Project Synopsis

Tennessee State University
Principal lnvestigator:
Marino C. Alvarez, Ed.D.

This scientific/literacy interdisciplinary project is designed to stimulate an interest in earth/space and biological science within middle, secondary, and postsecondary students.  However the project is not restricted to these subject disciplines.  Other subject areas are also included within this project. This project investigates ways in which students actively participate and learn science in a collaborative format with their teachers, university educators, community resources, and practicing scientists.

Project Design

This action research project is conducted by the Center of Excellence in Information Systems Tennessee State University (COE-ISEM). The Director of the COE-ISEM is Dr. Michael R. Busby. The project is conducted with teachers and students in four high schools: University School of Nashville; Hunters Lane High School, Nashville, Tennessee; Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Alexandria, Virginia; and George Washington High School Campus in New York City. Davidson Academy; Nashville, Tennessee is a middle school in the project. These middle and high school science, astronomy and physics teachers and their students are involved with the Variable Stars Project, the Mars Orbital Laser Altimeter (MOLA), and the Vegetation Canopy Lidar (VCL) Mission. University educators at Cornell University, Harvard Smithsonian-Center for Astrophysics Institute, Stanford University, and Vanderbilt University, and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center serve as consultants to our project.

The variable stars project consists of six phases in which students conduct their case-based research in collaboration with three full-time astronomers at Tennessee State University. These six phases are: (1) Identifying Initial Background Questions, (2) Identifying Variable Stars in Archival Data, (3) Classifying Variable Stars, (4) Analyzing Archival Variable Star Data, (5) Conducting Visual Observation of Variable Stars, and (6) Conducting Photoelectric Observation of Variable Stars on Automatic Telescopes. Tennessee State University conducts remote, automatic observing with four automatic telescopes located at the Fairborn Observatory site at Washington Camp in the Patagonia Mountains near Nogales, Arizona and the Mexican border. Within this collaboration students select and place stars on these automatic telescopes. They monitor each star's status using scientific and mathematical calculations derived from data computed from their input on computers controlling these automatic telescopes.

During each phase, students' enter their notes, observations, findings, log notations, data analyses, and so forth onto a text file. Students publish their papers on the World Wide Web that serves as a resource for other students to access and share their thoughts. They each maintain a working and a report portfolio of their student-researched case. These portfolios include students' working papers, concept maps, vee diagrams, and video segments of events or objects. This collection becomes part of each student's computer-based working portfolio that is used as a tool for self-assessment and for mediating knowledge with the teacher and their peers.

Once these six phases of the variable star case are completed, information appearing on each student researched text file is then pressed onto a compact disc. This disc serves as a repository for other students either in the same class, succeeding classes, or for students in other participating schools to access. This disc serves two purposes. First, it changes a short-term investigation into a longitudinal one in that students entering this course continue in the data analyses of these variable stars. Entering students also engage in their own initial short-term variable star project that eventually adds to the data base and becomes a longitudinal study. Second, the astronomers at TSU are able to learn more about these stars from these ongoing observations and data analyses by these student researchers.

Two other projects are affiliated with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Teachers and students in the Explorers of the Universe project are involved in the Mars Orbital Laser Altimeter (MOLA) and the Vegetation Canopy Lidar (VCL) Missions. Students in the middle and secondary grades will be investigating self-directed cases relating to these two projects. The VCL mission will orbit the Earth and collect data of the biomass of the our planet. In the VCL mission, these students will be carrying out a longitudinal study, beginning with the initial stages of the planning process, through launch in February 2000, and subsequent data gathering and analyses. The MOLA project has students mapping topography data received from the Mars Global Surveyor and developing analogies to their respective terrain locations.

The students will be collaborating with the NASA Ames Research Center to test artificial intelligence techniques for improving the scheduling of observations on these telescopes and to develop software packages for simplifying access to automatic telescopes via the World Wide Web. Students share their observations and findings among the two participating schools and within their school.

The Exploring Minds Interactive Network is has been revised and expanded to include many unique features.  This network is being used by teachers and professors in selected schools and unversities in the USA and Europe.

