Principal Jensen's Updates
Two stellar Canyons District educators have been selected by a NASA-affiliated institute to attend a prestigious astrophysics teacher-training program that includes a flight into the stratosphere on a jumbo jet carrying a massive reflecting telescope used to detect light sources from the depths of space. Hillcrest High’s Clief Castleton and Corner Canyon High’s Milo Maughan are among the 30 high school, middle school, and community college instructors from 10 states chosen as 2021 NASA Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors.
They are the sole Utah teachers in this year’s co-hort, which was announced Thursday, Feb. 23, 2021 by the SETI Institute. SETI houses the NASA-funded ambassador program, which was created to bolster U.S. student interest and achievement in science, technology, engineering, and math. See the announcement here: https://www.seti.org/30-teachers-selected-airborne-astronomy-ambassadors-bring-nasa-science-classrooms Castleton and Maughan were selected via a competitive application process. To qualify to be an ambassador, educators must have taught at least three years and have experience teaching physical science, earth and space science, astronomy, astrobiology, or integrated science. Teachers also must be scheduled to lead physics and astronomy classes the year they attend are selected as AAAs. Castleton and Maughan will teach those classes next year at their respective schools. Ambassadors also receive curriculum and equipment to heighten the classroom experience after they return from a weeklong immersive training and take a flight on NASA’s Strategic Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, called SOFIA, the Boeing 747SP jetliner modified to carry a 106-inch diameter telescope. The teachers do not conduct research on the flight of SOFIA — which has been referred to as the world’s largest flying observatory — but can observe and interact with scientists and mission crew members. The SOFIA aircraft, a joint project of NASA and the German Aerospace Center, is maintained and operated from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Palmdale, Calif. NASA’s Ames Research Center manages the SOFIA program, science and mission operations in cooperation with the Universities Space Research Association in Maryland. Before Castleton and Maughan leave this fall for their week of training and flights, plus the interaction with scientists and mission crew members, the AAA co-hort is provided extensive professional development made up of webinars, asynchronous content learning and hands-on curriculum workshops. Castleton and Maughan also will gain access to the ongoing AAA “Community of Practice,” connecting participants with one another and astrophysics and planetary science experts, even after their program-based training is completed. After their training, the AAAs teach a physical science curriculum module created by the SETI Institute that connects curriculum concepts to NASA- and SOFIA-enabled research. Comments are closed.
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