FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE            

Aug.12, 2004          

Contact: Tom Uribes

(559) 278-5366 or 246-1717

Editors: Steve Price is available today (Aug. 12) from 1 to 5 p.m. before leaving for Mountain View tonight. For an interview this afternoon, contact him at (559) 270-6896 or Tom Uribes.

NASA Partners with Fresno State to Train
Teachers at Ames Research Center

A unique two-week program under way at the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View is providing specialized training in mathematics and science for 24 California State University, Fresno students eyeing careers in teaching at schools with a high percentage of minority students.

The Pre-Service Teacher Institute began Sunday (Aug. 8) and runs through Aug. 20 at Moffett Field with 24 students and two interns – mostly Hispanic juniors and seniors.

Funded by NASA Ames’ Education Office at Moffett Field through a grant to the Teaching Fellows Program at Fresno State and Integrated Space Technologies (IST), Inc. of Huntsville, Alabama, the two-week workshop is designed to increase knowledge, skills and competence in teaching mathematics and science using technology.

Fresno State students Regina Prum and Ernesto Hernandez log on at the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View Tuesday. They are among 24 students and two interns pursuing careers in teaching at Fresno State who are participating in the Pre-Service Teacher Institute Aug. 8 - 20. See photo gallery.

The future teachers from Fresno State will be exposed to problem-based learning, mathematics and science enrichment activities at the workshop, which is one of eight such institutes funded by NASA at its centers across the nation and the first one at its California center.

Most of the students are part of the Teaching Fellows Program in the Kremen School of Education and Human Development at Fresno State – the first California university selected by NASA for its Moffett Field institute.

"The NASA partnership is an effective asset in our preparation of future teachers," said Steve Price, principal investigator on the NASA grant and director of the Teaching Fellows Program at Fresno State.

The Pre-Service Teacher Institute connects Valley students with a world of expertise through NASA personnel and resources, Price said, with the payoff occurring as participants bring expertise in technology, math and science to local elementary and middle schools in an effort to reach underserved students.

“We are honored to be one of eight universities in the nation selected by NASA for this,” Price said, adding that this will be the first of a series of such events for Fresno State students.

Participating students are provided lodging, transportation costs, registration fees and a small stipend during their stay at NASA Ames. (See student names and hometowns attached).

Selected researchers and managers will participate in briefings and demonstrations of NASA's cutting-edge research. An educational consultant will facilitate the morning and afternoon workshops with participation by NASA staff.

Students will interface with NASA personnel, tour Ames Research Center’s facilities while learning to incorporate briefings and demonstrations, then 'brainstorm' applications of the resources.  

With this, students will be asked to provide a lesson plan at the end of the session that incorporates the information learned. The workshop will be used to develop strategies for inspiring interest in math and science for elementary and middle school students.

Brenda Collins, University Affairs Officer at NASA Ames Research Center, said NASA increasingly has recognized the importance of providing educational outreach programs to younger students.

"We are very pleased to offer this opportunity for pre-service teachers to potentially impact the future of students from underrepresented, underserved communities, inspiring them to choose careers in math and science," Collins said.

The workshop will provide teachers with access to NASA's wide variety of educational products and services, Collins said, while offering teachers an opportunity to incorporate these resources into their state-mandated math/science curriculum in an effort to enrich their local classes in the future.  

“The sense of wonder and excitement inspired in students at a young age stimulates an interest and motivation to pursue the necessary education in mathematics, science, engineering and technology,” Collins added.  “It’s important that NASA support those teachers who are entrusted with the future scientists of our country.”    

Annette Rodrigues, president of Integrated Space Technologies, hopes NASA Ames Research Center will make this an on-going institute so "children are not at risk of being forgotten in the 'high tech' world.”

"We have to realize that all students have dreams, but they don't often have the resources to 'surf the Web' after school and dream of being astronauts and scientists," said Rodrigues. "We are pleased to be part of a program that will give pre-service teachers tools to foster such dreams in their future classrooms."

CONTACT INFO:

Fresno State – Teacher Fellows Program:  

STEVE PRICE, TFP director and NASA grant principal investigator -- (559) 270-6896 or 278-0293

Email: josephp@csufresno.edu

NASA Ames Research Center -- Pre-Service Teacher Institute (PSTI):

BRENDA COLLINS, University Affairs Officer -- (650) 604-3540
NASA Ames Research Center at Moffett Field – Mountain View, CA  94035
email: Brenda.J.Collins@nasa.gov

 

Integrated Space Technologies, Inc

ANNETTE T. RODRIGUES, President – (256) 509-5187

5151 Research Dr, Suite B -- Huntsville, AL  35805

http://www.integratedspacetechnologies.com/psti

Pre-Service Teacher Institute

NASA Ames Research Center at Moffett Field (Mountain View, CA)

Fresno State Participating Students

*State of California, unless otherwise noted

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