Gifted Teacher Wins First STELLAR Award
Tue Feb 16 2010
A teacher of gifted students in West Virginia is the first winner of the STELLAR Award, presented through the NASATalk web-based collaborative, which features teacher reflections on their use of NASA products.The STELLAR Awards recognize excellent uses of NASA STEM materials by educators in classrooms or informal settings. Eileen Poling of Tucker Valley Elementary-Middle School in Hambleton, WV, was honored for Family Flight Fun nights, a series of evening rocketry workshops for students and their families. The workshops used activities from the NASA Rockets Educator Guide.
Poling earned a $100 stipend for winning the STELLAR Award. Educators are invited to apply each month for the awards at the NASATalk website.
The STELLAR acronym represents the intent of the award: STEM Teaching Excellence for Leading, Learning, Articulation, and Reflection. The STELLAR Awards will be given regularly based on certain themes, such as human spaceflight, Earth science, aeronautics, astronomy, space science, and exploration. A nomination can be completed at the NASATalk website. The online form outlines the award criteria and encourages thoughtful, complete reflections about using NASA products.
The NASA-sponsored Classroom of the Future created and manages the NASATalk site.
