©All the material in this website is copyrighted to Kathleen L. Fowler unless explicitly indicated otherwise.  Permission is granted to use and distribute this material freely but please attribute properly by retaining the full header information.  11/16/99

Ramamars Course Information      RamaMars Suggested SF Texts     Ramamars Dates
RamaMars Exhibition Day  Mars2030 project Planetary Organization
Ramamars Guidelines

Course Description/Short form:

RamaMARS is a 4-credit SGET (Master's of Science in Educational Technology) elective course focused on fostering a science pedagogy for K-12 which is creative and interdisciplinary (drawing on science,history, science fiction, art, political science, etc.) as well as collaborative through teamwork between teachers at the same school and with other schools (both as part of the RamaMARS consortium through Ramapo and as linked with the National MARS Millennium Project). Participants will design and lead a RamaMARS project with the class they teach and will meet on a monthly basis from January to May with the professor and with other participants to gather information on astronomy, science fiction texts, etc., to share resources, and report on progress. Participants will make use of web resources (especially http://www.mars2030.net and RamaMOO) and will submit regular progress reports and a final summative report on the project as part of the course requirement. The final report will accompany the formal exhibition/performance of the class project at the RamaMARS Exhibition Day in May.

Course Description/Extended form:

RamaMARS is a 4-credit SGET  (Master's of Science in Educational Technology) elective course focused on fostering a science pedagogy for K-12 which is creative and interdisciplinary (drawing on science, history, science fiction, art, political science, etc.) as well as collaborative through teamwork between teachers at the same school and with other schools both as part of the RamaMARS consortium through Ramapo and as linked with the National MARS Millennium Project sponsored by the White House, NEH, NSF, NASA, and a number of other organizations. Part of the goal of such a pedagogy is to bring into play a variety of learning styles and resources to enable all students (including those who have felt alienated from or uneasy with scientific and technical learning) to become excited about and to learn about science, math, astronomy, etc. using the planet Mars as the central focus.

SGET RamaMARS participants will design an extended (January-May) RamaMARS project for the class that they teach following the guidelines for the MARS Millennium project (available at http://www.mars2030.net) and adding in a science fiction text from among the selections provided at the RamaMARS site on Kay Fowler's web page (http://orion.ramapo.edu/~kfowler). Participants will meet in January for a full day to share the project design with others in the program and gather additional suggestions and refinements, to learn more about the astronomical features of Mars, to learn/refresh skills in RamaMOO, an interactive multi user simulated environment that teachers may use with their classes to assist in the project of envisioning a MARS 2030 community, and to discuss the associated science fiction text. A brief written proposal for the class project will be completed at this time and will serve as the outline for the following months. Participants will thereafter meet once a month to share progress report, provide feedback for each other,and gather more information both from the class discussion and from the rich web resources available. A journal entry describing the steps taken to date and the progress of the project will be submitted each month. The semester will culminate in a full-day RamaMARS Exhibition event at Ramapo in May where the K-12 classes will exhibit, present, or perform the projects they have completed during the spring. Teachers will submit at that time a final written report on the project that their class has completed, accompanied by visual documentation (photos, copies of written products, a videotape, etc.) all of which will also be forwarded to the MARS2030 organization for national recognition and distribution on the MARS2030 website.

Note: RamaMars Consortium: You could work individually with your class; pair or group several classes in your school; work as an interdisciplinary team with the same class; pair a group with another teacher from another school, etc. Just let me know which approach you see yourself taking with this. The project would proceed in several steps. Teachers can sign up to be a part of the RamaMars Consortium through arrangements made by the school district with Angela Cristini (684-7724) or by registering for the RamaMARS course at Ramapo (MET 617). Click here to link to the Web for Student Registration at Ramapo College http://www.ramapo.edu/register/index.html.
 

Class Meeting Dates: (G124/G117)

The credits will be awarded on the basis of the 5 class meeting sessions and the work submitted by your group on Exhibition Day, May 20, as well as a 3-5 page written report on the activities of your group due to me on Exhibition Day. (This report could also be part or all of the documentation you send to the MARS2030 website).

Fall, 1999: Each teacher will develop for their own class a project for the year in accordance with the guidelines for the MARS 2030 project http://www.mars2030.net. Guidelines are now downloadable -- and I have a hard copy as well. Click here for the essential elements of the MARS 2030 guidelines:

Especially helpful web links for science and math:

Fall 1999: With your project team do steps 1 & 2 of the MARS 2030 project (Reflect and Imagine) and read one (or more) of the science fiction books and stories (see below) which I have identified as working with the theme of Mars, colonization of planets, and/or community development. Connection via email list with other participants in RamaMars -- and, of course, as you like with the nationwide participants through the Mars2030 website. I will send out a list of the participant email addresses as soon as everyone has finished registering for the course.

RamaMars SF Book Selections arranged by grade level. Choose one or more books to read with your class at some point in the year's project.  Click here for book options:

A fairly extensive additional list of science fiction writings with a Mars theme can be found at http://www.atrax.net.au/userdir/adira/mars.htm

January 15 Class at Ramapo 9-4 (Place to be announced):

Teachers/team leaders will visit Ramapo Saturday, January 15 from 9-4 during which we will follow the tentative schedule below:

9:00 - 11:00 Coffee, bagels, introductions, and reporting out from each participant on the general shape and goals of your class/team's Mars project and the progress to date.

11:15-12:30 Class on Mars conducted by Ramapo astronomer, John Sloan

12:30-1:30 Lunch

1:30-2:30 Discussion on the texts chosen for your class to read. (I have reprinted the suggested list at the end of this note. H. M. Hoover's Winds of Mars, unfortunately, does not seem to be available.)

2:30-4:00 Refresher training/introduction for newbies on RamaMoo and set up of class accounts and planning centers so that your classes can work on RamaMoo through Netscape. (Reminder: check your school's firewall policy). Each of you will be given RamaMoo administrator status so that you can give your students' characters programming status, connect rooms, do inventory, etc.)

Spring 2000: Complete steps 3 and 4 of the Mars2030 project including developing the community via RamaMoo.

Project Report (Due May 20): Prepare a 3-5 page project report on the work that your class/team has done over the course of the year. Include original project design, curricular/pedagogical goals, activities and accomplishments, and your observations and evaluation of the project. Attach any addenda that you wish to illustrate the project done by your students.

RamaMars Exhibition Day at Ramapo (May 20, 2000): All project teams for RamaMars will come to Ramapo May 20 to exhibit/perform. We will make arrangements to display art creations, science projects, models, etc. as well as facilities to perform plays, songs, etc. All will be videotaped and we will capture images on digital camera as well. We will also create a pamphlet collecting the various writing students have done and a website.

We will videotape throughout the day and the videotape can be part of the documentation you submit by June 1 to the National MARS2030 website.

Tentative Schedule for Exhibition Day:

Note: 3-5 page activity report on your class/team's MARS project efforts over the year due to me on Exhibition Day.

Before June 1: Very Important!!! Send in your Mars2030 data form and data to www.mars2030.net. You might want to use your RamaMars report as well as part of the edited videotape from Exhibition Day as part of your report to the MARS2030 Mission Control Center. Completion of this step entitles you to be a part of various national offerings and opportunities as well as having your information be a part of the information carried to MARS on a NASA trip in the future.

I look forward to hearing from you all soon! Contact me at (201) 684-7565 or at kfowler@ramapo.edu. -- Kay Fowler

BACK TO TOP