Harnessing our greatest national resource, as represented by the nation's students, will require a thoughtful, well developed and administered program that includes precise, executable strategies and valid evaluation tools. Responding to a national education outreach priority, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Life and Biomedical Sciences and Applications Division has initiated a process or organizing and implementing various strategies through a steering committee that includes representatives from Headquarters and three field centers with major Life Sciences programs. The mandate of the Life Sciences Education Outreach Steering Committee is to develop ways of communicating space life science issues to America's students through the nation's teachers by curriculum enhancement and direct participation in the education process with an emphasis in the primary and secondary schools. Metrics are also developed for each individually defined process so that the mechanis can be continuously refined and improved

Chamberland, D.

Coulter, G.

Dreschel, T.

English

NASA Technical Reports Server

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AIAA-95-1 058
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Defining a Mechanism of Educational
Interface Between NASA Life Sciences
the Nation's Students
D. Chamberland and T. Dreschel
John F. Kennedy Space Center
John F. Kennedy Space Center, FL
G. Coulter
NASA Headquarters
Washington, DC
Life Sciences and Space
Medicine Conference
April 3-5, 1995 / Houston, TX
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https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19970004937 2020-06-16T02:46:25+00:00Z

AIAA-95-1058
DEFINING A MECHANISM OF EDUCATIONAL INTERFACE
BETWEEN NASA LIFE SCIENCES THE NATION'S STUDENTS
Dennis Chamberland
Thomas Dreschel
John F. Kennedy Space Center, FL
Gary Coulter, Ph.D.
NASA Headquarters
Abstract
Harnessing our greatest national resource, as
represented by the nation's students, will
require a thoughtful, well developed and
administered program that includes precise,
executable strategies and valid evaluation
tools. Responding to a national education
outreach priority, the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration's Life and
Biomedical Sciences and Applications
Division has initiated a process of organizing
and implementing various strategies through a
steering committee that includes
representatives from Headquarters and three
field centers with major Life Science
Programs. The mandate of the Life Sciences
Education Outreach Steering Committee is to
develop ways of communicating space life
science issues to America's students through
the nation's teachers by curriculum
enhancement and direct participation in the
education process with an emphasis in the
primary and secondary schools. Metrics are
also being developed for each individually
defined process so that the mechanism can be
continuously refined and improved.
Education and Science Communication -
The Government's Responsibility
Intrinsic to every scientific endeavor is the
essential and most basic need to disseminate
the results for the good of the people.
Government science is doubly bound - not
only is there a social and ethical mandate to
disseminate information, but the public is also
the definitive customer and by law, federal
agencies are required to make unclassified
scientific results available.
This process of dissemination to academia and
the general public is one of wide and varied
approaches. Not only do results get
disseminated but in so doing, young minds are
stimulated to develop an interest in the widely
variable fields represented by the research
endeavors. The underlying philosophical
driver of this approach has historically been
"...to ensure global competitiveness... (by
maintaining) a scientifically literate
citizen(ry).., capable of understanding
complex economic, political, ethical and
social issues derived from an increasingly
technological society." Ultimately this
process of ongoing educational awareness will
lead to "... encouragement of the science
education efforts of the Federal government"
which will result in the "encouragement and
motivation of our youth to study mathematics
and science .... ,,l This is a somewhat parochial
approach that feeds qualified individuals back
into the employment pipeline even years
removed from the effort.
But such parochial interests notwithstanding,
such an approach is sufficiently diffuse so that
other, broad ranging national interests are
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1
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served as well. Industry benefits by this
educational stimulation because they also
obtainqualifiedprofessionalsattheendof the
educationalpipeline.And studentswho never
enter scientific or technicalfields feel a kind
of kinship with the nation's spaceprogram
because through a given educational
presentation or other process, they have
personallytouchedor have beentouchedby