Pilot Study

Seven students in grades 9-12 enrolled in an astronomy class at the University School of Nashville piloted this student-directed case-based study that began in September, 1994 (see Alvarez & Rodriguez, 1995). These students worked in teams of two investigating variable stars. These students completed the initial phase of their investigation. Two teams developed their cases with variable stars, the other team studied specific Cepheid variable stars. These students kept logs of persons, references, and resources consulted; constructed concept maps and vee diagrams; and, wrote their initial draft of their paper. These papers are displayed on the World Wide Web home page of the University School of Nashville for sharing and exchanging information http://www.university-sch.davidson.k12.tn.us Bill Rodriguez is the astronomy and physics teacher at this high school and can be contacted by e-mail: rodrigb@usn.org

Seminars/Workshops

In January, 1995 a two-day seminar/workshop with the teachers involved in this project was conducted at Tennessee State University. Lee Ann Hennig and Jerry Berenty, astronomy and physics teachers at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia were present along with Beth Tarpley a science teacher from Gallatin High School, and Rick O'Hara and Bill Rodriguez, the principal and astronomy and physics teacher from the University School of Nashville. Dr. Michael Busby, Director of the Center of Excellence in Information Systems and the three astronomers (Greg Henry, Joel Eaton, and Frank Fekel) were also present as was Dr. Victoria J. Risko of Vanderbilt University a consultant. Dr. Michael Busby and Dr. Alvarez met with Dr. Scott Massey, Director of the Leonard Bernstein Center who will also be a consultant and a collaborative partner with our project.

A second seminar/workshop was held in October, 1997 at Tennessee State University's Center of Excellence in Information Systems. Teachers from Hunters Lane High School, Wellington School, and University School of Nashville attended this seminar/workshop. Greg Henry (TSU astronomer) described the operation of TSUs automatic photoelectric telescopes (APTs), which he programs from the Center of Excellence. Michael Busby (COE Director) and Marino Alvarez discussed the role of the Center and its educational plan in the Explorers Project. Bill Rodriguez reviewed the Technical Manual he authored along with Lee Ann Hennig for students to use while analyzing variable star data.

A third seminar/workshop was conducted in February, 1998 at Huntsville, Alabama during the NASA University Research Centers Conference sponsored by Alabama A&M at the Conference Center. The session was conducted by Dr. Alvarez with teachers and students from University School of Nashville, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Alexandria Virginia, Wellington School, Columbus, Ohio, Martin Luther King High School and Hunters Lane High School, Nashville, Tennessee. The focus of the seminar/workshop was on the development of case-based research investigations using the CD Case Guide format and incorporating concept maps and the Interactive Vee Diagram on the Internet. Students who were sophmores and juniors were encouraged to collaborate with each other on similar investigations for the next year.

A fourth seminar/workshop was held in May 1999 at San Diego, California during the International Reading Association Conference. The session was conducted by Dr. Alvarez, Dr. Busby, and Goli Sotoohi with teachers and high school students who presented at this conference. Mr. Paul Shapiro and his students from George Washington High School Campus, New York City, Mr. Bill Rodriguez and his students from the University School of Nashville, Tennessee, and Mr. Terry King and his students from Hunters Lane High School, Nashville, Tennessee presented papers. A student from Brentwood High School, Brentwood, Tennessee also presented her case research.

During the Spring 1999, eight students and their teacher presented their case studies at the Satellites and Education Conference XI, in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Bill Rodriguez and two of his students, Stephanie Stockman NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and Marino Alvarez presented a paper at the American Educational Research Association annual meeting in Montreal, Canada. Teachers and their students, mentioned above, presented at the International Reading Association, Montreal, Canada.

Public and Private School Partnerships

Exploring Minds is an interdisciplinary project that involves teachers and students of public and private schools. Teachers at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology and the University School of Nashville began implementing the initial phases of our project during the 1995-1996 academic year. Lee Ann Hennig can be contacted by e-mail at: lahennig@pen.k12.va.us. Two schools joined our project in September, 1997: Terry King, astronomy and physics teacher, at Hunters Lane; Teddie Gundlach, physics teacher, and Davidson Academy, Nashville, Tennessee. Mr. Paul Shapiro, George Washington High School Campus, New York City, joined the during the 1998-1999 academic school year.

Students publish their papers on the World Wide Web and have received comments from persons throughout the world. They have also e-mailed several authors and astronomers to ask for assistance in their case-base investigations. Students are planning and developing their own CDs to display their final report. An interactive Vee Diagram has been developed so that students at these schools are able to plan and carry out their research and receive feedback from their peers, teachers, university educators, astronomers, and other scientists via the Internet.

