The NASA/IPAC Teacher Archive Research Program (NITARP) partners small groups of educators with a research astronomer for a year-long authentic research project. This program aligns well with the characteristics of high-quality professional development (PD) programs and has worked with a total of 103 educators since 2005. In this paper, surveys were explored that were obtained from 74 different educators, at up to four waypoints during the course of 13 months, incorporating data from the class of 2010 through the class of 2017. This paper investigates how participating teachers describe their motivations for participating in NITARP as evidenced in these feedback forms. Analysis of self-reported data allows a mapping onto a continuum ranging from more inward-focused to more outward-focused; there is a shift from more inward-focused responses to more outward-focused responses. This insight into teacher motivations has implications for how the educators might be supported during their year with the program. This work provides a new way of parameterizing why educators participate in PD programs that require a considerable investment of time. NITARP, since it has many qualities of successful PD, serves as a model for similar PD programs in other STEM subjects. Likewise, the analysis method might also be useful to similarly evaluate other PD programs.

Twenty-three pre-collegiate educators of elementary students (ages 5-10 years) and secondary students (ages 11-18 years) attended a two-week science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) astronomy focused professional development in the summer of 2015 with activities focused on authentic science experiences, inquiry, and partnership building. ‘Authentic’ in this research refers to scientific skills and are defined. The study explores the authentic science education experience of the pre-collegiate educators, detailing the components of authentic science as seen through a social constructionism lens. Using qualitative and quantitative methods, the researchers analyzed the successes and challenges of pre-collegiate science and mathematics educators when immersed in STEM and astronomy authentic science practices, the educators’ perceptions before and after the authentic science practices, and the educators’ performance on pre to post content tests during the authentic science practices. Findings show that the educators were initially engaged, then disengaged, and then finally re-engaged with the authentic experience. Qualitative responses are shared, as are the significant results of the quantitative pre to post content learning scores of the educators. Conclusions include the necessity for PD team delivery of detailed explanations to the participants - before, during, and after – for the entire authentic science experience and partnership building processes. Furthermore, expert structure and support is vital for participant research question generation, data collection, and data analysis (successes, failures, and reattempts). Overall, in order to include authentic science in pre-collegiate classrooms, elementary and secondary educators need experience, instruction, scaffolding, and continued support with the STEM processes. Key words: authentic science, astronomy outreach, inquiry activities, partnership building, professional development, STEM education.

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Providing meaningful telescope observing experiences for students who are deeply urban or distantly rural place-boundor even daylight time-boundhas consistently presented a formidable challenge for astronomy educators. For nearly 2 decades, the Internet has promised unfettered access for large numbers of students to conduct remote telescope observing, but it has only been in recent years that the technology has become readily available. Now that this once fanciful possibility is becoming a reality, astronomy education researchers need a guiding theory on which to develop learning experiences. As one departure point, we propose a potential learning progression anchored on one end with recognizing that stars visible at night have describable locations and predictable motions, and anchored at the other with distant robotic telescopes can be programmed to record specific astronomical data for later analysis.

The NASA/IPAC Teacher Archive Research Program (NITARP) provides a year-long authentic astronomy research project by partnering a research astronomer with small groups of educators. NITARP has worked with a total of 103 educators since 2005. In this paper, surveys are explored that were obtained from 74 different educators, at up to four waypoints during the course of 13 months, from the class of 2010 through the class of 2017; those surveys reveal how educator participants describe the major changes and outcomes in themselves fostered by NITARP. Three-quarters of the educators self-report some or major changes in their understanding of the nature of science. The program provides educators with experience collaborating with astronomers and other educators, and forges a strong link to the astronomical research community; the NITARP community of practice encourages and reinforces these linkages. During the experience, educators get comfortable with learning complex new concepts, with ∼40% noting in their surveys that their approach to learning has changed. Educators are provided opportunities for professional growth; at least 12% have changed career paths substantially in part due to the program, and 14% report that the experience was "life changing." At least 60% express a desire to include richer, more authentic science activities in their classrooms. This work illuminates what benefits the program brings to its participants; the NITARP approach could be mirrored in similar professional development programs in other STEM subjects.