the presentation. This block of individuals
make up a substantially powerful political
force in anage whenbudgetsaremoreoften
than not determinedby political realities of
public support.
It is quite obviousthat eachof theseconcepts
are driven by different facets of political
concerns,either from an agencyrequirement
for continuoussupply of freshscientific and
technical expertise or the exigenciesof a
congressionalvotingblock. Deeperthanthese
justifications;however,areotherreasonsmore
philanthropicin origin. Returningto themost
elemental justification for information
dissemination,the ultimatebasisfor outreach
of all kindsis ultimatelyaconsiderationof the
ultimategoodof thenation:
"....To maintaina leadershiprole in the 21st
century, the National Aeronauticsand Space
Administration and other Federal agencies
must take stepsto contributeto the systemic
reformof Americaneducation..,by enhancing
and expanding scientific and technological
competence...toimprove the competitiveness
of ourNation in theworld community.''2
The rangeof issuesfrom meetingthe
needs of NASA to the annual reality of
defendingtheSpaceAgency'sexistencebefore
congressareall a part of thereasonfor taking
NASA's focusout of the laboratoriesandfield
centersdirectly to thepeople. Thereasonsare
very diverse,the history is often convoluted
and difficult to follow, but the bottom line
formed out of the philosophic whole is the
mandate itself to communicate the
excitement and benefit of science to th,._
American public and participate in the
educational outreach process and thereby
integrate itself into the daily affairs of the
nation is as strongand well definedas it ha;
everbeen.
Process Implementation
On March 31, 1994, President Bill Clinton
signed into law the Goals 2000: Educate
America Act. 3 In his speech to the children o: _
the Zamorano Fine Arts Academy, the
President remarked,
"This is a remarkable departure.
First, there have never been any
national standards. Second, there's
never been any way to measure them.
Third, there's never been any national
skill standards for our workers.
Fourth, we never thought we could
do it with grassroots reforms. ''4
U.S. Secretary of Education, Richard W. Rile5
stated,
"Goals 2000 represents the
culmination of years of hard work by
many individuals committed to
turning around and rebuilding this
nation's education fortunes, and
creating a comprehensive approach to
education that will improve learning
at every level - from early childhood
to adulthood. ''5
The United States Department of Education
has stated that Goals 2000 will rely on the
"...Federal government providing assistance
and seed money for local reform efforts. ''6
2
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The National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) has administereda
large and very diverse suite of educational
programs for many years, spanning the
educationalrangefrom elementaryschool to
postdoctoralstudies. There were two main
reasons for the development of these
programs:
(1)Theprogramswereestablishedin response
to nationalneedsto attractAmericanstudents
to careers in science, engineering,
mathematicsandtechnology.
(2) Educationalprogramswereestablishedto
meet the needs of the Agency and of
individual NASA centersfor skilledscientists,
engineers,andtechnicians.
The prime thrustof their developmentwasto
ensureNASA alwayshad a supplyof highly
trained personnelto carry out the agency's
mission] Becauseof the nature of that
mission,theprime educationalthrustin these
programs was science, mathematics and
technology.
The Agency'srole in educationbecameeven
more important when in September1989,
PresidentGeorgeBushmet with theNation's
Governorsin Charlottesvillein Septemberof
1989 to discuss "... the education crisis".8
Attending this meeting were various
Department Secretaries and NASA's
Administrator. At this summit, the National
Education Goals were established which
ultimately ledto theGoals2000:
EducateAmericaAct.* The summitalso laid
thegroundworkin definingthe role of NASA
and other national Agenciesparticipating in
theeducationof thenation'sschoolchildren.9
In order to better define and assess the
effectivenessof it's educational programs,
NASA askedthe National ResearchCouncil
(NRC) to establish the NASA Education
ProgramOutcomes(NEPO)Committeewhich
was charged with evaluating all NASA
educational programs and recommending
comprehensivedatacollection proceduresand
indicatorsto assessprogrameffectiveness._°
Prior to the NRC NEPO Committee's
formation, the government had also
establisheda like panelof expertscalled the
Federal Coordinating Council for Science,
Engineering and Technology (FCCSET).
FCCSET (now namedthe National Science
and Technology Council [NSTC]) outlined
their own categoriesof programsthat NEPO
attemptedto parallel, precluding redundancy
andduplicationof effort._l
Concurrently,the NRC wasestablishinga set
of National ScienceEducationStandardsfor
the nation'sschools,a working draft of which
first appearedin July of 1994.12This set of
standardswas to become a fundamental
