October-December 2006
Ms. Weehler presented a seminar at San Antonio Science and Math Saturday on October 7, hosted by South San Antonio Independent School District. She presented the Spitzer Teacher Research Program to seven math and science teachers. They were very enthusiastic about the program; the Calculus math teachers asked about using data from sources such as WMap to measure shape of the Universe, another teacher was interested in the RBSE Program and contacted them. Everyone gave her their email addresses, and she has been in contact with all of the participants, who were from 5 different school districts in San Antonio.
Ms. Weehler is using the notes she took in Pasadena this summer to write steps for teachers and students so they can use the data her team has collected, including Russ Layer's Excel Worksheet, making light curves, color-color plots, and SEDs. With Dr. Luisa Rebull, she wrote a chart of notes indicating the characteristics of young stars that include those they will use to identify their young stars as actual candidates.
July-September 2006
Ms. Weehler visited the SSC in July 2006 to work on two Spitzer projects, IC 2118 and M81.
The IC2118 team's research was written up in Astronomy Magazine, Sept., 2006.
The group is currently working on methods for making use of authentic data available to teachers.
Ms. Weehler has one student this year who is working on the project, with another slated for next year.
She is in the process of designing the course for looking at the data now.
Her student is currently learning the background of IR light and star formation.
Ms. Weehler will be presenting at the San Antonio Saturday Science and Math Conference on October 7.
Her topic will be the Spitzer Teacher Research Program, emphasizing how real data can be used in classrooms.
This is a well-attended regional conference, but she doesn't know how many will attend the session yet.
Ms. Weehler presents work from the Spitzer program periodically in all her Chemistry classes and updates it as they progress.
She also has her student present.
June 2006:
Ms. Weehler will be meeting in Pasadena July 6-12 to work with the data analysis for Round 2. She is planning lessons for the Fall that her students can follow in their Science Research and Design class. Her students started getting ready at the end of the year by going through the Sofia kit activities. Once school starts they will
be assigned some activities from the "Star Light Star Bright" Heasarc website to understand black bodies, and from Cool Cosmos.
Study star formation and life cycles with college textbook (for non-majors) Cosmic Perspective.
Use the Student Handbook to
get to know MaximDL and what it can do
work on SEDs
work on color-color plots using Microsoft Excel
Start to work with the data analysis
Participate in writing results?
Ms. Weehler and her student were interviewed by Texas Public Radio for a 6 minute interview that aired locally on April 28, 2006 on the program "Morning Edition." Estimated audience: this Public Radio station broadcasts in a market that includes the 8th largest city in the nation, San Antonio, so potentially quite a large audience. In fact, Ms. Weehler has been interviewed by an education student for a class assignment due to the publicity. The TPR interview is now on the Spitzer Teacher's website. Due to the press release generated by Gordon Squires and Linda Vu she received a call from the San Antonio Express News newspaper (the largest newspaper in this market that includes the 8th largest city) to do a feature article on the program and students this summer. They decided not to do the story when Ms. Weehler decided not to bring students to Pasadena this summer, but she will stay in contact with them for a potential story this school year.
This program has affected Ms. Weehler's students in two ways:
All of them are aware of the research because Ms. Weehler gives them updates as the program evolves, and they are very interested in it. Students not in her classes have been asking their teachers about it because we put up a display in the front lobby of the school.
My one Spitzer student from last year considered it a highlight of her Senior year. Being a special education student, she became comfortable with the knowledge that she can do advanced work (something she noted she had never been offered before) and that being dyslexic doesn't equate to lack of intelligence. "It was a bet on both of our parts that she could do this, and she was extremely capable. I'm so proud of her!"
Dr. Giovanni Fazio, the developer of the IRAC camera we used in our research, spoke at his old alma mater, St. Mary's University, and Ms. Weehler took two students to hear him. "We introduced ourselves and he was delighted that his camera was being used by high school students."
Ms. Weehler has three potential students this year who will be working, like last year, in a "stacked" class as an independent study, with Ms. Weehler as facilitator at the same time she is teaching a Chemistry class.
October 2005:
Ms. Weehler presented 2 workshops at San Antonio Regional Science/Math Saturday on Oct. 15, to teachers from around Texas;
"Incredible Infrared: Feeling and Hearing Light" and one on the Spitzer Teacher Research Project.
