Four master’s degrees, tailored to educators who would like to pursue an advanced degree in a science-related field, are now being offered to elementary, middle, and high school teachers through the Space Foundation’s Space Discovery Institute and the College of Education at UCCS. The four degrees include: master of sciences with an emphasis in space studies and science teaching; master of sciences in science teaching; master of arts in curriculum and instruction; and master of arts in science education.
Students in the program study core classes through UCCS, and can take up to 18 credits through the Space Foundation’s Space Discovery Institute summer teacher workshops. Participants in the Space Discovery Institute classes spend one week focusing on a particular science area and learning space-related, hands-on activities to take back to their classrooms to inspire their students’ interest in science. All courses are aligned to the National Science Education Standards and support science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) principles education in the classroom. The classes held this year at Regis University in Colorado Springs are:
- Biological and Physical Research: International Space Station Science and Space Law, June 15-19
- Astronomy Principles for the Classroom: Exploring Our Universe and the Search for Life, June 22-26
- Space Technologies in the Classroom: Nanotechnology and Space Spin-offs, July
- Astronomy Principles for the Classroom: Exploring Our Universe and the Search for Life, June 22-26
- Space Technologies in the Classroom: Nanotechnology and Space Spin-offs, July 6-10
- Earth Systems Science: Planetary Geology, July 13-17
- Lunar/Mars Exploration and Base Construction, also July 13-17
- Rocketry: Space History, July 20-24