We’ve got two pieces of “out of this world” news today. Many of you will be using the eclipse as a powerful teaching opportunity and we’re proud to announce the awardees for our partnership with NASA Glenn.
The eclipse
Ohio won’t see the “totality” during the solar eclipse this afternoon, but it will still be an amazing sight. The Tennessee STEM Innovation has a detailed guide, if you need any last minute-tips on creating a safe, effective learning experience today.
Grant awardees
In early July, we announced a request for proposals to train Ohio teachers on the integration of NASA content into their lessons. Eight awards were planned, but the quality of the proposals was so high, we will now announce nine winning organizations. In total, $125,000 will be awarded to support the professional development of at least 200 Ohio educators.
Each of these programs offers a different take on how to bring the science of NASA to life. Teachers in Springboro will tour the NASA Glenn Research Center, which funded these one-time awards. The Works in Newark will use the program to connect with teachers as the organization breaks ground on a new planetarium. In Central Ohio, trainings for teachers will focus on connecting Makerspaces to space science.
Read below for a short summary of the proposals funded today. To hear about the next STEM funding opportunity, register for our email updates here.
| Organization | NASA project title | Description | Key contact |
| Advanced Methods in Innovation | INVENTORcloud | Advanced Methods in Innovation will support teachers in implementing problem-based learning through design challenges. Teacher will integrate NASA’s “Let It Glide” and “Gaining Traction on Mars” challenges. In these, students take on problems NASA will soon solve as the agency looks to enable exploration of Mars. | Bill Scott |
| Bowling Green State University | Project ASSETS+ | The NWO Center for Excellence in STEM and BGSU Intervention Services at Bowling Green State University will collaborate to offer three new sessions on implementing NASA Earth Science content. The sessions will build on a recent two-week training for local teachers around Life and Physical Sciences. | Jenna Pollock |
| EnvisionEdPlus | NASA Out of School Learning | EnvisionEdPlus will offer trainings for afterschool professionals with NASA Glenn experts, with the support of the Ohio Afterschool Network. Teachers completing the training will earn digital badges certifying their new skills. | Tricia Moore |
| Instructional Technology Services of Central Ohio, a service of WOSU Public Media | This organization of more than 400 Ohio schools will train teachers, librarians, and media specialists to act as Makerspace coaches in schools. These new instructional coaches will support other educators in the use of design thinking and Makerspaces to build lessons around NASA content. | Marcelita Haskins | |
| North Point Educational Service Center | Teachers in the North Point Educational Service Center’s area will start with two days of professional development as they plan NASA-focused STEM modules for their classrooms. In February, these educators will reconvene to examine data on student learning under the new content. | Kathryn Hott | |
| PAST Foundation | Lift Off | The PAST Foundation will partner with Perkins Local School District to train Perkins teachers on problem-based learning. Through the training, teachers will build and implement a design challenge built on NASA educational content. | Sheli Smith |
| Springboro Community City Schools | Springboro teachers will visit NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, meet with experts at the center, and create new lessons for their classrooms. | Andrea Cook | |
| STEM Accelerated Coding | NASA Geospatial Coding Project | The organization will train teachers on using 3-d modeling tools (including TinkerCad and SketchUp). Teachers will create lessons where students design objects for 3-d printing at the University of Akron Wayne College, or for integration into Google Earth. | Beth Szijarto |
| The Works: Ohio Center for History, Art and Technology | SciDome Academy | Programming at the Works will build anticipation for organization’s new planetarium, the SciDome. A new SciDome Academy will connect teachers to NASA Astrophysicist Dr. Michael Stamatikos over a series of in-person and online workshops. | Nancy Heller |