Chelen Johnson
Luminous Data Miners: Using ultraviolet images from the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) satellite and infrared images from the Spitzer Space Telescope to find a correlation between the color and luminosity of gas emission and dust emission around supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies.
My observation was that [our students'] ideas for their future expanded with the whole experience. That science became more than a class but an endeavor in which they could participate.
NITARP has transformed my life and the way I teach, so it's difficult to find anything that has NOT been influenced by this experience!
Many science teachers begin the year with a discussion of the “scientific method.” Our group modeled just that … Starting with a problem, researching background papers, submitting a research proposal, analyzing authentic data, and drawing conclusions models the scientific process in real life.
