 Inspiring
Tomorrow’s Aerospace Heroes
By Rebecca Douglas
Photos by Preston Mack
From LIFT magazine©Embry-Riddle Aeronuatical
University 2005
Somewhere in America there’s
a middle-schooler destined for greatness: a kid who will walk on Mars
and fulfill one of the final phases of President Bush’s Space Exploration
Initiative.
Right now, however, he’s probably preoccupied with NASCAR standings,
or she’s busy reliving her summer adventures at Science Camp.
Someone will inspire our future national hero to greatness. Someone
will instill a passion that’s literally strong enough to carry a now-gawky
preteen into space (not to mention into the hearts of a grateful nation).
Helping teachers spark such passion is one of the many reasons Embry-Riddle
Aeronautical University offers TeachSpace workshops. “The very destiny
of humanity is in the stars,” explains Dr. Rodney “Buz” Piercey (at
right in photo above), dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Embry-Riddle,
Daytona Beach Campus. “As a preeminent aviation and aerospace university,
we have a responsibility to contribute to the public welfare on a global
level. TeachSpace not only enhances young people’s academic understanding
and appreciation of space exploration, it also shows them the sky is
not the limit; it’s just the beginning.”
STRETCHING THE CURRICULUM (AND BUDGET)
Dr. Piercey teamed with Dr. Wiley Larson of Teaching Science and Technology
Inc., a company that provides training for space systems engineering,
to develop Teach Space and obtain a NASA grant to launch the ambitious
five-year, $11 million project. To make the most of the budget, the
program targets teachers who are able to reach multiple classes of students
and fellow educators.
In five years, TeachSpace expects to train 10,000 teachers, who will,
in turn, teach 1 million students. “We didn’t want to just host another
kids’ program,” Dr. Piercey recalls. “Our goals are purposely far-reaching
and audacious.”
After launching the program last year, Dr. Piercey assigned day-to-day
management of TeachSpace to Dr. Michael Hickey (at left in photo above),
associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences on the Daytona Beach
Campus. “On a practical level, we need to help train the next generation,”
Dr. Hickey explains. “When the aging workforce at NASA and aerospace
corporations retires, we need qualified professionals ready to step
in. “We’re also inspiring students who will never work in the aerospace
industry but will play a vital role in sustaining our space program,”
he says. “As taxpayers, they’ll provide funding and elect the politicians
who will either support or
de-prioritize space exploration programs.”
SPACE CAMP FOR TEACHERS
TeachSpace provides training workshops, hands-on exercises and support
materials to math, science and technology teachers. Currently, only
high school teachers are eligible, but middle- and grade-school instructors
may eventually be included.
“For many students, math and science have become lackluster,” Dr.
Hickey explains. “TeachSpace uses the excitement of human space exploration
to catch and hold their attention.”
Teachers selected to participate spend three days learning hands-on
activities they can use to inspire their students. Favorites include
launching rockets and using GPS receivers in “geocaching” contests,
a kind of hightech scavenger hunt.
Workshops also include outings unique to their locale. Participants
in Daytona Beach enjoy a behind-the-scenes tour of Kennedy Space Center
at Cape Canaveral. Teachers from Arizona man the controls of flight
simulators at Embry-Riddle’s Prescott Campus. Participants at Embry-Riddle’s
Extended Campus center in Seattle take a VIP tour of the Museum of Flight.
Dr. Phillip Anz-Meador, associate professor of Physics at Embry-Riddle’s
Prescott Campus, highlights practical applications of satellites and
remote sensing. “We bring it down to a very real level and show how
the technology relates to issues the students are interested in: monitoring
deforestation, crop health and even national security issues,” he explains.
TeachSpace’s hands-on approach has won rave reviews from participants.
So far, 95 percent rate their experience as “excellent” and the remaining
5 percent rank it “good.” After attending, fully 97 percent say they
are “greatly” or “very greatly” inclined to integrate space science
topics into their curricula. Not surprisingly, competition for seats
at TeachSpace workshops can be stiff. Last year, more than 140 teachers
were nominated to participate; 20 were accepted into each of the first
two sessions.
“We’d like to serve all of the talented, highly motivated teachers
nominated,” Dr. Piercey says. Initial plans include workshops in 37
states, but through Embry-Riddle’s Extended Campus centers, workshops
could potentially reach teachers in all 50.
TEACHABLE MOMENTS
 “You
just can’t expect kids to sit with their noses in a textbook,” says
math teacher Rebecca Brown of Southfork High School in Stuart, Fla.
Thanks to activities Brown learned at TeachSpace, her students don’t
have to. After studying geostationary orbits, Brown’s class uses simple
items such as balls, flashlights and swiveling chairs to see and feel
why the earth’s rotation and a satellite’s orbit must take equal amounts
of time.
Brown extends the lesson to something near and dear to students: television.
Students use the school’s computer lab to determine the azimuth and
elevation of a DirecTV satellite while on an imaginary R.V. trip from
Tucson to Anchorage.
Brown supplies the earth’s orbital period and a formula for how long
it takes the satellite to orbit; students then use the formula to determine
the distance from earth to the geostationary orbit. Using other provided
formulas, students convert actual measures to scale measures to ascertain
what would happen to the satellite feed en route from Tucson to Anchorage.
They also compute the area of Earth (in degrees) visible from a shuttle
six miles above earth’s surface.
When Brown described the projects, her students were convinced they
couldn’t do it. “Their jaws literally dropped,” she recalls. “But once
they were out of their seats and using the props, it all started clicking.”
The project brought a potentially bland topic to life, and prompted
students to gather additional information about a new shuttle prototype.
“The orbit project was the highlight of the semester,” Brown recalls.
“Students don’t truly understand math concepts until they apply them.”
FINDING A BETTER WAY
Bill Yucuis from Lyman High School in Seminole County, Fla., incorporates
TeachSpace materials into the aerospace courses he teaches at the school’s
Engineering Institute. “It’s one of the best teaching seminars I’ve
ever been to, and I’ve been to a lot,” notes the district math and technology
teacher of the year.
The satellite tracking software and design for a PVC rocket launcher
Yucuis received at TeachSpace fit particularly well into his rocket
units. “The students work in launch teams, which I think is very important,”
he notes. “Each has specific job duties, such as timing or measuring,
and they combine their information to determine how high and fast their
rockets fly. They use three different methods—shadow, isosceles triangle
and trigonometry—then compare the results. It’s a great way to show
that answers aren’t always absolute.”
Beyond the TeachSpace textbooks and other materials, Yucuis also culled
ideas from fellow participants. “It was rejuvenating to be around bright,
creative teachers who are excited about their work,” he raves. “We brainstormed
ways to present different topics to students, and I gathered about 15
new activities.”
For Dr. Richard Bloom, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at
Embry-Riddle’s Prescott Campus, the workshops also serve a philosophical
purpose. “When I was a kid, everyone was interested in space,” Dr. Bloom
recalls. “We’d be out playing stickball and stop to talk about Sputnik
and space flight. I hope TeachSpace rekindles that enthusiasm.”
According to the evaluations teachers fill out after the workshops,
it’s already happening. “My excitement and passion for space exploration
have been contagious with my students,” notes Carolyn Guzman, math teacher
at Winter Springs High School in Winter Springs, Fla. “It’s great seeing
the younger generation once again interested in and searching for knowledge
about the wonders of the universe.”
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