Five Concord High School Students To Study Online NASA-Based Physics
--Only 40 students nationwide to study unique program --
(Dover, DE.) Some Concord High School students are boldly going where no student has gone before. Four female students and one male student have been selected to study NASA-based physics thanks to an online NASA-based physics computer course being offered for the first time in the nation.
The Concord students are part of forty students nationwide who were chosen to participate in this course because of their interest in NASA-based topics. The course will begin on Thursday, January 22nd and run through the end of May. Students will earn one high school elective credit for successfully completing the course.
“This is a very unique pilot program in which the student’s performance will help provide valuable feedback on the course,” said Michael Stetter, Ed.D., Director of Curriculum Development at the Department of Education (DOE). “Their participation will help us determine strengths or weaknesses in this virtual course and help determine the future of online science courses.”
“Learning online is part of the world of today’s students. Students communicate with each other electronically and they can also learn electronically, as long as they are afforded time for collaboration,” said James Scanlon, Ed.D., superintendent of the Brandywine School District. “With the technology that exists today along with collaboration across state lines, we can reach out and find an expert to deliver a course such as this to benefit our students.”
That expert is Tom Welch, a former education administrator and teacher in Kentucky and lead developer/consultant on this project. Welch has spoken to Delaware educator technology forums several times in the past two years and has worked with both DOE and school administrators to develop and oversee this program.
Many states across the country are concerned over the shortage of qualified physics teachers and the lack of physics courses in schools. Those states, including Delaware, cooperated with NASA and Tom Welch to deliver an online physics course. The course will focus on physics concepts normally taught in school, however, the concepts will be taught through aviation, rockets, and space science.
Concord High School’s physics teacher Judson Wagner will follow the progression of the students and provide mentoring. Mr. Wagner is a one of a select few teachers in Delaware to be named a Presidential award winner for science teaching and is highly qualified to assist the students and evaluate the course.
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Contact Info.
Alison Kepner Delaware Department of Education 401 Federal Street, Suite #2 Dover, Delaware 19901 Phone: (302) 735-4035 Fax: (302) 739-4654 Email: akepner@doe.k12.de.us |
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