Hot Topics

The Rhode Island Space Grant Program offers several programs to help K-12 teachers use the results of space science research to teach math and science.

"Hot Topic" Workshops, research scientists and guest lecturers from many scientific disciplines assist teachers in using popular current events, such as the films Jurassic Park or Apollo 13, to engage students in science and math concepts.

For example, the hit book and movie Jurassic Park (and every child's love of dinosaurs) were used as the basis of a 2-day workshop for teachers of all grades in the summer of 1993. Researchers in biology, paleontology, geology and mathematics gave presentations on the latest in DNA and genetic engineering, dinosaur physiology, studies of mass extinctions, the Jurassic Period, and chaos theory.

Evaluations from the teachers were uniformly enthusiastic. One teacher wrote, "Congratulations on presenting an outstanding opportunity to RI teachers ... this is the kind of non-text learning experience that can keep science fresh for teachers and their students".

For the summer of 1994, our "Hot Topic" teachers workshop was on "Catastrophes", with particular emphasis on the impact of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter. Researchers in planetary geology and astronomy gave presentations on impact cratering, Jupiter, comets, and Hubble Space Telescope results. We also included a special lunchtime presentation of Native American star and comet legends.

The 1995 Hot Topic workshop was linked to the hit movie Apollo 13. We presented information on humans in space from the Bio-Med perspective, engineering and technology used by, and derived from, the Apollo program, our current understanding of the geology of the moon, results from Clementine and plans for future missions to the moon. Finally, our special guest, Andrew Chaikin, author of Man on the Moon, gave a summary of the total "Apollo experience".

In addition to our "Hot Topic" workshops for teachers, we also have recognized that today's student teachers will reach many more children than we can. Therefore, we have set up a continuing program with Rhode Island College, Department of Elementary Education (RIC produces almost 90% of the elementary teachers in RI public schools). We present space science methods workshops for all teachers-in-training at RIC every semester.

The RI Space Grant also offers mini-courses for teachers. In collaboration with the Institute for Secondary Education at Brown, Space Grant developed and implemented an interdisciplinary program on "maps" (from town maps to maps of other worlds).

We have also presented workshops for teachers in association with the RI Science, Math, and Technology Fair and the RI Aviation Education Council. In addition Space Grant staff have worked with the RI Math/Science Education Coalition, the RI Department of Education, the North Kingstown Business-Education Partnership, and city education departments to make classroom teachers and district science specialists aware of available space science resources.

As a result of our programs and influence on the Providence Department of Education, "space" became one of the major topics for a new integrated curriculum science and literacy program in the Providence Public Elementary Schools. The teacher education programs have been ongoing ever since the beginning of the Space Grant program in 1991. Through all of our various programs for teachers, we serve several hundred teachers from all grade levels throughout Rhode Island each year.