NASA Education Recommendation Report. Education Design Team 2011

Overview & Synopsis

The people at National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are passionate about their work. NASA's missions are exciting to learners of all ages. Since its creation in 1958, NASA's people have been passionate about sharing their inspiring discoveries, research and exploration with students and educators. When retired Marine Corps General and astronaut Charlie Bolden first toured NASA's Centers as the new NASA Administrator, he and Deputy Administrator Lori Garver saw this passion for education in hundreds of education projects conducted across the Agency. In May 2010, Bolden and Garver chartered an Education Design Team composed of 12 members chosen from the Office of Education, NASA's Mission Directorates and Centers for their depth of knowledge and education expertise, and directed them to evaluate the Agency's program in the context of current trends in education. By improving NASA's educational offerings, he was confident that the Agency can play a leading role in inspiring student interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) as few other organizations can. After several months of intense effort, including meeting with education experts; reviewing Administration policies, congressional direction and education research; and seeking input from those passionate about education at NASA, the Education Design Team made six recommendations to improve the impact of NASA's Education Program: (1) Focus the NASA Education Program to improve its impact on areas of greatest national need; (2) Identify and strategically manage NASA Education partnerships; (3) Participate in National and State STEM Education policy discussions; (4) Establish a structure to allow the Office of Education, Centers and Mission Directorates to implement a strategically integrated portfolio; (5) Expand the charter of the Education Coordinating Committee to enable deliberate Education Program design; and (6) Improve communication to inspire learners. Appended are: (1) Terms and Definitions; (2) Reference Documents; (3) Education Design Team Survey Questions; (4) Experts Consulted; and (5) Education Design Team. (Contains 3 figures, 17 footnotes and 21 endnotes.)