Welcome to Miami Dade's ASC page! Miami-Dade Public Schools An Astrobiology in the Secondary Curriculum (ASC) workshop was held for high school teachers in the Miami-Date County Public School’s Aerospace Science Academies from December 4 - 7, 2007. Karetha Times-Marshal, Director of the Miami-Dade County Public School NASA Science, Engineering, Mathematics, and Aerospace Academy (SEMAA) coordinated the workshop for the 11 participants from the Miami-Dade public schools. The Minority Institute Astrobiology Collaborative (MIAC) manages the development of the curriculum in partnership with three NAI Teams including NASA Goddard Center for Astrobiology, the Indiana, Princeton, Tennessee Astrobiology Initiative, and the Carnegie Institution for Science. The workshop was conducted by Judy Butler, the MIAC and ASC project coordinator and Leigh Arino de la Rubia, the lead curriculum developer both from Tennessee State University an Historically Black University an institutional member of MIAC. Sue Pfiffner and Kim Davis from the Indiana, Princeton, Tennessee Astrobiology Initiative presented at the workshop. The two presenters are from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and are NAI Team scientists featured on the ASC web site at http://www.astroclassroom.org. The workshop included hands-on activities using actual data sets from Dr. Pfiffner’s research that focuses on microbial and geochemical evaluation of subterranean environments. Ms. Davis demonstrated the curriculum module about the ethics of planetary protection and how to discuss this with students. The ASC module design includes research-based teaching strategies that diminish achievement gaps and increase participation of underrepresented groups in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Ms. Times-Marshall integrated Miami-Dade School District-based strategies that teachers are responsible for implementing. Miami-Dade County teachers began implementing the new Astrobiology in Secondary Classroom (ASC) curriculum in January 2008 in the SEMAA Aerospace Science Academies for high school students. This workshop is the first of several that will be held as part of field-testing of the Astrobiology in Secondary Classrooms materials in five U.S. locations where more than 80 percent of the students are members of the Native American, African American, or Hispanic American communities. These workshops will be supported in part by the NASA Astrobiology Institute Education and Public Outreach funds, NASA SEMAA Program, NASA Goddard Center for Astrobiology, the Indiana, Princeton, Tennessee Astrobiology Initiative, and the National Science Foundation.
The Agenda Module 3 and 6 downloads. |
