Abstract:

More than 99% of the visible universe consists of plasmas, from every star in the night sky to lightning and the northern lights. On Earth, plasmas are found in fluorescent lightbulbs, used in computer chip manufacturing, and have the potential to create a clean source of unlimited electricity. Plasmas are also inherently beautiful and are remarkable teaching tools. Our Science Education Program offers a variety of opportunities for students and teachers centered upon plasma physics and engineering. Undergraduate students typically spend nine-weeks performing independent research while K-12 teachers supplement their existing curricula with new plasma-based teaching tools. We have looked at the effectiveness of these programs both immediately after completion and up to ten years later. Our surveys have studied participants' attitudes and satisfaction, but also our impact on career choices for students and the impact of plasma tools on teaching. The longitudinal studies show that a positive, multi-year internships a significant impact on future careers. Surveys and classroom observations find that not only do teachers use their plasma-based curricula yearly, they have a significant impact on student learning. We report on the results of these studies and how our results can be generalized to other programs.

Keywords:

Plasma, longitudinal, study, undergraduate, teacher, K-12, career, choices, learning, student.