HR: 16:55h
AN: ED34A-04    [Abstracts]
TI: Teacher Observing Experiences: Deepening Teacher Professional Development
AU: * Croft, S K
EM: scroft@noao.edu
AF: National Optical Astronomy Observatory, 950 N. Cherry Ave, Tucson, AZ 85719 United States
AU: Walker, C E
EM: cwalker@noao.edu
AF: National Optical Astronomy Observatory, 950 N. Cherry Ave, Tucson, AZ 85719 United States
AU: Howell, S
EM: howell@noao.edu
AF: National Optical Astronomy Observatory, 950 N. Cherry Ave, Tucson, AZ 85719 United States
AU: Pompea, S M
EM: spompea@noao.edu
AF: National Optical Astronomy Observatory, 950 N. Cherry Ave, Tucson, AZ 85719 United States
AB: The Teacher Leaders in Research Based Science Education (TLRBSE) professional development program has been successfully running through the National Optical Astronomy Observatory for the past four years, providing training in research in the classroom, mentoring, and leadership. During the 2003-04 observing season, we have experimented with a new component of the program, Teacher Observing Experiences, in which teachers who have already received training through either the RBSE or TLRBSE programs in using professional telescopes at Kitt Peak, are invited back to Kitt Peak for an observing run with one or two of their students. The objectives of the program are to re-involve our teachers at a higher level in the program than originally designed to help build the TLRBSE community, to provide a professional research experience of a higher order that they had in the original program, and to involve a few of their best students in a hands-on observing experience. To participate in the program, teacher had to work with a small team of students to design an observing project, and then submit a proposal to a TLRBSE evaluation committee for competitive selection for observing time on one of three professional telescopes. The teams were provided help in preparing their proposals, including online support materials and telephone conferences with the astronomer in charge of each telescope. Once selected, the teacher/student teams came to Tucson, made their run (including the vagaries of weather faced by all astronomers), returned home with their data, and then provided us with their scientific reports and any TV or print news articles. In this talk, we will describe our first year's experiences: what worked and what didn't, and describe changes for the upcoming year.
UR: http://www.noao.edu/outreach/tlrbse/sy_observing.html
DE: 0800 EDUCATION
DE: 0805 Elementary and secondary education
DE: 0830 Teacher training
DE: 0845 Instructional tools
SC: Education and Human Resourcese [ED]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting