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InSight Mission to Mars Vital Signs of the Planet Professional Development Program

Mission

InSight (INterior exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy, and Heat Transport) is a NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Discovery Program mission that will place a single geophysical lander on Mars to study its deep interior. The purpose of the mission is to answer a fundamental science question: how were the rocky planets, like Earth, formed? InSight is dquipped with sophisticated geophysical instruments to measure the planet's "pulse" (seismology), "temperature" (heat flow probe), and "reflexes" (precision tracking), or the "Vital Signs of the Planet." This technology is mean to explore the processes which brought about the rocky planets of the inner solar system.

To learn more about the InSight Mission to Mars, please visit the NASA/JPL website as well as the InSight home page

Program

The JPL InSight E/PO team, Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC), California State University San Bernardino (CSUSB), United States Geological Survey (USGS) and Stanford University, and the San Bernardino County Museum serves formal education environments through engaging science educators in the "Vital Signs of the Planet" Professional Development Program, a standards-based middle and high school research experience and curriculum development program offering strong connections STEM research, provide teachers with authentic experiences in scientific inquiry, encourage instructional improvement in schools, and foster deep engagement with local underserved communities.

The purpose of the Vital Signs of the Planet (VSP) Professional Development Program is to better prepare educators to teach students about various aspects of earthquake phsyics and safety. The NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory (NASA/JPL) Mars InSight Mission acts as the content basis for this program. Teachers from around Southern California are invited to apply to participate in this summer-intensive program which is a standards-based middle and high scool research experience and curriculum development program offering strong connections to STEM research. The program provides teachers with authetic experiences in scientific inquiry, encourages instructional improvement in schools, and fosters deep engagement with local underserved comumunities. Upon graduation from this program, program fellows have honed seismorgaphic field research skills, published a scientific research poster, developed and tested new curriculum, and presented findings at a conference. 

As part of VSP, teachers undergo one-month intensive summer training. The program is the result of collaboration efforts between SCEC, NASA/JPL, the InSight Education and Public Outreach team (E/PO), California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB), and the United States Geological Survey Pasadena office (USGS - Pasadena), during which teachers gain exposure to the experts and their fields of study and work at each of these prestigious institutions. 

InSight’s Professional Development plan adds to the JPL Science Mission Directorate’s toolkit for enhancing educators STEM content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and their understanding of scientific methods/habits of mind. Teachers will enhance students’ understanding of both Earth and solar system science concepts through educational experiences that integrate data into learning about the science of earthquakes (emphasis on geodesy and seismology) and solar-system phenomena.

This Professional Development program will utilize Lesson Study to adapt standards-aligned STEM materials (provided by the InSight Mission) to help teachers work with comparative planetology concepts within the current educational environment.

 

Major partners

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (NASA/JPL) is located in Pasadena, California and is responsible for the InSight rover that will launch in 2016 to study the formation of planets similar to Mars.

California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB) has a strong Geological Sciences program and helped the VSP Professional Development Program with information and leadership for the four-day field research trip. Led by Dr. Sally McGill, CSUSB provided the vital resources to perform and contribute to ongoing tectonic research.

 

USGS - Pasadena was also an important sponsor in this program. USGS-Pasadena has provided many of the teaching materials used in this program as well as in hundreds of other earthquake-safety programs in the region and around the world. The Pasadena office works with various organizations in the Los Angeles area to promote earthquake safety and further research efforts.

 

Caltech is the home of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and is thus an important researcher in the field of earthquake science. Caltech has provided tours and information to teachers in this program which have been vital to their success.

 

The Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) has been a valuable partner in the creation and execution of the VSP Professional Development Program. IRIS funds and conducts research investigating earthquake science, develops educational materials, and is an important resource for real-time, current earthquake data.