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Colorado Researcher Will Advise Explorer Schools Evaluation
CET Fri Oct 15 2004

The past president of the American Educational Research Association has agreed to lend her expertise to the ongoing evaluation of the NASA Explorer Schools program being conducted by the NASA-sponsored Classroom of the Future.

Dr. Hilda Borko of the University of Colorado, an expert in the design principles for professional development and preservice education, will work with the Classroom of the Future™ team on the Explorer Schools project. Borko’s long-term research agenda focuses on determining best practices in professional development by examining differences across systems of professional development. In a conference call with Dr. Steven McGee, chief research and development officer for the Classroom of the Future, Borko indicated that the Explorer Schools program is a good example of a system of professional development. She is interested in advising Classroom of the Future researchers on this long-term research agenda.

A total of 50 Explorer Schools partner with NASA each year to participate in real-life experiences and promote science, mathematics, and technology careers to students in underserved areas and to provide professional development opportunities for teachers. The Classroom of the Future is overseeing an evaluation and assessment of the program and is also creating five E-missions, or simulations. An e-Mission allows students to tackle through distance learning a real-life problem or event, using NASA technology and research as a launching point. One of the e-Missions being tested asks students to fly a virtual plane over the surface of Mars and choose the best location to build the first base on the red planet. Students employ a variety of math skills, especially geometry and trigonometry, in trying to determine the optimal location for the base.

As president of the American Educational Research Association, Borko led 20,000 members representing a broad range of disciplines, including education, psychology, statistics, sociology, history, economics, philosophy, anthropology, and political science. The association seeks to improve the educational process by encouraging scholarly inquiry related to education and by promoting the dissemination and practical application of research results.

November 10, 2004

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