NSF Award
9150120
This project proposes to develop six Guides for teachers (three each for elementary and middle-school grades). Each Guide will contain about ten hands-on science activities suitable for from ten to twelve weeks of study. The activities will present many sciences and some non-science disciplines that are naturally linked and integrated by a research discipline that uses all of them, SETI--"Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence". The activities in each Guide will be organized to begin with a look at the Earth, solar system, and universe, then examine questions about life on Earth. This segments ends with questions and imaginative constructs on the possibility of life elsewhere in the universe. In so doing, they will present biology, Earth science, physical science, and other standard classroom taught sciences from a fresh perspective of their possible bearing on the existence of life elsewhere. They will also integrate the sciences with some non-scientific subjects, such as art, history, and social sciences, in a natural manner specified by the SETI/LIFE-IN-THE-UNIVERSE connection. The activities will emphasize hands-on learning and how learning is acquired, as well as subject matter, in a way that develops both communication skills and critical thinking. We expect that the great interest to young students in SETI, with the natural integration of subjects that it mandates, will upgrade students skills in the sciences and sustain their interest in seeking careers in science.
