About the ASC Project

Overview of the ASC Project
The ASC project seeks to enable middle and high school teachers across the US to include astrobiology-related activities in their classrooms. The ASC development project began in 2003 and is now entering the field-testing phase with professional development workshops across the country. The current field-testing initiative is targeting classrooms with high numbers of students historically underrepresented in the sciences. This project will have broader impact by exploring how scientists and educators from three different minority communities collaborate to improve STEM education for their students, by increasing our research knowledge on diversity in STEM education and use of scientific data by high school students. Click here to read more about what teachers will learn and what students will learn.

To insure that significant groups of underrepresented students are included, the project is using a network of minority-serving institutions that are part of the Minority Institute Astrobiology Collaborative (MIAC). The Institute for Understanding Biological Systems at Tennessee State University has taken the lead for the development of the ASC Curriculum since the beginning of the project in 2003.

Partners in the ASC Project
The NASA Astrobiology Institute is a major partner including the following NAI Team Members that make significant contributions to the development of the ASC curriculum:

Field-testing Sites Another critical partner during the field-testing phase of the ASC program is the NASA Science, Engineering, Mathematics and Aerospace Academy (SEMAA). Partnerships with SEMAA sites across the nation allow for built-in diversity when field-testing and developing the ASC curriculum both in formal and informal educational settings. The three SEMAA sites that are currently field-testing the ASC Curriculum include: SECME/TSU SEMAA site at Tennessee State University SEMAA Program Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Florida Southern New Mexico’s SEMAA site in Las Cruces, New Mexico Other field testing that are focusing on students in Native American communities include: Chinle High School, The Navajo Nation Unified School District No. 24, Arizona Owens Valley Indian Education Centers: Paiute-Shoshone Reservations, California

ASC Tackles the Current Problems in Science Education The ASC materials will be free and easily accessible on the web to any secondary instructional program. The curriculum is designed to supplement existing state curricula by providing a framework that draws all areas of science together through engaging activities. The intent is for students and teachers to see the connections among concepts in physics, biology, chemistry, geoscience, astronomy, mathematics, and ethics through hands-on activities. The activities encourage science literacy and are designed to meet state and national standards. An important aspect of the project is to tackle some of the current problems in science education.

ASC addresses important curriculum issues: Subjects that do not connect the major content areas of science. Curriculum that is a “Mile-wide & inch-deep”. Lack of coherent framework to discuss the nature of science. Absence of scientists as role-models. Limited emphasis on technology tools and current scientific data. Topics that engage all students. Need for differentiated lessons in diverse groups. Emphasis on expensive materials instead of easily accessible and inexpensive supplies.