NASA Offers New Science Teaching Certificate Project

WASHINGTON (Map) - WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA has unveiled the Endeavor Science Teaching Certificate Project, which will award more than 200 fellowships to educators during a five year period. Educators accepted into the project will be exposed to current NASA science and engineering and supported in translating the information for use in classrooms.

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The goal of the project is to ensure that teachers across the country can use the discoveries that NASA makes on a daily basis to inspire the next generation of explorers, scientists, engineers, and astronauts.

The program will provide workshops, online and on-site graduate courses and NASA content and materials to teachers and students in K-12 classrooms. NASA will work in partnership with state departments of education to ensure program participants can apply credit from project courses towards state certification requirements.

"Through the program, educators will learn to deliver cutting-edge science into the classroom, promoting science, technology, engineering and mathematics education," said Joyce L. Winterton, assistant administrator for education at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "This will include proven NASA and NASA-sponsored educational resources to meet specific learning goals."

Project fellows will earn a certificate of completion in Applied Science Education from Teachers College Innovations at Teachers College, Columbia University, N.Y., and graduate credit from other institutional partners.

Additional project efforts include assisting and training pre-service science teachers to help improve science instruction in U.S. schools.

The project will be administered by the U.S. Satellite Laboratory Inc. of Rye, N.Y. Funding for the program is provided through the NASA Endeavor Teacher Fellowship Trust Fund, in tribute to the dedicated crew of the space shuttle Challenger.

For additional information about the Endeavor Science Teaching Certificate Project and other NASA education programs, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/education