Graves County High School, Mayfield, Kentucky
11, 12
Ms. Dowdy was part of the Spitzer Space Telescope Research Program for Teachers and Students.
Ms. Dowdy is finishing up plans for lessons involving Spitzer data that will be used for student research projects beginning sometime near the first of November when their research unit is set to begin. She plans to use the data this year with a select group of students, and hopes to expand what she knows about the database to add to future student projects.
Ms. Dowdy gave a presentation at the NSTA in April about the value of authentic research in the classroom. About twenty people were in attendance. She is scheduled to give a workshop in December of this year at KSTA (Kentucky Science Teachers Association) using some of the activities in the Spitzer kit. Ms. Dowdy plans to give presentations at future state and national conferences, and then write a feature for The Science Teacher.