A New Educational Scaffolding Approach to Support Authentic Solar Research in the Classroom N. DeMuth (El Camino College), C.E. Walker (NOAO), D.M. Isbell (NOAO), S.M. Pompea (NOAO) 1/3/2019 AGU 2006 ED11C

Overview Challenge: How to get a great research program to more teachers and students? Introduction to the program A solution to the challenge The supporting educational materials 1/3/2019 AGU 2006 ED11C

Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, Arizona Solar Observatory 1/3/2019 AGU 2006 ED11C

Astronomy Research-Based Science Education (A-RBSE) Now in its 11th year at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, A-RBSE introduces middle school and high school teachers from around the country to astronomy research and provides them with the scaffolding to perform research projects with their students. Teacher Leaders in Research Based Science Education (TLRBSE) is a multi-year teacher professional development program sponsored by NSF and administered through the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO). The program reaches the formal education community through a national audience of well-trained and supported middle- and high-school teachers. 1/3/2019 AGU 2006 ED11C

A-RBSE Research Programs 1/3/2019 AGU 2006 ED11C

A-RBSE Program Highlights A 14-week distance learning course covering astronomy content, research, mentoring and leadership A two-week summer workshop with 4 nights on Kitt Peak observing with 4 different telescopes Each research group presents their results on the final day of the workshop Every year, a new cohort of teachers prepare for research through an on-line course in the spring. In the summer they conduct astronomy research at NOAO, working with astronomer-mentors to gather and analyze their data. They then return to their classrooms and engage their students in inquiry-based astronomy research using this authentic data. 1/3/2019 AGU 2006 ED11C

A-RBSE Program Highlights More observing opportunities for students and teachers on Kitt Peak, Arizona and remotely from an observatory in New Mexico Opportunities to submit research articles to the project’s journal Travel to the National Science Teachers Association conference 1/3/2019 AGU 2006 ED11C

Over 150 Teachers To reach a wider audience, supportive educational materials and data for research projects are being put on-line. 1/3/2019 AGU 2006 ED11C

Supporting Educational Materials Science education research has shown for teachers to carry research into the classroom and for students to work with data, they need strong content background. The following materials provide scaffolding to support teacher implementation of A-RBSE data a structure within which students can place new facts, concepts, & insights into astronomy research. Preparation of these materials relied on interviews with past A-RBSE teachers and their astronomer-mentors as well as information from National Academy Press publications. How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School, The National Science Education Standards, and Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards: A Guide for Teaching and Learning. 1/3/2019 AGU 2006 ED11C

Supporting Educational Materials http://www.noao.edu/outreach/tlrbse/tlrbse-supplement.html Solar Websites Overviews Interactives and Movies Lesson Plans History of Solar Astronomy Fundamentals (e.g., Spectral Lines) Sunspots Magnetic Fields Multi-wavelength Solar Observations Tools for Research and Presenting Research Books, Magazines, DVDs, Videos & Posters on the Sun 1/3/2019 AGU 2006 ED11C

Supporting Educational Materials http://www.noao.edu/outreach/tlrbse/tlrbse-supplement.html Sample Research Articles Background Activities Icebreakers, Sunspots, Rotation Period, Butterfly Diagram, Light-waves and Spectroscopes, Magnetism, Polarization, Stellar Evolution, Stellar Classification, Digital Images Background Science Content Powerpoints 1/3/2019 AGU 2006 ED11C

Background Science Content Powerpoints Note usability by teachers who haven’t gone through TLRBSE Scaffolding can be used as template for other RBSE strands - variable stars, AGN, etc. 1/3/2019 AGU 2006 ED11C

Supporting Educational Materials http://www.noao.edu/outreach/tlrbse/tlrbse-supplement.html Sample Teaching Materials Calendar Daily Point Sheet Expectations & Evaluation for Research Poster Expectations & Evaluation for Research Paper Student Self-Evaluation Support Files from the Solar Research Program & Other A-RBSE Research Programs 1/3/2019 AGU 2006 ED11C

Calendar 1/3/2019 AGU 2006 ED11C

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Support Files from the Solar Research Program http://www.noao.edu/outreach/tlrbse/tlrbse-supplement.html User’s Guide to the Solar Spectra Data Analysis Package Assignment in Preparation for the Solar Research Project The Solar Research Project Determining Magnetic Field Strength of Sunspots via Zeeman Split Spectral Lines Technical Glossary Tutorial on Zeeman Split Spectral Lines Estimating Magnetic Field Strength Solar Data Files (Raw, Reduced and Analyzed) 1/3/2019 AGU 2006 ED11C

Summary To address the needs of a wider audience of teachers and students, steps have been taken to supply web-based foundational resources for the A-RBSE solar research program. Teachers can use this “solar scaffolding” to support the implementation of authentic solar research in the classroom. The scaffolding files on the webpage will serve as a template for other A-RBSE research. They will also enable non-A-RBSE middle and high school teachers to download and use A-RBSE data in their own classrooms. 1/3/2019 AGU 2006 ED11C

Contact Information Connie Walker National Optical Astronomy Observatory 950 N. Cherry Ave. Tucson, AZ USA cwalker@noao.edu 520-318-8535 1/3/2019 AGU 2006 ED11C