Ms. Weehler presented two workshops at the Conference for the Advancement of Science Teachers (CAST) in Houston, TX, on Oct. 27-29.
These workshops were co-presented with Babs Sepulveda and each was 1.5 hours long. She also gave our website to a NASA clearing-house group at
the conference who had heard of us by word of mouth only but had placed us in their brochure.
Ms. Weehler used the Texas Public Radio Station (KSTX) recording studio and equipment for student Jessica Herrera to interview Dr. Tom Soifer from
San Antonio about the Spitzer Telescope and Teacher Research Program. Jessica used this information to write a story for The Harvest News,
the Burbank High School student paper. She was also interviewed by Rolando Martinez for The Communicator, the San Antonio Independent Schoo
l District newsletter. The Spitzer Program has now been written up three times in school district newsletters.
Student Jessica Herrera and Ms. Weehler were both interviewed by Ernie Villarreal at KSTX for a story that he will produce in January, to be aired before the AA
S conference in Washington D.C. where we will present our poster papers.
Jessica has been working on making tri-color images using Maxim DL and writing a composite of the surveys that the teachers and students
in the group answered after the trip to the SSC in Pasadena.
Ms Weehler has been working on writing and submitting the abstract for the educational poster paper for IC 2118, and is currently working on
putting the poster paper together from submissions from members of the group.
September 2005:
Ms. Wheeler has been working hard to get an Astronomy class, Science
Research and Design course, or anything that will allow her to
include students in the Spitzer research.
April 2005:
On Monday, May 9, Ms. Weehler will give a presentation to the same group, Urban Systemic Plan, and the San Antonio Independent School District administrators and principals on the Spitzer Teacher Program. She is working on building support for the program within the district because they are presently planning to do away with all science electives for next year.
One of Ms. Weehler's chemistry students is planning on taking with her a Science Research and Design class next year to work on the Spitzer data.
March 2005:
A story was written about Ms. Weehler in the "Newsflash" the SAISD district newsletter to parents and employees.
A journalism student wrote a story about the Spitzer in the school newspaper after interviewing Ms. Weehler. The student was interested in the story after she discussed the AAS meeting with her chemistry classes.
Future Plans
USI Urban Systemic Initiative:
Ms. Weehler will give a workshop to elementary/middle school teachers on light (specifically on how light is taught in high school so they know how to vertically align their curriculum), including spectroscopy and infrared in astronomy. She will also show them how to address their specific science topic, which is the difference between reflection and refraction of light.
Jeff Adkins
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John Blackwell
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Jacqueline Barge
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Christopher Border
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Kareen Borders
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Robert Bonadurer
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Merrill Butler
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Lauren Chapple
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Joseph Childers
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Howard Chun
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Wendy Curtis
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Richard DeCoster
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Stacy DeVeau
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Harlan Devore
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Cris DeWolf
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Velvet Dowdy
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Thomas Doyle
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Dean Drumheller
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Debbie Edwards
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Mike Ford
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Debbie French
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John Gibbs
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Peter Guastella
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Rosa Hemphill
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Ardis Herrold
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Vivian Hoette
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Chelen Johnson
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Virginia Jones
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Adam Keeton
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Susan Kelly
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Marcella Linahan
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Thomas Loughran
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Carolyn Mallory
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Anthony Maranto
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Christoper Martin
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Kevin McCarron
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Matthew McCutcheon
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David McDonald
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Shefali Mehta
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Cindy Melton
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Kate Meredith
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Lauren Novatne
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Kathryn O'Connor
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Caroline Odden
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Jeffrey Paradis
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Vincent Pereira
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Helen Petach
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Peggy Piper
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Peter Pitman
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Elizabeth Ramseyer
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Steve Rapp
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Theresa Roelofsen Moody
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Denise Rothrock
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Diane Sartore
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John Schaefers
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Sally Seebode
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Babs Sepulveda
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Timothy Spuck
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Darryl Stanford
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Linda Stefaniak
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Dwight Taylor
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Jennifer Tetler
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Beth Thomas
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Cynthia Weehler
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Lynne Zielinski