charter for national science education that
would be implementedthroughGOALS 2000
with theassurancethat its mostbasicmeaning
was "... a coherentvision of what it meansto
be scientifically literate." The NRC also
promised that is was not to be a federal
mandateto locally control schools,but an
agreementand did not define a national
standardizationor actualcurriculum.X3
* The1989EducationSummitselfresultedfromthe
1983reporto thePresidenton thestateof national
educationtitled,"A NationatRisk",whichwarnedof
the"...risingtideofmediocrity"inAmericaneducation.
3
AmericanInstituteof AeronauticsandAstronautics
The fresh agency thrust with NASA, the new
grade level priorities and approach was passed
down through the various science offices and
divisions at NASA Headquarters, many of
whom reponded in turn and formed Education
Outreach Committees. Their task was to
coordinate educational activities for their
individual disciplines between NASA
Headquarters, the field centers, schools and
generalpublic._4Suchanoutreachcommittee
wasestablishedin Novemberof 1994by the
Life and Biomedical Sciences and
Applications Division (LBSAD) at NASA
headquarters.15
The LBSAD Response
LBSAD formed an Education Outreach
Committee on September 12, 1994 in
Washington D. C. to develop guidelines for
educational and public outreach activities
within the division. This committee was
appointed by the Director of LBSAD and
consists of representatives from three NASA
Centers that are involved in research in space
life sciences. The Centers represented are:
Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida;
Johnson Space Center (JSC), Texas; and
Ames Research Center (ARC), California.
During that week, the members of the
committee developed an inventory of life
science related education outreach activities
taking place at each of the Centers and a draft
of the LBSAD Education Outreach plan. 16 At
the end of the week, the effort was presented
to the LBSAD Director and representatives
from the NASA Education Office for
comments and approval. Two subsequent
meetings were held at Ames Research in
October of 1994 and at Johnson Space Center
in November of 1994 to put the final touches
on the plan.
The plan was specifically developed to
describe and quantify how LBSAD will
provide education outreach to the benefit of
the American public. Education outreach was
broadly defined to include NASA activities
that interest, excite, inform, and teach science
and math to students, educators, and the
general public. It also included activities that
advance scientific and technological literacy
and keep the public informed of the benefits to
be derived from space life sciences research.
LBSAD researchers, space-based and ground-
based laboratory facilities represent the
primary resources of the division targeted for
integration into the program. Through the
plan, LBSAD is instituting a comprehensive
program of review, evaluation, collaboration
and shared implementation strategies across
all space life sciences organizations to
enhance the division's overall educational
efforts. 17 Existing headquarters and field
center sponsored programs will continue to be
supported with their already impressive
breadth and depth of educational interfaces in
addition to initiation of new programs.
The purpose of the LBSAD outreach plan is
to: 1) provide guidance to management with
respect to NASA and life science goals in
education and outreach efforts; 2) identify
the education outreach areas requiring
emphasis; 3) establish an organizational and
programmatic infrastructure that supports
education outreach and; 4) encourage
employees to pursue efforts in education
outreach.
Outreach activities are targeted to reach as
much of the American public as possible, with
an emphasis on students and educators.
NASA financially supports many university
students and provides funding for research in
their laboratories. Yet, over the next decade,
the elementary, intermediate, and high school
students and teachers will also be included.
By working with younger students, NASA can
influence their formative years to generate
interest and appreciation of life sciences.
Women, minorities, and other historically
unrepresented groups must be encouraged to
participate in the science and engineering
fields. It is hoped that more of these students
will pursue life sciences careers through the
LBSAD effort. 18
4
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
For greatercost-effectiveness,efforts will be
coordinatedand leveragedbetween NASA
field centersandwith otherfederalagenciesto
achieveagreaterlevelof efficiencyandoutput
in education outreach. Involving educators
will be a high priority becausethey are the
focalpoint of thousandsof studentsduring the
courseof their careers. By providing more
support to teachersand faculty, NASA can
reachmorestudentswith greatereffectiveness.
Manyeducationoutreachactivitiesariseoutof
employee initiatives and these are to be
encouraged. LBSAD seeks to strongly
encouragethe innovative and creative spirit
