Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Dec 2003
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2003agufmed52a..02m&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2003, abstract #ED52A-02
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
6605 Education
Scientific paper
This presentation will focus on the experiences of a middle school science teacher from Brownsville, TX who attended the NSF-funded Research Based Science Education program during the summer of 2000. RBSE, sponsored by the National Optical Astronomy Observatories based in Tucson, AZ, provided attending teachers the opportunity to interact with and receive instruction from professional astronomers, both at the NOAO facility in Tucson, and at the Kitt Peak Observatory. Teachers were provided with raw astronomical data collected by astronomers and then trained in the use of image processing software for data analysis. Upon returning to the classroom in Brownsville, a research-based after school program was initiated by the teacher for four interested students. The students were given background on the research projects, taught to use the software, and then developed their own research questions in each of the three areas of RBSE: a search for novae in the Andromeda galaxy; an analysis of the number and area of sunspots; and an investigation into spectra of Active Galactic Nuclei. Students came to the classroom after school daily during a large part of the year and generally would work for one to two hours processing and analyzing data. Completed research projects were presented in a variety of formats including: competition at the Brownsville School District, Rio Grande Valley Regional, and Texas State science fairs; publication of professional-style research articles in the RBSE journal; and poster presentations at Research Day at the University of Texas-Brownsville. The students have won numerous awards at all levels of Science Fair competition, have been the subject of three local newspaper articles, and two of them have accelerated their academics to the point of graduating from high school in only two years and have received full college scholarship offers. The students today credit their RBSE experience with increasing their interest level in science, helping them to understand the scientific method and research, and developing the self-confidence that has enabled them to pursue greater academic and personal goals.
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