NASA Dryden Flight Research Center Education Flight Projects

Airborne Research Experiences for Educators (AREE) - An end-to-end airborne science research campaign using the NASA DC-8 aircraft

• Outcome: To develop curriculum-based activities relating to Earth systems and airborne science

• Goals mapped to NASA strategic education framework:

– Engage and Educate ten (10) secondary educators (grades 6-12) who specialize in Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math (STEM) disciplines

– Inspire ~1500 middle and high school students in districtsacross the country via the implementation of NASA AREE-related curriculum

– To strengthen the future Earth system science workforce and Employ future NASA scientists and engineers

AREE educator home locations by state

Educators collected in situ dairy farm gas emissions over the Central Valley via the Whole Air Sampler from ~1000 ft. AGL

Based on his airborne and ground research experience, educator Terry Nickerson incorporated the concepts of remote sensing and color to study vegetation into his Earth Science and Biology high school curriculum

Educators participated in collecting in situ data from a boat in Monterey Bay, CA for algal bloom research.

Airborne Research Experiences for Educators (AREE) Educators participated in an airborne and ground research campaign to learn how NASA uses airborne science to study Earth system science. Educators incorporated these concepts into their middle and high school curriculum

Atmospheric science team

Algal Bloom team

Crop Classification team

The MASTER instrument was used to measure evapotranspiration of crops (i.e. cotton fields and almond orchards) from ~13,000 ft AGL

Air samples were analyzed in the laboratory and the results were incorporated into middle and high school curriculum modules

Rachael Fein (far left) will simulate airborne and ground data collection to her 9th and 10th grade mathematics and robotics students using LEGO robots

Crop Classification team

AREE Curriculum Modules• Three Modules

– Center around the three SARP research studies– Include 3-4 Curriculum Briefs per module – Are discipline based yet interdisciplinary in scope (biology, chemistry, physics,

earth/space science, mathematics, engineering) – Are adaptable for middle and high school audiences

• Curriculum Briefs– Include Research Briefs that summarize the study.– Include Investigations that engage middle and high school students in

scientific research process.– Include inquiry-based activities involving SARP data.– Include sections on “Check for Understanding” and “Find Out More” to

monitor the progress of students and encourage further study of NASA resources.

– Emphasize the use of technology to support teaching and learning (e.g., SAM Animation, Geometry Sketchpad, Excel, Lego Robotics)

– Include a Teachers Guide with assessment and extension activities, suggestions for high/low tech teaching, and alignment with national and state STEM standards.

Find Out More invites students to review related NASA resources.

Investigations invites students to engage in inquiry-based activities.

Check for Understanding invites students monitor their progress and demonstrate learning.

Some Investigations use SARP data to engage students in the research process.

Some Investigations use easily available materials to reinforce concepts.

CURRICULUM BRIEF

Investigations engage students in engineering design.Investigations engage students in

complex mathematical and scientific problem-solving.

Investigations engage students in simulations of remote sensing.

INVESTIGATIONS

Research Briefs provide content background, present the process of airborne and in-situ data collection, and highlight the scientists associated with the research.

Include Check for Understanding, Find out More, and links to additional NASA resources.

RESEARCH BRIEF

Some Investigations engage students in modeling with Excel.

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3-D chart

In this research project you will search through the data from the SARP flights looking for patterns. You will be comparing using graphing techniques using the Excel Program.

The following instructions guide you through the process of creating a graph (called a "chart" in Excel) from a set of data, and using Excel to calculate and draw a line that best fits your data (called a "trendline" in Excel). The information determined from this best-fitting line will be used to analyze your data. These graphing techniques will be used in many of the labs this semester, so it is important that you understand them. You will also find that these graphing techniques are useful for analyzing data from other disciplines.