CFISD Science Educator Selected for NASA LiftOff Summer InstituteÂ
Stephanie Nieswiadomy Bailey, CFISD science curriculum coach, has been selected for the prestigious LiftOff Summer Institute, a nationally competitive program sponsored by NASA’s Texas Space Grant Consortium and the University of Texas Center for Space Research.
The program offers teachers the opportunity to increase their knowledge of science, technology, engineering and math through space education. Participants will meet June 25-30 at the NASA Johnson Space Center.
“I grew up in the 1980s and was obsessed with everything related to NASA and space exploration” Bailey said. “We visited Kennedy Space Center in Florida and Space Center Houston in Clear Lake. I even remember back in 1986, sitting in Mrs. Bennick’s second grade classroom at Adam Elementary School and being devastated when we saw the Challenger tragedy happen live on tv. My mission as a science teacher is to encourage my students to ‘see’ the science we study in class in their everyday lives. I’m honored and excited to meet and learn from NASA astronauts and engineers during my time at Johnson Space Center.”
Liftoff Summer Institute’s 2023 theme is “Planetary Defenders!” The program provides teachers the unique opportunity to spend a week working with professional scientists and engineers at the cutting edge of space exploration. They will look for potential asteroids or comets that might impact Earth, as NASA’s planetary defense research is critical to the assessment of future impact hazards and for developing spacecraft missions that will assist in protecting Earth and increase an understanding of the solar system.
LiftOff is a collaborative effort of the University of Texas Center for Space Research, Texas Space Grant Consortium members and affiliates, NASA, and industry associations. Teachers apply and are chosen through a competition selection process. The workshops are organized around an aerospace or space science theme drawn from NASA’s diverse engineering and scientific research programs. The weeklong institute features a series of workshops, hands-on activities, field investigations and presentations by NASA scientists and engineers working on various missions.
Teachers selected for the Liftoff Summer Institute will return to their respective school districts to not only use materials received in their own classrooms, but train other educators.
“As a sixth grade curriculum coach, I have the opportunity to work with so many great science teachers across the district,” Bailey said. “I’m hoping to find some engaging, hands-on STEM lessons to incorporate into our sixth grade science curriculum. If the lessons aren’t aligned with our TEKS, I plan to share the activities with my fellow curriculum coaches, both in elementary and secondary science.”
Source: Cypress-Fairbanks ISD
