Chelen Johnson
They Might Be Giants are using data from the Kepler mission to classify the brightness changes of giant stars in an effort to understand how the observed brightness variations of giant stars may relate to the different stages of giant star evolution.
[...]that provided a wonderful window into the student’s perspective of the NITARP experience. I loved how they talked about seeing math as a way of communicating and for checking data…not as THE right answer type computations. Many then said that concept was new and they really appreciated it.
I think that more than anything else, hearing these kids talk about their work really convinced me how valuable this experience is for students.
[..]Students who are given the opportunity to do "real science" generally find a greater deal of success when it comes to understanding concepts (and at a deeper level).
