Spring 2022
GES 692 class: Computational
Astronomy – A Universe of Calculations
This online workshop is a professional development class worth 1-graduate credit. The course starting January 22, 2022, will be offered via Zoom on six Saturdays:
- January 22, 2022
- February 5, 2022
- February 19, 2022
- March 5, 2022
- March 19, 2022
- April 2, 2022
at 9 am – 12 pm Mountain Time (11 am – 2 pm Eastern Time, 10 am – 1pm Central Time, and 8 am – 11 am
Pacific Time).
During the workshop, the math and science teacher participants will learn about the mathematical applications used in astronomy and space exploration, with the goal of being able to use that knowledge in their classrooms. Through carefully selected
materials, the workshop will emphasize the connections between mathematics and space science. Lesson plans for the middle and high school classroom will be developed for courses such as math, physical science, and biology.
Logistics:
- Earn one graduate credit, with 20 hours participation during the workshop.
- Maximum of 15 participants for the workshop (first come, first served).
- The $40 tuition for the workshop is covered for all participants by our grant money.
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Tentative Schedule is available.
- Each teacher participant from South Dakota, will be eligible for additional $160 stipend at the end of the workshop for attending and contributing to the development of lesson plans based on the topics discussed during lectures.
Topics include:
James Webb telescope, infectious diseases in a colony, Kepler’s Laws, Cepheid variable stars, time dilation, space physiology, space weather, SpaceX launch, and more.
Mathematical applications and modeling will be done with calculators, with spreadsheets, and with Desmos.
Course
Prerequisites: Successful completion of a bachelor’s degree program, K-12 teaching experience in Math or Science, and familiarity with Algebra, Trigonometry, and spreadsheets such as Windows Excel.
Acknowledgement: NASA – South Dakota Space Grant Consortium provided funding for this project.