Presentation Abstract

Presentation Number 346.07
Presentation Time: Wednesday, Jan 12, 2011, 9:00 AM - 6:30 PM
Title The NASA/IPAC Teacher Archive Research Program (NITARP) at Pierce College
Author Block Carolyn R. Mallory1, M. Feig1, N. Mahmud1, T. Silic1, L. Rebull2, V. Hoette3, C. Johnson4, K. McCarron5
1Pierce College, 2Spitzer Science Center, 3Univ Chicago/Yerkes Observatory, 4Breck School, 5Oak Park River Forest High School.
Abstract Our team from Pierce Community College, Woodland Hills, CA, participated in the NASA/IPAC Teacher Archive Research Program (NITARP) this past year (2010). (NITARP is described in another poster, Rebull et al.) Our team worked with archival Spitzer, 2MASS, and optical data to look for young stars in CG4, part of the Gum Nebula; our scientific results are described in a companion poster, Johnson et al. In this poster, we describe more about what we learned and how we incorporated our NITARP experiences into the Pierce College environment. Students developed critical thinking skills and an ability to organize their data analysis and develop a mental "big picture" of what is going on in the CG4 region. The NITARP program is one of several "Active Learning" programs going on at Pierce, and the other programs are briefly summarized in this poster as well. This program was made possible through the NASA/IPAC Teacher Archive Research Project (NITARP) and was funded by NASA Astrophysics Data Program and Archive Outreach funds.