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The Eye on the Sky Project – Helping Students Reach for the Stars

A fascinating curriculum was developed to help students better appreciate science and technology. It was the Project First: Eye on the Sky program. Through the collaborative efforts of educators and funding sources, it produced overwhelmingly encouraging results.

Let's look at the primary participants, including the entities who provided essential funding and organizational support, that made the Eye on the Sky such a successful program for students and teachers.

Eye on the Sky Participants

Hundreds of teachers and students were involved in securing the success of Eye on the Sky program. Through the dedicated efforts of educators, K-12 students were encouraged to foster their reading through the eyes of science and technology, especially space science. Let's look at a few of the vital participants who helped shape the Project First: Eye on the Sky program.

Dr. Isabel Hawkins – Dr. Hawkins was a Senior Fellow in Science Education. She conducted hours of research in astronomy and space science education. During her period as a primary contributor to the Eye on the Sky program, Dr. Hawkins was the Director of the Center for Science Education at the UC Space Sciences Laboratory.

She was the Project First" Eye on the Sky's primary investigator. Dr. Hawkins also made instrumental contributions to the Science Education Gateway (SEGway) project and NASA Office of Space Science's Sun-Earth Connection Education Forum.

A longstanding member of NASA's Office of Space Science Education Council, Dr. Hawkins also sat on the NASA Space Science Advisory Committee. Dr. Isabel Hawkins has a Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Ruth Paglierani - Paglieraniwas part of the Science Education Group at the UC Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory. She did extensive work with the UC Berkeley community outreach programs, especially the Interactive University Project.

She was the director of Project First program. Paglierani was instrumental in establishing working relationships between the universities and secondary education. Her efforts to develop a space science curriculum that was age-targeted for different grades was invaluable.

Paglierani earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California at Berkeley. She went on to secure her teaching credential from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Education. Paglierani also has a Master's degree in English from San Francisco State University.

Barney Desroches – Barney Desroches was the Program Representative from SEGway. Through funding from NASA, SEGway established a national consortium of science museums. There were also dozens of research institutions where educators could collaborate on the latest space science research.

This provided a unified curriculum to teach students and teachers how to implement the valuable tools offered by the Project First: Eye on the Sky program. Desroches has a bachelor's degree in both English and Psychology from the University of Oregon.

He later added a Master's degree in Museum Studies from San Francisco State University. Desroches experience with K-12 educational programs was extensive and proved a huge asset to the Eye on the Sky. He brought experience from a variety of K-12 educational technology programs that included the Oakland Museum of California's digital learning project.

Desroches was also an instrumental contributor to UC Berkeley's Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive's electronic media project. Desroches helped to start the Project First team's pilot program for new science materials for second-graders in Oakland.

Lauren Garcia - Garcia worked as the graphic artist, photographer, and web developer for the Eye on the Sky project. She collaborated with scientists and educators at the Space Sciences Laboratory.

Garcia was a graduate from UC Berkeley with a degree in visual studies. She brought the experience of having participated in a number of NASA projects Her experience at NASA included being on the web development team for CHIPS, FAST, HESSI and STEREO/IMPACT.

There were a number of other helpful participants that provided individual dedication to make the Project First Eye on the Sky a success. Sally Feldman played an integral role as a member of the Eye on the Sky development team.

Marie-Eve Thomaes brought extensive experience in teaching the sciences at the grade school levels. Thomaes was very instrumental in the development of the testing of curricula for Project First Eye on the Sky, in addition to the A Plus programs.

Amanda Boyd, Lisa Gohil and Irene Capous were students at UC Berkeley, but became heavily instrumental in the Eye on the Sky project. Each brought their love of early childhood education blended with a love of science to the Project First Team.

Eye on the Sky Source of Funds

Those who helped develop the curriculum and organize Eye on the Sky were essential to its success. However, no successful educational program can thrive and survive without funding. The primary source of funding and organization for the Project First program came from the following entities.

University of California at Berkeley Outreach Program

The UC Berkeley Outreach program helped unit Berkeley's academic resources with local K-12 students. The Outreach program helped to foster a local school and university partnership to motivate students to achieve through enhanced learning.

One of the UC Berkeley's successful partnerships with area schools, including the teachers, students and community members, was the Project First program.

Interactive University Project

Another University of California at Berkeley program that helped support the Project First programs such as the Eye on the Sky was The Interactive University Project. This was a tremendously important source of revenue and resources.

This was an initiative that utilized the vast technological resources available at UC Berkeley. The Interactive University Project was able to help mediate various educational programs for K-12 classrooms. The Interactive University Project was an important tool in the Eye on the Sky program.

NASA

An important resource for the Eye on the Sky project came from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). One part of NASA is the Office of Space Science. Through the highly skilled personnel at NASA, invaluable knowledge and experience was made available.

The Office of Space Science shared a wealth of knowledge and information through the Eye on the Sky program. NASA brought a wealth of excitement from dedicated Sun-Earth Connection initiatives that targeted students learning about space exploration.

The Sun-Earth Connection Education Forum provided a vital platform for communications between expert scientists and educators involved in the Eye on the Sky program.

California Space Grant Consortium

The California Space Grant Consortium (CSGC) had the important responsibility of working to enhance space and earth sciences for K-12 students in California. The CSGC cemented the connection and integral working relationship between the NASA Strategic Enterprises and a national science and technology priorities.

When it came to finalizing the engaging curriculum, the CSGC played a vital role in unifying the collaborators and funders of the Eye on the Sky program.

The Eye on the Sky project brought space science into the K-12 classroom with tremendous success. Research studies showed the curriculum and design helped to improve literacy skills and expand vocabulary tremendously.

Students' knowledge and understanding of Sun-Earth systems and the relationships in our solar system were improved dramatically through participation in the Eye on the Sky project. Students showed an improved understanding of the scientific concepts through a better appreciation of space.

Students insisted they had a new appreciation for Science and Technology. Through the Project First: Eye on the Sky project, both teachers and students benefited immensely. Eye on the Sky was a scientifically enriching experience through reading.