NASA/IPAC Teacher
Archive Research Program

I've been involved in many professional development activities and this is by far the best one I've ever done

Chelen Johnson

NGC4051/Gorjian

IRAC Monitoring of NGC 4051 for Interday Variability: Using the Spitzer Space Telescope for a 10 day infrared monitoring of the region around the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy NGC 4051 to help determine the dust distribution around it.

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Our Participants Talk About NITARP

Today [June 2014] I was musing about how NITARP took me to my first AAS in 2012. This summer I went on my own, had a great time connecting with established friends and meeting new ones, and even presented my own poster. I'd say that's some pretty good progress! Thanks for all that you do for us teachers!
High school students are hungry for authentic research experiences, and both high school teachers and students benefit immensely from having contact with a professional astronomer. This may seem inefficient (because it costs a lot of money to connect individuals with professionals), but it can change lives, and there are wonderful ripple effects.
The most valuable learning in high school arises when students take ownership of the content. Project such as the analysis of NASA telescope data, provide some optimal examples of this type of learning experience.