inherentin NASA employeesand contractor
personnel.
The LBSAD Education Outreach Plan
describesnine objectivesand implementation
strategies for each of these objectives.
Progressin theseareaswill bemeasuredon a
NASA-wide basis. The three field centers
(ARC, JSC, and KSC) and NASA
Headquarterswill beperceivedasone,unified
organization in terms of organization,
progress,andmetrics.
Theeightobjectivesof theplanare:
1. Increase general public awarenessof
SpaceLife Sciences
2. EnhancegradeK-12education
3. Enhance undergraduate,graduate, and
post-graduateducation
4. Improve communicationsamongLBSAD
organizations
5. Strengthenpartnershipswith professional
educators
6. Encouragehistorically under represented
groups
7. Improvecollaborationswith other federal
agencies
8. Develop evaluationmethodsto measure
theeffectivenessof enhancementefforts to
measure effectiveness of enhancement
effort 19
Many programscurrentlybeing implemented
by the NASA EducationOffice alreadytarget
many of these objectives for the Agency.
LBSAD will encourageincreasedparticipation
in theseprogramsby its personnel. Other
strategiesfor implementationwill requirenew
programsor modificationof existingprograms
or proceduresandall will needto beevaluated
asto their effectivenessandoutput. This will
involve the developmentof metrics(methods
of evaluation and benchmarks)in order to
establishsuccessor failure of the individual
programsor theoverall plan. Developmentof
thesemetricsaretargetedas a major ongoing
task by the LBSAD Education Outreach
Committee.
Conclusions
Education outreach and science
communication have become one of NASA's
primary missions. To enhance this mission,
the unique capabilities and opportunities
represented by life sciences missions and other
research will be expanded by an educational
program targeting teachers and students in K
through 12th grade. The LBSAD has taken a
significant step in organizing this effort to
increase educational outreach in the area of
space life sciences to the American public. It
is the intent of the division to meet NASA's
mission of stimulating public interest and
knowledge in science and mathematics,
particularly space science and engineering.
The necessity for this effort can be summed up
by a quote by P. Teilhard de Chardin: "The
future lies in the hands of those who are able
to give the coming generation good reasons to
live and hope".
5
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
References
1. National Aeronautics and Space
Administration. December 1992. NASA's
Strategic Plan for Education - A Strategy
for Change. pp. 31
2. National Aeronautics and Space
Administration. September 1993. NASA's
Education Program. pp. ii
3. United States Department of Education.
July 27, 1994. The Goals 2000: Educate
America Act - Launching a New Era in
Education. pp. 1
4. Clinton, William. March 31, 1994. Speech
to the children of Zamorano Fine Arts
Academy, San Diego. The Goals 2000:
Educate America Act.
5. United States Department of Education.
July 27, 1994. The Goals 2000: Educate
America Act - Launching a New Era in
Education. "Goals 2000 in Brief" pp. 1
6. United States Department of Education.
July 27, 1994. The Goals 2000: Educate
America Act - Launching a New Era in
Education. "Goals 2000: How it Will
Change American Education" pp. 1
7. National Research Council - Committee on
NASA Education Program Outcomes.
1994. NASA's Education Programs -
Defining Goals, Assessing Outcomes. pp. 1
8. U.S. Department of Education. National
Commission on Excellence in Education.
1983. A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for
Educational Reform.
9. National Aeronautics and Space
Administration. December 1992. NASA's
Strategic Plan for Education - A Strategy
for Change.
10. National Research Council - Committee on
NASA Education Program Outcomes.
1994. NASA's Education Programs
Defining Goals, Assessing Outcomes. pp. 1
11. Ibid. pp. 2
12. National Research Council National
Committee on Science Education Standards
and Assessment. July 1, 1994. National
Science Education Standards Dra "t
Discussion Summary.
13. Ibid. pp. 2
14. National Aeronautics and Space
Administration. September 1993. NASA s
Education Program. pp. iii
15. National Aeronautics and Space
Administration. September 16, 1994. Lite
and Biomedical and Applications Division -
Education Outreach Plan.
16. National Aeronautics and Space
Administration. September 16, 1994. Life
and Biomedical and Applications Division -
Education Outreach Plan.
17. National Aeronautics And Spacz
Administration. September 30, 1994. Life
and Biomedical Sciences and Application_
Division - Catalog of Educational
Programs.
18. National Aeronautics and Space
Administration. September 16, 1994. Life
and Biomedical and Applications Division -
Education Outreach Plan.
19. Ibid. pp. 3
20. Ibid. pp. 20
6
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Defining a Mechanism of Educational Interface Between NASA Life Sciences the Nation's Students

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