Quinsigamond Community College
Faculty Externship Proposal
Summer 2006

Submitted March 2006

Spitzer Space Telescope
Young Cluster Survey
Education and Public Outreach
Webpage Development

Andria C. Schwortz
Quinsigamond Community College
Worcester, MA

in collaboration with
Dr. Robert Gutermuth
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Cambridge, MA

Rationale

Space-based astronomical telescopes are essential to modern astronomy.  Earth-based telescopes are limited by distortions and absorption from the Earth’s atmosphere.  While the famous Hubble Space Telescope (HST) operates in the visible wavelength regime, the less well-known Spitzer Space Telescope operates in the infrared (IR). 

Part of the fame of the HST is due to the large efforts in education and public outreach through the webpage HubbleSite (http://hubblesite.org), pictured below in Figures 1 through 3.  HubbleSite not only contains the best images of the Hubble Space Telescope, but lessons for the general public, and for K-12 teachers to use in their classrooms. 

Another example of a good webpage for both outreach and education is the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (http://skyserver.sdss.org/), Figures 4-5.  This page also includes actual astronomical data, as well as lesson plans for both the general public and students through college level.  The Spitzer Space Telescope does have outreach pages of their own (Figure 6), however the educational pages (Figure 7) tend to be aimed at a lower age level and would not be directly useful in a college classroom. 

The tangible goal for this project will be to plan and begin creation of a similar site for the Spitzer Space Telescope Young Cluster Survey (YCS), in collaboration with Dr. Robert Gutermuth of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA), Cambridge, MA.  The YCS is a specific project using Spitzer, and the current web page (Figure 8) contains only images without any explanation, and is not accessible to the general public.  The finished site will include images for public interest, press releases, and lessons aimed at the general public and K-higher education formal and informal educators.  The resulting webpage will be used by physics, astronomy, and other science courses at Quinsigamond Community College, as well as other institutions and individuals, potentially throughout the world. 

For this project, Dr. Gutermuth will provide astronomy expertise, I myself will provide educational experience, and together we both have significant web page design experience. 

Andria C. Schwortz

Summer 2006

Faculty Externship Proposal

1)                  Describe the goals for your externship project.

Collaborate with Dr. Robert Gutermuth of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA), Cambridge, MA, to create a webpage that will present astronomy research content from the Spitzer Space Telescope Young Stellar Cluster Survey (Gutermuth, et al.) to learners and teachers at multiple levels.  The webpage will include sections for the general public, for K-16 (higher education) learners, and for K-16 educators, and informal educators.  See previous pages for examples of webpages similar to our target. 

2)                  Define anticipated outcomes with respect to program, curriculum and/or instructional delivery.

The Quinsigamond Community College science courses that include astronomy (SCI 103, 104, 105, 111, 112, and 135) cater to typically non-science students in a wide variety of programs and majors, including Early Childhood and Elementary Education pre-service teachers and childcare providers.  In addition, astronomy may be used to communicate physics material (PHY 101, 102, 105, 106, 205).  Higher education material presented on the website can be used directly in both science and physics courses.  K-12 material for educators can be used by pre-service teachers in science classes.  Working on the project will allow me to better understand and present complex topics in current astronomy research to my students. 

3)                  Explain why you selected this particular aspect of the curriculum on which to focus?

Astronomy is one of the topics of science most fascinating to students.  The subfield of star and planet formation is one of the more approachable aspects of astronomy, which students can easily grasp without in-depth background knowledge.  Bringing in current research into the classroom will allow students to see the dynamic nature of science and engage them in the content. 

4)                  State the anticipated benefits to your students.

This project will address multiple Core Indicators of student success, described below. 

Core Indicator One – Positive Course Completion Rates

Students whom are more engaged in course content will be more likely to complete the course.  Increasing my own proficiency in communicating current research to students will increase their comprehension of the material and increase their success rate.  Education students who see material relevant to their future careers are more likely to complete the course.  Physics students will see diverse applications of physics material, appealing to those not pursuing an engineering or technology degree and increasing their probability of completing the course alongside their peers. 

Core Indicator Two – Positive Attainment of an Associate Degree or Certificate

Increased course completion rates (as in Core Indicator One) will increase degree and certificate attainment.  Various science courses fill requirements from many of the degree and certificate programs at Quinsigamond Community College.  Programs that require one or more of these science courses (2006-2007 Catalog) are listed below. 

Table 1 – programs and degrees requiring science and physics courses. 

Core Indicator Three – Positive Placement Rates: Job, Military or Transfer

Students in degree and transfer programs with increased degree or certificate attainment will be more likely to attain job or transfer placement.  Science courses are used by many students when they transfer, and increased course completion in the sciences will aid in their transfer process.  Increased interest in science courses may guide new students to transferring in the sciences.  Students specifically interested in astronomy will be further guided towards competitive astronomy baccalaureate programs. 

Core Indicator Four – High % of Nontraditional by Gender Students Enrolled in our gender-imbalanced programs (ex: male nurses or female engineers)

Astronomy has a better gender balance than many fields of science (that is, closer to gender equity rather than a preponderance of males), and is the best among physical sciences, showing the appeal of astronomy to female students.  The inclusion of more astronomy material will help women to succeed in science, physical science, and physics courses, and in gender imbalanced programs requiring these courses, such as engineering and technology. 

5)                  Will your Externship benefit any particular “Special Population” student group?

 The DOE requires that we use Perkins funds to increase the success of our “Special Population” students. These students fall into the following categories, which are defined in the Perkins grant:

• Students with Disabilities

• Limited English Proficient Students

• Economically Disadvantaged Students

• Single Parents

• Displaced Homemakers

• Students in Programs Nontraditional by Gender

See Question 4, Core Indicator Four, above for students in programs nontraditional by gender.  In addition, all benefits listed above regarding course and program completion rates will apply to special population groups.  Online lesson plans will also allow students with different learning styles (such as students with disabilities, limited English proficient students, and displaced homemakers), or who require more flexible time schedules  (such as economically disadvantaged students with multiple jobs, and single parents), to complete lessons in a time frame that they feel comfortable with. 

6)                  Define the anticipated benefit to the host employer.

I will help develop a website that will increase the host employer’s presence on the internet, as well as increasing their education and public outreach efforts, therefore improving public awareness of the organization.  This project may also become the core of a continuing outreach program that can apply for further funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). 

7)                  List the site(s) at which you plan to complete the externship.

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA. 

8)                  Have you made an initial contact with the employer yet?

Yes, Dr. Robert Gutermuth is my contact, and the astrophysicist with whom I would be working.