The NASA/IPAC Teacher Archive Research Program (NITARP)
L. M. Rebull, M. Fitzgerald, T. Roberts, D. A. French, W. Laurence, V., Gorjian, G. K. Squires

TL;DR
NITARP is a year-long program partnering educators with astronomers to enhance science education through collaborative research, resulting in increased educator engagement and science communication skills over 13 years.
Contribution
This paper summarizes the structure, lessons learned, and best practices of NITARP, a unique partnership model for science education involving astronomers and teachers.
Findings
Over 100 educators have presented 60+ science posters.
Effective partnerships require mutual respect and clear communication.
The program enhances educators' scientific inquiry and communication skills.
Abstract
NITARP, the NASA/IPAC Teacher Archive Research Program, partners small groups of predominantly high school educators with research astronomers for a year-long research project. This paper presents a summary of how NITARP works and the lessons learned over the last 13 years. The program lasts a calendar year, January to January, and involves three ~week-long trips: to the American Astronomical Society (AAS) winter meeting, to Caltech in the summer (with students), and back to a winter AAS meeting (with students) to present their results. Because NITARP has been running since 2009, and its predecessor ran from 2005-2008, there have been many lessons learned over the last 13 years that have informed the development of the program. The most critical is that scientists must see their work with the educators on their team as a partnership of equals who have specialized in different…
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Taxonomy
TopicsAstronomy and Astrophysical Research · History and Developments in Astronomy
