Explore raising student interest and proficiency in STEM . . .
To effectively teach math and science to today’s students, something more engaging than contemporary instructional techniques is required. The Corps ( pronounced ‘core’ ) is a leading-edge approach to STEM learning that uses flight simulators, partners at nationally recognized research facilities and Star Trek – like story telling to raise student interest and achievement in math and science.
Designed around TREC’s Advanced Spaceflight Laboratory, a fully functional research spacecraft flight simulator, the Corps of Discovery creates an engaging virtual future where in students can Explore, Discover and Learn from the convenience of their school parking lot.
Passion – the path of least resistance to proficiency.
By integrating project-based learning with realistic simulations and compelling action-adventure stories, ASL-NET and the Corps of Discovery ignite in students a passion for math and science that will ultimately lead to improved proficiency.
“We learn by doing.”
– Captain James T. Kirk . . . 2285
Telling stories, teaching STEM . . .
In the future, research facilities like the University of Arizona’s Biosphere 2 will be constructed on distant planets and moons in our Solar System. The focus of the first Corps of Discovery STEM Adventure “B4 We Know Where” is the selection of a construction site for the new Biosphere 4 Eco-System Research Facility in the Jupiter system.
While undertaking their planetary survey work on board ASL-3305 Voyager, students at the Corps of Discovery Academy engage in a variety of STEM-oriented tasks designed to show the importance of STEM in the adventure that is exploration and discovery.
With interactive support from the University of Arizona’s Biosphere 2 staff, students are led on a STEM learning adventure that takes them from Earth to Mars and on to Jupiter and its four Galilean satellites ( Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto ).
Plotting satellite positions over Biosphere 4 target site Ganymede.
Deploying satellites at Ganymede.