Accomplishments

Although the project has only been in existence since September 1994, it has already made an impact on a national scale. The Chronicle of Higher Education: Academe Today conducted an interview and featured the project in an article on its website, and also in The Chronicle of Higher Education (March 7, 1997) issue. It has been cited in a report published by the National Association of Secondary School Principals, and in Education Digest as an exemplary project at the secondary school level. Intelligent Agent has featured our project on their website and in their journal (Vol. 1, No. 12, April/May 1997). Locally, The Tennessean and Nashville Pride wrote feature articles about the Explorers of the Universe project. Forty publications and fifty- three presentations have resulted from this project during this period. Our presentations have been conducted at state, national, and international conferences: American Educational Research Association, American Reading Forum, College Reading Association, International Reading Association, National Reading Conference, United Kingdom Reading Conference in Winchester and in Newcastle, England, 9th European Reading Conference in Budapest, Hungary, the International Reading Association World Congress in Prague, Czech Republic, the Australian Literacy Educators Association (ALEA), and the Australian School Library Association (ASLA), Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, the International World Congress in Edinburgh Scotland, and the State of Tennessee Technological Conference. We have also developed a Compact Video Disc Case Guide with teachers, students, astronomers, and university educators. This Case Guide is designed to aid teachers and their students in developing case reports. A hypertext file serves as a companion to these CDs for access by teachers and students. A segment of this CD shows Bill Rodriguez and his students in dialogues using concept maps, and vee diagrams. Other segments show animations of concept maps and vee diagrams, and the Action Research Stragegy.

Two CDs have been developed to assist students in topics for their case research. One deals with Water on Mars; the other Planetary Transits. These CDs contain a thematic organizer, video clips, simulations, and mathematical informationdata to aid students when calculating their collected data.

The original Explorers of the Universe homepage (http://coe2.tsuniv.edu/explorers) URL was changed to http://explorers.tsuniv.edu and the site revised in January, 1999. The Explorers of Universe was renamed Exploring Minds in 2001.  The Exploring Minds website is http://exploringminds.tsuniv.edu.  The publie section provides viewers with an overview of the project, the schools involved, the people who are primary participants, works (presentations, publications and papers), and site map. Within this homepage links to the participating schools, the Tennessee Space Grant Consortium, NASA, NSF and other primary sites are displayed. The site contains a Gateway section that is restricted to participants in the project. This enable students, teachers, and researchers to develop, post, store information in individual portfoliios and communicate electroncally in unique interactive formats. Goli Sotoohi, technical consultant for the project, maintains this URL site.

These accomplishments can be attributed directly to funding and support by NASA through the Tennessee Space Grant Consortium, Network Resource Training Site (NRTS), the TSU Center of Excellence in Information Systems, NSF, and the College of Education.

Emerging Findings

Paradigms of astrophysical knowledge that are isolated into compartmentalized units of study do little to advance the interest and curiosity of high school science and mathematics teachers and their students. In fact, this type of compartmentalized knowledge is commonplace within many science and mathematics classrooms instead of incorporating related knowledge paradigms from history, art, music, literature, and other subject areas into each respective curriculum. Being able to grasp a fundamental understanding of how professional astronomers perceive their research and the paradigms under which this new knowledge is collected, classified, and analyzed, helps the university educator to plan collaborative learning environments that link the professional scientist with practitioners who are themselves wanting to engage in "real life" research practices and involve their students in the process. By engaging in this collaborative investigation a bond is being established between the university educator, these astronomers, and the classroom teacher and his students.

Emerging is a change in teaching and thinking from linear contexts to multiple paths of inquiry using multimedia learning environments. The traditional emphasis on "covering" the text in sequential stages is being abandoned in our classrooms in favor of "teaching" the facts and related ideas of a given discipline. One teacher is developing his own text and sharing it one the world wide web for other to access. Students are accessing multiple sources of electronic information in non linear inquires. "Teaching" is replacing "covering" the facts and ideas and is fostering the notion of "communities of thinkers."

In this community of thinkers (see Alvarez, 1996) knowing and coming to know become a reality. The classroom teachers are thinking and learning more about their subject area as they prepare for these cases, analyze student concept maps, vee diagrams, and working portfolios portrayed on interactive computer texts files, and negotiates the curriculum by guiding and encouraging students to engage in imaginative and critical thinking. Likewise, students are thinking and learning about the world by relating their formal in-school experiences to their informal out-of-school experiences. As they research their cases, they are self-propelled into an arena that invites them to know more about the process of learning. Their student-researched cases provide multiple possibilities for resolution, and open areas for discussion that extend and integrate the discipline with other subject areas that enrich the learning context. Together students and teachers become a community of thinkers. A community where knowledge is shared and ideas are valued.

Metacognitive tools such as hierarchical concept maps and vee diagrams engage students in thinking about what they are learning with print, electronic texts, and data gathered from automatic photoelectric telescopes. These tools provide students with a venue to display visually their ideas and serve as instruments to engage in a forum that encourages self-reflection and rethinking of facts and ideas. Knowledge paradigms of scientists, teachers, and students are mediated through meaningful materials, metacognitive tools, and an emergent curriculum that encourages question-asking, question-seeking, introspection, and shared meanings in sciocultural contexts.