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| Paper: |
Inspiration is "Mission Critical" |
| Volume: |
483, Ensuring STEM Literacy: A National Conference on STEM Education and Public Outreach |
| Page: |
449 |
| Authors: |
McCarthy, D. W.; DeVore, E.; Lebofsky, L. |
| Abstract: |
In spring 2013, the President's budget proposal restructured the nation's approach to STEM education, eliminating ∼$50M of NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) funding with the intent of transferring it to the Dept. of Education, National Science Foundation, and Smithsonian Institution. As a result, Education and Public Outreach (EPO) would no longer be a NASA mission requirement and funds that had already been competed, awarded, and productively utilized were lost. Since 1994, partnerships of scientists, engineers, and education specialists were required to create innovative approaches to EPO, providing a direct source of inspiration for today's youth that may now be lost. Although seldom discussed or evaluated, "inspiration" is the beginning of lasting education. For decades, NASA's crewed and robotic missions have motivated students of all ages and have demonstrated a high degree of leverage in society. Through personal experiences we discuss (1) the importance of inspiration in education, (2) how NASA plays a vital role in STEM education, (3) examples of high-leverage educational materials showing why NASA should continue embedding EPO specialists within mission teams, and (4) how we can document the role of inspiration. We believe that personal histories are an important means of assessing the success of EPO. We hope this discussion will lead other people to document similar stories of educational success and perhaps to undertake longitudinal studies of the impact of inspiration. |
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