Running head: NASA STEM 1

NASA STEM Enrichment Cluster

Julie Petway

Burney-Harris-Lyons Middle School

NASA STEM 2

Abstract

Students learn what the educator teaches them. Not all students have parents to go home to and

get help with homework, or be exposed to the many different types of STEM career fields there

are. Educators need to be aware of the circumstances their students experience. I grew up in a

title 1 school district, with parents who were not college educated. They worked blue collar jobs

and lived paycheck to paycheck. As a child I was determined to make sure I attended college. To

do that I joined the military at nineteen and deployed twice before my honorable discharge in

2011. I want to expose my students to the different scholarship options there are for them and the

many different career choices for them to decide what they are interested in. For me I was never

exposed to different careers and went the only way I knew, as most students do. They tend to

follow in the footsteps of their parents. My path has been amazing but I want my students to

have options.

Keywords: Students, STEM careers, college

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NASA STEM Enrichment Cluster

As a new teacher to Clarke County School District I had no idea what an Extended

Learning Time (ELT) was. All I saw at first was an extra class I taught. Once the school year

started and I understood how great this program is for students that need that extra help and the

enrichment opportunity for students who do not, I declared this is needed in all schools. My prior

students in Atlanta could have benefited so much from a program like this. When I was given the

opportunity to create an enrichment ELT I knew right away I wanted to focus on NASA and

STEM careers.

Goal Progress

The NASA ELT for my gifted students has been a hit. I generally find my students are excited to

come to class each day and for our weekly projects. My goal of enrichment for my students during our

ELT (NASA STEM based projects has allowed me to design my class to be hands-on and interactive. I’ve

been able to expose my students to many types of different STEM fields they had no idea existed. For

example a recent Raspberry Pi Teacher’s Workshop I attended at Kennesaw State University through the

College of Computing and Software Engineering, I received a free Raspberry Pi (computer) and many

different attachments for my class. My students had no idea something so small could be a computer and

can do so much.

My second goal to engage my students using 9 STEM lessons have been easy to design but one

has taken longer than expected. The NASA Lander and Rover Egg project has taken a little over a week

and we still need to test them on Monday. Although, we would’ve had enough time I think to finish a

littler earlier we had one day cancelled due to hurricane Michael and an unexpected fire-drill. Over all

this has been my favorite project thus far. I was able to show my students my video and pictures of our

rover that my space camp group made last summer. I think this really got them excited to see I did the

same thing last year. I also think this engaged my students to build something better that would roll

(unlike ours).
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Third goal pertains to helping my students see what other STEM fields are out there besides the

doctors. Exposure is a main focus for my students who attend a title 1 school. I have been able to refer

back to Earth’s atmosphere when discussion the lander and rover project. I have found ways to connect

each lesson with what we are learning about in science. For my 7th graders it has been a little harder since

that is life science but I have designed one bone density in space lesson that relates directly to them. I

think this is the most important goal I’ve set for my practicum. Giving my students the knowledge of the

many STEM careers and looking at the faces of my girls in class who are so excited. I only wish I could

do more. I have talked to the STEM Gems author and I am putting together a fundraiser to raise 2,000

dollars for 60 students to receive books and a presentation from the author.

Practicum Hours

So far I have accumulated 38 hours towards my 60 required practicum hours, please see

figure 1. I have researched different NASA sites for educators and have found great information

for my students. For example I found a NASA article about students in Alaska and the Northern

Lights. My students were really fascinated with the Northern Lights and many say this is on their

bucket list (I had to explain what a bucket list was). The International Space Station has two

prior educators on it right now. I made a discussion in class what would you want your teacher to

research while on the ISS? I have been able to collaborate with other science teachers in 6th and

7th grade. I have found many different interests to them and have been able to give them

resources to use in their classes. Raspberry Pi Teacher’s Workshop in Kennesaw was amazing. I

attended with another teacher at my school and we received a free Raspberry Pi for our class. I

learned so much on different ways to teach my students to code. My ELT has also participated in

Sally Ride’s Earth Kam pictures and Mission Patch designs.

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Personal Accomplishments

My two personal accomplishments reflecting on my in-field efforts that I am most proud of are

how excited I am about teaching this ELT, and the light I see in my students eyes when I tell them they

can do anything they want with hard work. I’ve explained that being a scientist or choosing a career in a

STEM field can be hard. I once met an astronaut that applied 29 times before he was accepted by NASA.

That is pure determination. I know 6th grade is a hard year. We have students who have tried to commit

suicide and have seen horrific things at home. I want my students to come to school and know someone

believes in them believes in STEM careers. I have always enjoyed space and learning about rockets and

NASA. I want to bring that same excitement when I teach. If I can tell my students something that

interests them and they go home and research and come back the next day and tell me something I didn’t

even know, well I think that is a proud moment for any teacher. I still have many things to work on. For

example I want to expose my students more but there’s a price and time associated with that. I’ve planned

for some fundraisers so hopefully we can have a few in school visits from STEM professionals. The

halfway point has come fast but I have enjoyed each day.

Next Steps Impactful

After talking to you for our check-in I have started thinking of a survey for my students to answer

on how this class was/is impactful to them. I need to know exactly why my students are engaged in class.

Is it because I dug deeper on each project or am I encouraging them to learn about different STEM fields?

In order to research what is working I also need to know what is not working. I plan to give surveys on

what my students do not like as well. If I want to present with the school or conference I need to be aware

of everything and make adjustments where needed. (Petsway, 2018)

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References

Wild, F. (2015, February 25). For Educators. Retrieved from

https://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/index.html
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Practicum Hours

1-Oct 27-Aug
27% 27%

3-Sep
4%

24-Sep
15%
10-Sep
15%

17-Sep
12%

Figure 1. Practicum Hours to this point. August 27th and October 1st have shown the highest

amount of hours, which resulted in the most research and lessons designed.