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Title:
A Decade Of Teacher Professional Development With SOFIA's EXES And TEXES
Authors:
Hemenway, Mary Kay; Lacy, J. H.; Sneden, C.; Teacher Associates, EXES
Affiliation:
AA(Univ. of Texas-Austin), AB(Univ. of Texas-Austin), AC(Univ. of Texas-Austin), AD()
Publication:
American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #211, #05.15; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 39, p.735
Publication Date:
12/2007
Origin:
AAS
Bibliographic Code:
2007AAS...211.0515H

Abstract

Since January 1998 central Texas grade 6-12 science and math teachers have met several times per year to learn first-hand about how a scientific instrument, the Echelon Cross Echelle Spectrograph (EXES), is being developed and built for SOFIA. In addition to learning about the technology of astronomical instrumentation, they have learned about the development of SOFIA, the scheduling and preparation for observing runs, and a wide range of astronomical topics. A typical Saturday meeting includes an update on SOFIA, EXES, and its ground-based prototype, TEXES (Texas Echelon Cross Echelle Spectrograph); one or more presentations on a science or technology topic; and a Standards-linked activity that they can carry back to use in their classrooms. A variety of guest-presenters - faculty, staff, and graduate students as well as visitors (e. g., Jackie Davidson and Alan Tokunaga) - enrich the program with their expertise. Field trips are important supplements to the program; the entire group visited Waco three times to observe the SOFIA aircraft modification while selected members have accompanied scientists to McDonald Observatory, IRTF, and Gemini for observing runs. In addition, the immediacy offered by live videoconferences with TEXES observers at IRTF and Gemini brought the participants a unique appreciation of nighttime observing at a professional observatory. The participants report their increased knowledge of astronomical concepts and of the culture of professional astronomy. By spreading the SOFIA EXES teacher program over its first decade of development, the staff has formed strong professional bonds with the participants while the participants have shared their experiences with each other.

Support from USRA grant 8500-98-008 and the National Science Foundation AST-0607312 and AST- 0607708 is gratefully acknowledged.

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