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NASA Explorer Schools Project Overview
Between May 1 and January 31, schools in the United States and U.S. territories are eligible to apply online for an opportunity to become a NASA Explorer School. The NES project, launched in 2003, is designed to support educators' use of NASA's engaging mathematics, science and technology with students, and families through sustained professional development, exciting student learning opportunities, integration of technology, and involvement of parents or care-givers.
Through the NES project, NASA establishes a three-year partnership with up to 50 school teams each year. School teams consist of teachers and education administrators of under-served students in grades 4-9 from diverse communities across the country. Educators and students in a NASA Explorer School become involved in the excitement of NASA research, discoveries and missions through participation in engaging NASA learning adventures and scientific challenges.
Image to right: Northeast Nodaway School District, Ravenwood, Mo., advertises their NES kickoff to the community. Credit: NASA
Over the three years, school teams work with NASA personnel and other partners to develop and implement improvement plans for staff and students. These plans promote and support the use of NASA content and programs to address the school teams' local needs in mathematics, science and technology through authentic experiences. Educators and students are provided with content-specific activities. These activities support local and state curricula through the active engagement of students in STEM investigations that allow them to apply STEM concepts and learn about career paths. Schools in the project are eligible to receive up to $17,500 from NASA (pending budget approval) over the three years to support the purchase and integration of technology tools that support student engagement in science and mathematics.
Project Objectives
NASA and the U.S. Office of Management and Budget evaluate the NES project on the achievement of the following project goals: --Increase student interest and participation in mathematics, science, technology and geography.
--Increase student knowledge about careers in mathematics, science, engineering and technology.
--Increase student ability to apply mathematics, science, technology, and geography concepts and skills in meaningful ways.
--Increase the active participation and professional growth of educators in science.
--Increase the academic assistance for and technology use by educators in schools with high populations of under-served students.
--Increase family involvement in children's learning.
Project Evaluation and Assessment
NES project evaluation and assessment examines the first three years of the NASA Explorer Schools project using a blended method approach that combines qualitative and quantitative methods. Applying a theory-based research design, a cluster-based, randomly selected sample of case study school implementations is rated and compared to the theoretical guidelines of anticipated outcomes and practices. Student achievement scores were collected to compare participating schools' standing in their district and state the year before beginning the NASA Explorer Schools project with their standing after one, two, three and four (one-year post completion) years of participation. The research design includes pre- and post-test comparisons to examine the impact of the STEM education intervention on school curriculum, teacher professional development, technology integration, family involvement, and student interest and achievement. Through this evaluation process, positive effects on teachers, students and families involved in NES are demonstrated. + Summary of data and programmatic findings from 2003 to 2006
+ Summary of survey data, case studies and other sources from 2007
+ Download PDF viewer
Summer Professional Development Workshops
An initial needs assessment collects information about areas of concern for the NASA Explorer School to determine program direction for the first summer workshop and follow-on support. Educators and a school administrator who are NES team members attend an all-expenses-paid, one-week professional development workshop at one of the ten NASA field centers. During this NES orientation workshop, team members will: --Gain experience with engaging grade-appropriate, NASA-related hands-on/minds-on activities and educational materials.
--Learn how to use technology tools to support classroom investigations.
--Collaborate with their team to prepare an action plan to address local needs in science, mathematics, or technology education.
--Design a customized professional development plan to support the implementation of the team's local action plan by using distance learning and identified state content experts.
--Discover new avenues for collaborative learning through advanced educational technologies and strategies.
--Strengthen and increase knowledge about problem-based learning and the inquiry process.
--Develop an action plan to support your incorporation in local/state curricular needs.
--Learn real-world and practical applications of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM, and geography from NASA scientists, researchers and engineers.
After a year of implementing the improvement plan in classrooms and school activities, NES educators are invited to attend a one-week, all-expenses-paid, content-specific workshop at NASA field centers during the second summer of the project. NASA centers offer workshops based on the center's area of scientific concentration. Each educator can select from any of the offerings based on the needs of the school's improvement plan, the team's strategic plan and the educational background of the educator. Some examples of past summer content workshops are Technology Immersion, Astrobiology, Robotics Exploration and Education, NASA Mathematics, Human Spaceflight and Investigating Earth From Space. A workshop for year-two administrators is also offered in the first quarter of the school year.
 | In preparation for transition to alumni status, during the third summer, some team members attend an all-expenses-paid sustainability conference. The focus of the conference is to discover methods for sustaining NES project momentum through partnerships. NASA advocates mobilizing an integrated group of stake-holders from academia, industry, government and community-based organizations to impact long-term STEM education reform efforts.
Image to left: NES students have opportunities to participate in hands-on NASA activities that might otherwise be unavailable to them. Credit: NASA
Special Professional Development Opportunities
The NES project's impact extends beyond the core NES team, with teachers throughout the school implementing inquiry-based learning techniques and enjoying increased student engagement. The NES project focuses on dynamic best practices in the instruction of science and mathematics. NES gives educators opportunities for professional development that would otherwise be unattainable. In-depth learning experiences give teachers the chance to develop new areas of expertise. Unique professional development opportunities for teachers and administrators are offered through a variety of channels throughout the school year. Access through NASA Web sites and video conferencing to astronauts, scientists and engineers in projects and missions; education experts and field sites, along with in-situ experiences provides educators with curriculum background and support. Full scholarships are offered to NES educators to attend regional and national workshops and conferences.
Student Opportunities
The contribution of NES often affects an entire school by facilitating cooperation among different grade levels and between both students and teachers. By linking science and mathematics to real-world NASA activities, students gain a sense of relevance and involvement. Students design experiments and fly them on sounding rockets; they then analyze the data from their experiments. They also have the opportunity to design a microgravity experiment, which their teacher will conduct on board NASA's Reduced Gravity aircraft. Students create and modify experiments, interpret data, and present their findings to peers and NASA at the annual all-expenses-paid NES Student Symposium.
Family Engagement
NES brings people together around the collective interest of teaching students skills needed to succeed in the future. NES provides strategies, materials and resources for families to support their children's science and mathematics education. NES develops a trained network of local family coordinators who work with NASA education experts to implement local family events. Many events combine celebration and learning into a memorable and worthwhile experience for all who attend. Some past family engagement events include: --Kick-off events at each new NES school including day and evening components.
--Family rocket workshops.
--Lunar Challenge activities.
--Family NASA nights.
--Star parties.
--Family math nights.
Inspiring Hope
NES expands horizons -- opening young minds to the possibilities of what the future holds. NES strives to make the resources, experiences, and tools necessary for effective science and mathematics education available to schools nationwide. The NES project links educators and students to resources and facilities that are normally beyond reach in the public school system. This direct contact plays an integral part in impacting individual students and entire school communities. NES connects NASA to communities at a personal level that allows students, teachers, parents, administrators and the local community to experience and interact with NASA outside the newspaper headlines.
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