General Public: Museum, General Public: Amateur, Community College, 10, 11, 12
Mr. Senson is part of the NITARP 2020 class.
I hope other teachers get to keep experiencing this program forever, because this is the single greatest professional development opportunity I have ever experienced, and I'm a junkie. I was a master teacher for a nationwide pre college and engineering program for 18 years. I've run non profits for 20 years. This is the best PD experience for teachers I've ever experienced, because it is authentic from beginning to end.
[working at the same level as the students] changes how you approach teaching. Being surrounded by people, whether they're older or younger, who are asking these awesome questions, it’s liberating.
The networking is amazing. I could call up another NITARP teacher at the drop of my hat and just have a conversation. It’s awesome—the network you build with people who are just as curious and fired up as you are.
I've been in the classroom for 35 years, and almost all science education, certainly through the high school level, is fact based and has nothing to do with how science is really done. The opportunity to actually participate in research from square one, where there's a question and no one knows how to answer it, but we're going to figure it out, was just so enticing.
Every time we meet or talk or work on the project I feel just a little bit more knowledgeable, skilled and, perhaps most importantly, confident in what I know and can do...
Thank you for opening such a wonderful door of opportunity for me. These two years have been the best professional learning experience of my career.
NITARP has been the best experience I have ever had for my personal and professional development as an astronomy educator.