The NASA Langley Pre-Service Teacher
Program (PSTP) is a partnership between the Langley Office of Education
and Norfolk State University's School of Science & Technology. The
aim of the program is to provide Pre-Service teachers and faculty members
opportunities to enhance their knowledge and skill in teaching mathematics
and science using technology at the elementary and middle school levels.
The partnership has resulted in
a series of annual Pre-Service Teacher Conferences (PSTC) and Pre-Service
Teacher Summer Institutes (PSTI). The Pre-Service Teacher Conference is
held each spring and host six hundred to 700 hundred elementary &
middle school prospective teachers from selected Historically Black Colleges
& Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), Tribal
Colleges and Universities TCUs), and and some majority institutions. Students
and faculty are exposed to invigorating general sessions and hands-on
workshops. The PSTC culminates with a Career Day where students have the
opportunity to interview with recruiters from public schools and graduate
schools from across the country.
Recognizing the need to provide
a more in-depth experience for pre-service teachers, the Pre-Service Teacher
Institute (PSTI) was developed. Pre-Service teachers representing over
104 colleges and universities spend a dynamic and engaging two-weeks in
an intensive institute where they are exposed to problem-based learning,
mathematics, and science enrichment activities. Pre-Service teachers are
able to interface with NASA personnel and tour Langley's facilities while
learning to incorporate NASA's cutting-edge research into lesson plans
for elementary and middle school students. The institute culminates with
the pre-service teachers developing and teaching problem-based learning
lesson to children from local schools. They are expected to teach in an
elementary/middle school when they return home.
The Pre-Service Teacher Conference
and the Pre-Service Teacher Institutes are made possible through the generous
funding from the Office of Equal Opportunity Programs, Minority University
Research and Education Division, NASA Headquarters.
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