The Lowell Observatory Navajo-Hopi Astronomy Outreach Program: the 2017-2018 School Year

洛厄尔天文台纳瓦霍-霍皮人天文推广计划是为纳瓦霍人和霍皮人小学(5-8年级)的学生和他们的老师提供的一项科学丰富计划。该项目使用与天文学相关的活动，以帮助教师激励学生学习科学。纳瓦霍族和霍皮族儿童的高中毕业率远低于州和全国平均水平；该方案旨在激励土著儿童留在学校并从事科学事业。调查人员花了时间与土著社区建立关系，并了解可能会阻碍孩子们参与科学的文化差异。例如，几个国家都有禁忌直接观看月球或日食。研究人员在当地社区的天文学家和教师之间建立了伙伴关系，每个天文学家多次访问一所学校，领导与教师和学生的活动。然后，这些学校小组前往洛厄尔天文台参观，并参观望远镜进行一夜的观察。调查人员计划开发基于项目学习的课程，并探索扩大他们计划的可能性。例如，北方夏延族教育家伯特·梅迪奇·布尔对与该组织合作感兴趣。与来自北方夏延民族的另一群学生一起尝试他们的方法，将有助于他们确定输出他们的项目有多容易。评估和评估将由北亚利桑那大学的一名教育学教授管理，他是与土著教育团体合作的专家。

The Lowell Observatory Navajo-Hopi Astronomy Outreach Program is a science enrichment program for Navajo and Hopi elementary school (5th-8th grade) students and their teachers. The program uses astronomy-­related activities in order to help teachers inspire students about science. The high school graduation rate of children in the Navajo and Hopi Nations is well below state and national averages; this program aims to inspire Native children to stay in school and to pursue careers in science. The investigators have taken the time to build relationships with the Native communities and to understand cultural differences that might hold children back from engaging in science. For example, several Nations have taboos about looking directly at the Moon or at a solar eclipse. The investigators build partnerships between astronomers and teachers in Native communities with each astronomer making multiple visits to a school to lead activities with the teachers and students. The school groups then visit Lowell Observatory for tours and visit the telescopes for a night of observing.The investigators plan to develop curriculum based on Project Based Learning and to explore the possibilities of expanding their program. For example, Burt Medicine Bull, a Northern Cheyenne educator, is interested in collaborating with the group. Trying their methods with a different group of students from the Northern Cheyenne Nation will help them determine how easy it will be to export their program. Assessment and evaluation will be managed by an education professor at Northern Arizona University who is an expert at working with Native educational groups.