A key feature of Project ASTRO of the Astronomical
Society of the Pacific (ASP) is the forging of ongoing
volunteer partnerships between an amateur or professional
astonomer and one or two elementary or middle school
teachers. At various sites across the country, Project
ASTRO provides intensive two-day workshops for
astronomers and their teacher-partners. Then, each
astronomer begins his or her teamwork with his or her
teacher(s). Teamwork includes preparing for at least four
classroom visits per year and participation in community
activities during which the astronomers interact directly
with students, families, and teachers other than their
partners. All is supported by extensive materials
produced by Project ASTRO and designed to encourage use
of hands-on, inquiry-centered activities.
A second key feature of Project ASTRO is how it is
scaling up with help from the National Science
Foundation, from a project being piloted in California to
a project with a national network of sites. At the time
this Web site was created, there were six sites in the
network, in San Francisco, Chicago, Tucson, Seattle,
northern New Mexico, and the state of Connecticut. New
sites in the network, called "expansion sites,"
are managed by lead institutions, such as local colleges
and universities, and supported by the national Project
ASTRO office in San Francisco.
Project ASTRO remains committed to a number of schools
in California. In fact, the program is present in over
150 schools across the state. Some independent sites also
exist with university or college ties but without support
from NSF and with minimal support from the national
Project ASTRO office. These sites are in Stockton,
California; Sacramento; and Las Vegas.
Becoming Involved
- Astronomers living in California outside of San
Francisco as well as in the Bay Area or in
Chicago, Tucson, Seattle, northern New Mexico, or
Connecticut can become directly involved in
Project ASTRO. Astronomers in Stockton,
California; Sacramento; and Las Vegas can become
involved in Project ASTRO-like sites.
- Astronomers living elsewhere can initiate a
similar, albeit solo, involvement in science
education in the schools or lead formation of a
Project ASTRO expansion site.
- For scientists and scientific societies with
similar goals, Project ASTRO of the ASP is an
example of genuine partnerships between
scientists and teachers; of well-developed
materials and how to use them; and of the long
and painstaking process that is required when
pilot projects scale up to go national.
Overview
Goals
and Organizational Information and Contacts.
Project ASTRO's goals are
- to increase the interest in and knowledge
of astronomy (and, by extension, other
sciences) among children, their teachers,
and their families
- to support teachers in a variety of ways
by partnering them with astronomers
- to increase the effectiveness of
astronomers' participation in K-12
education
Project ASTRO is a project of the Astronomical
Society of the Pacific (ASP), the largest general
astronomy society in the world.
Details
Structure and
Scope of Project ASTRO. Project
ASTRO is operated at a number of regional sites
by lead institutions in coalition with other
local astronomical and educational organizations.
Overall direction, start-up funding, and
technical support are provided by the
Astronomical Society of the Pacific office in San
Francisco.
Details
Supporting
Materials. The ASP has produced a
short and very readable How-To Manual for
Teachers and Astronomers. There is also a
813-sheet loose-leaf collection of teaching
ideas, activities, and resources designed to
support astronomer/teacher partnerships. A
12-minute videotape about Project ASTRO and a
free newsletter for teachers on teaching
astronomy in grades 3-12 are available.
Details
Grade Range.
Project ASTRO is focused on grades 4-9 because
its founders and staff believe that astronomy has
great and broad appeal and can therefore help to
counteract the documented loss of interest in
science that can occur in this grade range.
Details
Teacher-Astronomer Partnerships.
Teachers for grades 4-9 are selected by
competitive application and partnered with
amateur or professional astronomers. The partners
are trained together as teams at intensive
two-day workshops.
Details
Astronomer Roles
and Activities. Astronomer partners, in close
cooperation with their teacher partners, lead
students in educational activities at least four
times a year, sometimes as often as once a week.
The activities occur both inside and outside the
classroom and often involve families as well as
students. The astronomers may also help the
teachers determine the scope and sequence of an
astronomy unit, arrange field trips and
school-wide "star parties," provide
in-service training for other teachers in the
school, and make presentations at school board
meetings.
Details
Partnering by Individual
Astronomers. The Astronomical Society of the
Pacific (ASP) provides one-day workshops at
professional and amateur astronomy meetings for
astronomers who want to participate in K-12
education but who do not live near a Project
ASTRO site. ASP will provide additional support
to these astronomers, as well.
Details
Impact of
Project ASTRO -- Results of the Original Pilot
Project. An in-depth evaluation of the
original pilot project at numerous sites in
Northern and Southern California reported many
positive results, including solid partnerships
and a variety of positive effects on all the
participants -- the students, teachers,
astronomers, and community.
Details
Expansion Sites
and Lead Institutions. The key to expanding
Project ASTRO from a pilot project in California
to a project with a presence in many sections of
the country was the decision to have a lead
institution at each new site. The lead
institution can be any of a variety of
organizations, from a college, university, or
science center to a school district or amateur
astronomy club. Lead institutions are selected by
application to the national Project ASTRO office
in San Francisco and receive financial and
technical support. The lead institutions are
responsible for building the necessary local
coalitions with, for example, museums, science
centers, and astronomy clubs and running the
project in their area.
Details
Independent ASTRO-like
Projects. At a few sites in California and
Nevada, lead-like institutions have started
ASTRO-like projects with a small amount of
technical support but no financial support from
Project ASTRO. Project ASTRO is looking for
efficient ways to foster and support such
efforts.
Details
Chronology
of Project ASTRO. A simple chronology of the
Project ASTRO is provided. The time frame for the
scaling up from pilot project to expansion sites
is shown.
Details
