Chelen Johnson
This virtual team collects all independent research presented in 2015, and done by NITARP or Spitzer alumni with (or without) students outside of a formal NITARP team.
Having the opportunity to get new ideas from my peers and discuss projects, activities and strategies helps me to grow and keeps me from becoming stagnant in my teaching. Programs like this are like gold to me because the financial situation in the district in which I teach is such that there is no money available to send our faculty to national conferences.
Working with teachers and astronomers across the country was great for my personal knowledge. Working across times zones was another fun, but interesting challenge. Learning how to work with completely new people, being in a new place, learning new material, all of these experiences help shape me better as a person.
This experience has reinforced to me the importance of learning science by doing science.
