Oral Presentation Only

High Altitude Ballooning into Undergraduate STEM Curriculum: Preparing for Widespread Implementation

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Abstract

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Transforming Undergraduate Education in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (TUES) program is funding a grant to determine how to best implement high altitude ballooning into undergraduate curriculum at higher education institutions. Based on a previous NSF TUES grant where 52 universities were trained and statistically and practically significant student learning outcomes were obtained as a result of implementing ballooning into undergraduate classes, the following are the key efforts for the current grant: 1) building a core group of universities actively using ballooning in their undergraduate classes, 2) determining best practices for engaging and training new universities, and 3) determining the potential for implementing ballooning into undergraduate education classes. Key accomplishment include: the formation of a core group of 10 universities that share information and collaborate as a result of the annual Academic High Altitude Conference and videoconferences; the implementation of a website with the capability of tracking balloon flights in real time, sharing data from balloon launches, obtaining training videos, manuals for key equipment and processes, key papers, and curriculum; the Taylor University pilot for implementing high altitude ballooning into undergraduate education classes showing statistically significant undergraduate learning outcomes and the similar Ball State pilot completing a full iteration of developing curricula and field testing the curricula in an 8th grade class.

How to Cite:

Takehara, D., Medows, P., Gavin, S. D., Dailey, J. F., Snyder, S., Smith, B., Tomasik, R., Mitchell, M., Coleman, J., Roebuck, K. & Krueger, J., (2012) “High Altitude Ballooning into Undergraduate STEM Curriculum: Preparing for Widespread Implementation”, Academic High Altitude Conference 2012(1), 143–157. doi: https://doi.org//ahac.8343