UTSA selected to collaborate with NASA in educator professional development

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(June 27, 2012) -- The UTSA Department of Interdisciplinary Learning and Teaching in the College of Education and Human Development has been selected by the NASA Aerospace Education Services Project (AESP) to participate as a member in a newly created alliance to provide professional development for educators.

The new NASA-AESP Professional Development Alliance, administered by Penn State University for NASA, consists of a select group of high-quality professional development providers. The goal of the alliance is to improve education in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines through collaborations that identify and serve appropriate audiences, providing them with sustained access to NASA resources and assets.

"Over the past few years, the Department of Interdisciplinary Learning and Teaching has partnered to bring a NASA education specialist from the Johnson Space Center to the annual STEMstation conference we offer in partnership with the Academy for Teacher Excellence," said Christine Moseley, UTSA professor of interdisciplinary learning and teaching. "Our NASA guests have delivered keynote addresses and led workshops for students and area teachers. They have always been very well received. We are looking forward to growing this partnership to offer another avenue to engage San Antonio teachers and, ultimately, their students in STEM."

UTSA will collaborate with NASA Education, the space agency's education wing, to design and deliver ongoing professional development activities that can improve teaching and learning. UTSA scholars will work with a NASA education specialist to build a strategic plan to bring customized resources to educators in San Antonio.

UTSA education scholars also will have opportunities to work with NASA's education and public outreach groups to participate in various NASA events, such as piloting training of new classroom resources or celebrations of NASA mission milestones such as the launch of a new mission or one reaching its destination.

Membership in the alliance is by invitation to organizations that provide professional development to STEM educators and who have had previous successful collaborations with NASA Education. The alliance currently has 75 members in 38 states and Puerto Rico.

The UTSA College of Education and Human Development is the leading provider of educators in the San Antonio area and one of the largest in Texas. Ranked third in the United States as producer of teacher-education degrees for Hispanics, the college is responsible for innovative research and grants in professional development, technology enhancement, health, school readiness, and bi-national and bicultural issues.

>> For more information, visit the NASA-AESP PD Alliance website. To learn more about UTSA academic programs in education, visit the UTSA College of Education and Human Development website.

 

 

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