Linking NASA & the Geography Standards
http://missiongeography.org
Mission Geography
Workshop• Introduce Mission Geography’s mission…• Model ___ investigations
• Geoarchaeology (Grades 5-8)• Physical and Human Made Features (Grades K-4)• Volcanoes (Grades 5-8)• ENSO (Grades 9-12)
• Introduce Mission Geography On Line• Your feedback…
Geography for Life
• A vision of what geography education should be …
A geographically informed person…
• who sees meaning in the arrangement of things in space…
Can you identify London, Amsterdam, Rome, Moscow, and Berlin?
A geographically informed person…
• Who sees relations between
places
& environments
people
A geographically informed person…
• Who uses geographic skills…
• And who applies spatial and ecological perspectives to life situations.
A geographically informed person…
NASA’s Education Program & Evaluation Framework
Mission Geography• Curriculum support materials
that link the content, skills, and perspectives of Geography for Life with NASA’s missions and scientific findings.
• Three grade levels: K-4, 5-8, 9-12,
• Available on one CD-ROM and for download from website
http://missiongeography.org
Mission Geography• Use NASA research, data, and images
– To drive activities, – To develop key geographic skills, e.g.,
pattern recognition and map interpretation and analysis, and
– To model the work of NASA scientists and the methods they use to conduct research.
Mission GeographyUltimate goal:
To excite and educate learners about geography, about
NASA’s research and missions, and about the world in which they live.
Editor
Evaluator
Graduate Assistants
Earth System Scientist
Jonathan Phillips
AESP
Patt Biggs
Teacher Consultants
Billie Kapp
Pat Robeson
Geography Educator
Osa Brand
K-4 Team
Earth System Scientist
David Butler
AESP
Steve Culivan
Teacher Consultant
Judy Bock
Geography Educator
Robert Morrill
5-8 Team
Earth System Scientist
Ron Dorn
AESP
Jim McMurtray
Teacher Consultant
Gary Miller
Geography Educator
David Hill
9-12 Team
Mission Geography
Co-directors
Sarah BednarzPamela Mountjoy
Advisory Board
NSTANCTMITEAGENIP
Mission Geography• Subject matter focus:
– Seeing the World in Spatial Terms– Physical Systems– Environment and
Society
Mission Geography
Mission Geography• Module Fundamentals
– Must teach interesting and meaningful geography;
– Must model geographic thinking and problem solving;
– Must engage students in real world contexts and problems.
Mission Geography• Modeling activities…
Natural Hazards• Volcanoes: Local hazard, global issue?
– NASA: Detecting change in Earth systems through monitoring signals.
– What role does volcanism play in the Earth system?
• Images• Data
Aerosols (atmosphere)
Hazard zones(lithosphere/biosphere)
Mission Geography Module
• Phase 1: Skill building and subject matter mastery.Case study of effects of volcanic eruption on Earth system, by sphere
• Investigation to clarify effects of volcanic eruption on different subsystems
• Image analysis to compare effects before/after• Develop concepts related to areal extent of
damage: buffer zone analysis
Mission Geography Module
• More skill building and subject matter mastery
• Case study of effects of volcanic aerosols on Earth system through three signal sensors: photographs from Space Shuttle, TOMS, & AVHRR– Profile & correlate temperature and aerosol index to
determine relationship
Mission Geography Module
• Phase 3: Problem solving task.Problem: Where is it safe to fly? Monitoring regions with aerosol hazards
– Collect TOMS data. – Map it. – Develop a systematic categorization
of world regions in which there is a potential hazard from volcanic ash and other aerosols.
Before the Eruption
May 1980Landsat Infrared
After the Eruption
June 1980Landsat Infrared
Pumice Plain
pumice
Mount St Helens Today
December 1999 Landsat 7 True color