Northrop Grumman Weightless Flights of Discovery for Teachers

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Northrop Grumman Weightless Flights of Discovery
for Teachers
Sandra Evers Manly President, Northrop Grumman
Foundation Sandra.evers-manly_at_ngc.com
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Overview of Program

• The Northrop Grumman Weightless Flights of
  Discovery (NGWFOD) educators' program is part of
  the companys commitment to help increase STEM
  Awareness and help the nation create a
  well-educated, technically trained workforce. The
  program also serves as a vehicle to spark student
  interest in pursuing careers in scientific and
  technical fields.
• The program provided professional development for
  240 middle and high school teachers from across
  the country. The training included content
  workshops and weightless flights like those used
  to train astronauts for space exploration during
  flight segments of the program. Teachers
  conducted microgravity demonstrations that
  applied Science, Technology, Engineering and
  Mathematic principles to human activities in a
  space environment. There were 12 education
  workshops and 12 flights, each accommodating 20
  teachers.
• Teachers are an obvious ground force in national
  efforts to increase student and parent interest
  in science, technology, engineering and math.
  Policy makers, educators and parents have a
  unique position to engage youth. Experts agree
  that innovative teacher training, especially that
  which is focused on exciting topics, is an
  excellent way to inspire educators. Empowered
  and motivated teachers lead to enthusiastic,
  well-educated students which increases public
  support and awareness.

Projections show a need for more than two
million new teachers in this decade, of which
240,000 will be middle and high school
mathematics and science specialists.National
Center for Education Statistics
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Teacher Selection

• Regional sponsors in each area worked with
  Northrop Grumman, Zero-G and state space,
  education and government agencies to select the
  teachers who participated in the program.
• Teachers were selected regionally based on their
  past performance, impact they will have on
  students, parents and other teachers. Diversity
  and the opportunity for educators from public and
  private schools, rural and urban districts were
  also a consideration. Educators will be required
  to impact as many students, parents, teachers and
  members of the public as possible and generate
  innovative STEM curricula for their students that
  conform to relevant state standards.
• NGWFOD team worked with workshop providers, area
  government representatives and agencies and
  regional sponsors to select each of the 40
  teachers that participated in Florida,
  California, Ohio, and Washington DC. The 80
  teachers who participated in the Huntsville
  program were selected through the national
  Teacher of the Year Program. Each teacher
  selected also received a 250 grant from the
  Northrop Grumman Foundation to develop a project
  based on their Weightless Flight experience.

To inspire the next generation of scientists,
technologists, engineers, and educatorsWe must
engage the education community and invite them to
participate in our ongoing work and process of
discovery.                    -- NASA Education
Enterprise Vision Statement
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Math Science Workshops

• Workshops at the Kennedy Space Center and in
  Cleveland, Ohio used existing NASA curricula on
  microgravity that adheres to National Science
  Teaching Standards, appropriate Florida Sunshine
  State Standards, and Ohio Education Standards.
  Workshops were focused on the microgravity issues
  as they relate to the challenges NASA faces as it
  designs systems and procedures for space travel
  and human habitation of space.
• Curriculum for the 80 state and territory
  National Teacher of the Year candidates who
  completed the program in Huntsville, Alabama
  utilized customized curricula developed by the US
  Space and Rocket Center (USSRC). USSRC creates
  professional development programs and educational
  experiences for K-12 teachers and students, and
  every year hosts the National Teacher of the Year
  Candidates for a week-long program.
• The NGWFOD workshops were integrated into the
  2006 summer session. USSRC developed workshops
  to address the grade levels and subject areas of
  selected teachers, and developed a menu of
  experiments that can be conducted during the
  flight portion of the program. The curricula was
  designed to address National Science Standards
  such as evidence, models, and measurement
  abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
  understandings about scientific inquiry and
  science as a human endeavor.
• Teachers who attended the programs in San Diego
  and Washington DC used the new National Science
  Teacher Association online self-study program,
  called a SciPack, on Force and Motion. SciPacks
  are online courses designed to address the
  challenge of increasing science teachers content
  knowledge in a way that is scalable nationwide.
• SciPacks consist of specialized Science Objects,
  which are based on modules for training and
  education whose effectiveness is recognized in
  instructional technology and distance learning.
  SciPacks provide a 5- to 10-hour learning
  experience that consists of 3-5 Science Objects
  that are each 40 minutes to two hours in length,
  followed by a quiz.

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Dates Locations of Teacher Flights
Reaching and Inspiring Young Minds, One Teacher
at a Time
Cleveland, OH Aug 26 Workshop Sept 9 Flights
(2)
DC Final Flight Sept 23 - Workshop Sept 30
Flights (2)
San Diego/West Coast Summit Aug 5 Workshop Aug
11 Flights (2)
Kennedy Space Center National Media
Announcement June 10 Workshop June 24 Flights
(2)
Huntsville, AL 50 National Teachers of the
Year July 22 Workshops July 28/29 Flights (4)
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Challenges

• Teacher selection and availability
• Schedules during the summer were difficult on
  logistics
• Students not in school during the summer were not
  able to see the instant outcome of the program
• Workshops needed to be longer
• Needed more time for math related experiments
• Program cost

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What Would We Do Differently

• Allow more time to schedule dates
• Add a student participation component to the
  program
• Add a parent participation component to the
  program
• Involve policy makers and non profits dedicated
  to STEM
• Hold flights during the week and during the
  school year to increase visibility and get more
  public policy support
• Promote the activity at the participating
  teachers schools prior to the event
• Provide a live feed prior to and during the
  flight (including footage of teachers boarding
  the aircraft in their flight suits)
• Increase academia, government, and industry
  partnerships
• Increase media partnerships