Research Experiences for High School Astronomy: Heidi Schran at the OAE’s 6th Shaw-IAU Workshop

This is a talk given at the 6th Shaw-IAU Workshop on Astronomy for Education, organised by the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education (OAE, http//astro4edu.org).
Title: Authentic Research Experiences for High School Students in Astronomy
Authentic research experiences for young people (women especially) in astronomy is rare; however, it is exceptionally meaningful and inspiring. My team of students and I were fortunate to participate in a unique research experience where we collected data during the recent total solar eclipse and live streamed our images to the NASA Edge website and the DEB Initiative. An NSF grant allowed for our team to receive the equipment needed and be trained to collect this data. We met throughout the winter and spring to practice, learn more about the science behind eclipses, and to do outreach events in our community. The students’ relationship to the process of conducting scientific research became much more positive than before, and their knowledge of astronomy increased.
About Heidi Schran:
Heidi Schran is a science teacher at Talawanda High School in Oxford, Ohio, USA. She has completed her Bachelors and Master’s work in Microbiology and has a Masters of Arts in Teaching. She currently teaches Astronomy, Physics and Biology at Talawanda High School and is the faculty advisor for their First Tech Robotics League team. She has a passion for anything she can’t see with the unaided eye, and actively pursues research projects for her students to conduct as part of their high school experience.
Collaborators:
Joanna Hohn, Miami University
Alison Allen, Rockman Institute
Team Members: Olivia Andrews, Logan Ely, Serenity Prince Kirk, Bibodh Baral, Nolan Hodgson, Addison Greene, Olive Rice, Olivia Freemen and Quinn Donnelly
About the 6th Shaw-IAU Workshop:
The 6th Shaw-IAU Workshop took place: 12 - 15 November 2024. The Shaw-IAU workshops focus on astronomy education for primary and secondary school students and teacher training both in universities and in service. This year's workshop featured two special topics: an exploration of the first two years of the James Webb Space Telescope for the scientific topic, and the crucial aspect of evaluation in educational contexts as the non-scientific topic.
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