COMmunities Educating Tomorrow's Scientists (COMETS)

为期三年的“社区教育明天的科学家(彗星)”项目将在历史悠久的黑人大学西弗吉尼亚州立大学实施一项以学习科学为重点的地球和空间科学计划，合作伙伴包括卡纳瓦县学校、拜耳作物科学公司和西弗吉尼亚粘土艺术与科学中心。“彗星”针对西弗吉尼亚州查尔斯顿四个社区中心的300名低收入、代表不足和少数族裔的学生，将其纳入以NASA为中心的非正式科学教育计划。通过与学生正规课程相配合的创新实践调查，该项目将激励、激励、促进学业成就，并扩大3-6年级学生的正常在校时间学习经验。“彗星”家长计划，“家谱”，是一个拥抱中心，积极、刻意地努力接触中小学生的父母和监护人，鼓励他们帮助他们的孩子实现数学和科学的学业目标，并认识到他们的生活和科学之间的联系。除了提高成绩，预期的成果还包括促进家长和学生对科学教育的积极态度，激励学生为未来的教育和就业道路选择科学，以及提高参与教育工作者对地球和空间科学的知识和欣赏。通过大约50名正式、非正式和职前教育工作者的专业发展，“彗星”学生和这些训练有素的教育工作者的其他学生将以探究的方式学习科学，并将在学年期间每周接触高质量的课程和材料约两小时，在为期六周的暑期计划期间每周接触三小时，在2008年夏天的“彗星”日营期间接触30小时。参与的教育工作者通过一个专业的学习社区在垂直团队中合作，指导“彗星”活动，以支持和补充正规课程。

The three-year "COMmunities Educating Tomorrow's Scientists (COMETS)" project will implement an earth and space science program with the focus of learning science as inquiry at West Virginia State University, a historically black university, with partners Kanawha County Schools, Bayer Crop Science Corporation and the West Virginia Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences. "COMETS" targets 300 low-income, underrepresented and minority students at four community centers in Charleston, WV, for inclusion in a NASA-centered informal science education program. Through innovative hands-on investigations coordinated with students' formal curricula this program will excite, inspire, promote academic achievement and expand regular school time learning experiences for students in grades 3-6. The "COMETS" parent program, "The Family Tree," is an embracing center that makes an aggressive, deliberate effort to reach parents and custodians of elementary and middle school students to encourage them to help their children achieve their academic goals in math and science and realize the connection between their lives and science. In addition to enhancing achievement, the anticipated outcome of "COMETS" includes promoting positive attitudes toward science education by both parents and students, inspiring students to choose science for their future education and employment paths, and improving the knowledge and appreciation of earth and space sciences in participating educators. Through the professional development of approximately 50 formal, informal and pre-service educators, both "COMETS" students and other students of these trained educators will learn science as inquiry and will be exposed to high quality curricula and materials for approximately two hours per week during the academic year, three hours per week during the six-week summer program, and 30 hours during "COMETS" day camp in the summer of 2008. Participating educators collaborate in vertical teams through a professional learning community to guide "COMETS" activities to support and complement formal curricula.