AAA Eligibility & Expectations – Community College Instructors

[Definition of a community college: 2-year publicly funded post-high school institution.]

Eligible instructors MUST:

• At time of application, be teaching full-time, meaning at least 3 college science courses (can be at more than one college).
• At time of application, have at least 1 year of experience teaching Physical Science, Earth & Space Science, Astronomy, or Astrobiology at the college level.
• Be entering at least the 3^rd year of full-time college teaching during  AY   2022-23.
• Anticipate continuing in current position(s) through at least AY 2022-23.
• Expect to be teaching at least 1 “qualifying” course with electromagnetic spectrum content at the primary/sponsoring college during AY 2022-23 [We understand that teaching assignments may not be definite this far in advance.]
• Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
• Be in good general health, e.g. able to climb steep staircases unassisted.
• Be recommended for participation by a peer review panel (competitive selection).
• Have eligibility vetted and approved for participation by the primary/sponsoring college, and a Memorandum of Understanding established post-selection between the primary/sponsoring college and the SETI Institute.

AAA benefits for teacher participants:

• STEM immersion week will include at least 1 overnight observatory experience, NASA facility tours, and meetings with NASA subject matter experts (scientists, engineers, and other professionals).
• Travel expenses for required meetings and STEM immersion week paid by the AAA program.
• Flight facilitators/escorts present and assisting during STEM immersion week at a NASA facility either in Palmdale, Calif. or Mauna Kea, Hawai`i.
• Materials and supplies needed to implement lessons delivered to the school site by the AAA program.
• Personalized NASA jacket.
• Optional inclusion in a national public engagement and education group for ongoing communication opportunities and support.

Teacher commitments to NASA AAA:

• Professional development participation: Approximately 25 hours of self-paced online training or equivalent, plus 2 hours per month of teleconferences & webinars. plus 8 in-person hours (full-day workshop or equivalent virtual experience).
• Travel to a NASA facility during immersion week. [Please note: this means leaving the classroom for that week.]
• Participate in pre- and post-immersion week trainings and meetings regarding relevant scientific research programs.
• Implement an approximately 10 classroom-hour curriculum unit regarding the electromagnetic spectrum and infrared astronomy, aligned to appropriate level content and skills. AAA participants will be trained on curriculum components and implementation.
• Work with our external evaluator WestEd to measure changes in student STEM engagement via student surveys. All student data will be anonymous and aggregated.
• Participate actively in ongoing evaluation of the AAA program.

*** The community college instructor application includes four questions requiring short (500-1000 character) answers and other questions requiring detailed responses. We strongly suggest downloading ALL these questions (link to pdf document immediately below), writing the answers, and then cut-and-pasting the text into the form. [Click here to download application essay questions.]

Click here for the COMMUNITY COLLEGE INSTRUCTOR application form. Note: This link will only be active during the application window: November 1^st, 2021 to November 28^th, 2021.