NASA’s Heliophysics Education Activation Team Collaborates with Teachers to Create Standards-Based Heliophysics Curricula

NASA’s Heliophysics Education Activation Team (NASA HEAT) created a professional learning community of teachers to develop inquiry-based lesson plans that incorporate heliophysics concepts into physical, life, and Earth science curricula, with the intention of creating a true integrative approach to teaching systems science, supported by national education standards. This 2023/2024 cohort was composed of ten teachers from a diverse set of communities across the US, including AZ, NV, IL, MN, MD, WI, WA, and Puerto Rico. From June 27th - July 1st, 2022, Teachers spent a week with NASA HEAT educators and subject matter experts to create three heliophysics-focused lessons each to pilot-test in their classrooms during the 2022/2023 school year. NASA HEAT will continue to support teachers in the implementation of their lessons throughout the year, collecting data to create a sustainable model for engaging learners in heliophysics in the formal education classroom.

The NASA HEAT project is supported by NASA under cooperative agreement award number 80NSSC21K1560 and is part of NASA's Science Activation Portfolio. Learn more about NASA HEAT: https://science.nasa.gov/science-activation-team/nasa-heliophysics-education-activation-team