Murep aerospace academy for the southwest (MAA southwest) the overarching goal of the murep aerospace academy for the southwest (MAA southwest) at the university of texas at EL paso(utep) is to…

This is a cooperative agreement awarded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) for the MUREP Aerospace Academy for the Southwest (MAA Southwest) program. The MAA Southwest program aims to inspire and prepare underserved K-12 students in the Southwest border region for advanced studies and careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), particularly aerospace-related fields. The $375,000 award supports classroom instruction, STEM-themed outreach events, and student visits to UTEP's specialized aerospace education facilities. The program leverages UTEP's expertise as a Hispanic-serving institution with a focus on developing the STEM pipeline. This contract does not have a set-aside designation.

Murep aerospace academy for the southwest (MAA southwest) the overarching goal of the murep aerospace academy for the southwest (MAA southwest) at the university of texas at EL paso(utep) is to inspire and prepare underserved k-12 students in the southwest border region for advanced studies and careers in the stem, particularly, aerospace related fields. The MAA southwest at utep engages an underserved and economically disadvantaged hispanic population who are critically underrepresented in stem disciplines. The MAA southwest is the successor of the wellestablished utep NASA science, engineering, mathematics and aerospace academy (semaa) program which has successfully engaged and prepared more than 5600 k-12 students and 400 in-service teachers. The MAA southwest engages students through three different pathways: (1) classroom contact time via in-school, after-school and also saturday class models, (2) stem-themed outreach events and activities geared for family participation, and (3) student outreach day visits and programs (workshops, camps) at utep, with a focus on the use of specialized technology (3D printing and little bits) to support 'maker movement' projects. The classroom programs involve the delivery of a curriculum with a focus on ideas (e.g., examining issues of importance and relevance to society and culture), inquiry-based lessons, and hands-on activities. The themes throughout are NASA or space-related. The content covered reinforces and/or complements existing grade-level content according to state standards. The MAA southwest curriculum incorporates hands-on activities from semaa and NASA. IT follows the model of an existing adaptation of the semaa curriculum whereby semaa lessons and activities are embedding into a narrative structure. First piloted in 2013 at semaa by the partnering non-profit, philosophic systems institute (PSI) of EL paso, IT is an interdisciplinary approach, incorporating not only the arts, but also reasoning and logic. Since this adapted curriculum was received with much interest and success among both teachers and their students, the MAA southwest at utep will continue working with PSI as its partner to further develop and update the curriculum and to provide specialized teacher training and coaching. Outreach events offer NASA or stem-related talks by experts and also provide engaging hands-on NASA demonstrations and activities. Family involvement is important since parental or caregiver understanding and support are crucial to a student's career success. Through these events, the families are made aware of the various pathways and mechanisms by which a student can progress and excel in his or her studies and extracurricular activities in preparation for college. This is important since, regionally, a significant portion (only 16.6% of the adult EL paso county residents hold a college degree) of adult caregivers does not have college degrees. Outreach day visits to utep involve the use of, but are not limited to, utep's aerospace education lab (AEL). This lab has an inventory of high technology engineering, aerospace and aeronautical teaching tools that can be used for demonstrations and handson projects. Attending groups include primarily the MAA southwest in school, after school or saturday classes, but IT would also be open to other k-12 groups like robotics clubs, girl scouts groups, and the family outreach events. Outside of the AEL, on the utep campus, there are numerous other points of interest like various research and instructional laboratories of the college of engineering and college of sciences, utep centennial museum, and chihuahuan desert gardens. The MAA southwest at utep will have a particular emphasis on the new 'maker movement' to develop engineering skills including creativity and ideation, problem-solving, teamwork, and build and test skills. Advanced technologies at utep will be used to support this initiative, namely, the mechanical engineering department