Project Grant 80NSSC18K0043

THIS PROJECT PROPOSES INNOVATIVE MARS EXPLORATION EDUCATION AND TECHNOLOGY (IMEET) BASED ON THE CONCEPT OF COORDINATED AERIAL AND GROUND ROBOTS MISSIONS FOR MARS EXPLORATION. IMEET WILL BE LED BY KENNEDY SPACE CENTER VISITORS COMPLEX (KSCVC) AND WILL BE SUPPORTED BY SOUTH FLORIDA SCIENCE CENTER & AQUARIUM (SFSCA) (WEST PALM BEACH FL) COCA COLA SPACE SCIENCE CENTER (CCSSC) (COLUMBUS GA) AND THE MUSEUM OF AVIATION EDUCATION CENTER (MAEC) (SAVANNAH GA). THE GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (GEORGIA TECH)(ATLANTA GA) WILL PROVIDE CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION AND UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAVEN (UNH) (NEW HAVEN CT) WILL PROVIDE THE INDEPENDENT EVALUATION. IMEET WILL BE A TYPE 3 PROJECT. THE FIRST TWO YEARS WILL INVOLVE DEVELOPMENT AND PILOT IMPLEMENTATION OF THE IMEET SUMMER CAMPS (FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS) AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS (FOR STEM EDUCATORS) TO BE HELD AT SFSCA CCSSC MAEC AND GEORGIA TECH. GEORGIA TECH WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CURRICULUM AND WORKSHOP INSTRUCTIONS WHILE THE PROGRAM EVALUATIONS WILL BE CONDUCTED BY UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAVEN. THE CAMPS AND WORKSHOPS WILL BE COLLABORATIVE IN NATURE WHICH WILL ALLOW STUDENTS AND INSTRUCTORS TO WORK TOGETHER ON TEAMS MADE UP OF THE PARTICIPANTS FROM MULTIPLE GEOGRAPHIC VENUES WITH THE END GOAL OF DESIGN AND MANUFACTURE OF THE COMPONENTS OF GROUND AND AERIAL ROBOTS USED IN MARS EXPLORATION MISSIONS. FORMATIVE AND SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENTS OF THE PROGRAM S FIRST YEAR ACTIVITIES WILL RESULT IN A REVISED CURRICULUM AND PEDAGOGICAL MODEL. IN SUCCESSIVE YEARS MORE GEOGRAPHIC LOCATIONS WILL BE TARGETED TO CONDUCT THE ACTIVITIES ACROSS THE NATION INCREASING THE YOUTH ENGAGEMENT IN NASA S TECHNICAL CONTENT AREAS OF AERONAUTICS SPACE EXPLORATION AND SPACE SCIENCE. EXPANSION OF THE PROGRAM WILL ALSO GENERATE LARGER SET OF QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DATA FOR BROADER DISSEMINATION OF THE IDEAS AND KNOWLEDGE IN STEM COMMUNITY. THE PROPOSAL WILL ADDRESS HOW THE PROGRAM WILL FOCUS ON ENGAGING HISTORICALLY UNDER-REPRESENTED GROUPS BY LEVERAGING PRE-EXISTING RELATIONSHIPS WITH ORGANIZATIONS AND NASA SPACE GRANT CONSORTIA. PROPOSAL WILL ALSO DISCUSS HOW THE STEM EDUCATORS WILL RECEIVE TRAINING THROUGH PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS TO TAILOR AND IMPLEMENT THE CURRICULUM IN THEIR FORMAL AND/OR INFORMAL EDUCATION SETTINGS. FINALLY THE PROPOSAL WILL DESCRIBE LONG TERM SUSTAINMENT PLAN THAT WILL INVOLVE SPONSORSHIP FROM INDUSTRY PARTNERS AND EDUCATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS. ALSO THE IMEET TEAM WILL COLLABORATE WITH SOUTHERN REGIONAL EDUCATION BOARD (SREB) TO IMPLEMENT THE NEWLY DEVELOPED PROJECT-BASED CURRICULUM IN MORE THAN 13 SREB MEMBER STATES ACROSS THE NATION.