Vandana Suryawanshi, an Indian teacher selected as first international teacher for US space programm

Vandana Suryawanshi, an Indian teacher selected as first international teacher for US space programm

www.mangaloretoday.com

January 31, 2012: Vandana Suryawanshi, a middle school teacher from Maharashtra who teaches earth science has been selected as the first international teacher for a prestigious space programme in the United States. She will be part of the 20 member team selected by the Space Foundation which will involve in the active promotion of its space and science education.

Vandana Suryawanshi has more than 20 years of teaching experience and has in-depth knowledge and understanding of the subjects. She is presently an educator with the Vidya Valley School in Maharashtra. She is not only an expert in earth science but also has rich experience teaching biology and general science.

It is to be noted that in the 10 year long history of the Space Foundation, not even a single teacher from a country other than the United States has been selected for this role. This is the first time that an International teacher has been selected for this prestigious fellowship of the Space Foundation.

“The new flight of Teacher Liaisons will serve as advocates for space-themed education across the curriculum and will use Space Foundation-provided training and resources to further integrate space principles into the classroom”, a media release said.

“The highly regarded Space Foundation Teacher Liaison programme has more than 270 active participants, including the 2012 flight. The teachers are selected by a panel comprising representatives from the space industry and military”, it said.

The 2012 Teacher Liaisons will be publicly recognised at the Space Foundation’s 28th National Space Symposium, scheduled for April 16 to 19 in Colorado. In addition to the recognition activities, the 2012 Teacher Liaisons will participate in workshops and education programmes at the 28th National Space Symposium.

The programme will be highly advantageous to the teachers as it offers  specialised training and instruction at Space Foundation and NASA workshops with optional graduate-level credit; exclusive science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) professional development experiences with optional continuing education credit. The space foundation has also designed a special space-oriented student programs exclusively for the Teacher Liaisons.