately represent scientific research in a way that is appealing and understandable to the public. It will be repeated in 2017.

Students and teachers who participate in FINESSE Spaceward Bound, a program offered in collaboration with the Idaho Space Grant Consortium, conduct science and exploration research in Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve. Side-by-side with NASA researchers, they hike through lava flows, operate field instruments, participate in science discussions, and contribute to scientific publications. Teachers learn about FINESSE science in the field, and bring it back to their classrooms with support from educational activities and resources. The second season of FINESSE Spaceward Bound is underway in 2015.

We will provide more information about the RIS4E and FINESSE education programs and discuss the power of integrating educational programs within scientific programs, the strength institutional partnerships can provide, and the impact participating in immersive field experiences can have on learners.

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