NASA
Science Mission Directorate
Earth Science Reviewed Products
Collection Scope Statement
This document describes the scope of the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Earth Science Reviewed Product Collection (NASA Reviewed Collection). The purpose of this scope statement is to provide the National Science Digital Library (NSDL) and the Digital Library for Earth System Education (DLESE) a description of the NASA Reviewed Collection's:
This scope statement is provided in order to assist:
The NASA Reviewed collection provides educators and students with access to high-quality Earth system science education products, which have passed an independent peer review by educators and scientists.
The present scope of the NASA Reviewed Collection is Earth system science education, specifically resources that support NASA-unique Earth science and education missions.
To be included in the NASA Reviewed Collection, materials must pass the NASA Earth science education product review, which is a peer review by scientists and educators. All materials that are submitted to the NASA review need to pass an initial screening to determine whether they are appropriate to proceed through the full review. This screening focuses on the following questions:
Does the product center on and draw on NASA's unique resources in Earth system science? These include:
Knowledge of Earth system processes acquired through science and technology programs provide stimulating and challenging content in support of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education.
Facilities and Tools provide hands-on opportunities and include world-class ground-based, airborne and in-orbit laboratories, advanced technologies, observational data sets, and Earth system and sub-system models.
Earth System Science Professionals, including NASA employees and NASA-sponsored scientists, technical and engineering experts, are role and career models for Earth system science and related fields.
Has the developer conducted an appropriate review for scientific accuracy and educational effectiveness? The developer describes a reasonable review process for the type of product being submitted. An appropriate review would be one where the product is field tested with the target audience(s) in a way that gives the developers input that highlights shortcomings present in the product and allows them to be corrected.
Is complete information provided in the Product Submission Form? Has the developer provided sufficient information to enable evaluation and cataloging of the product?
The types of materials included are:
Materials for formal education (K-12 and postsecondary), for example:
Education resources and sources of content, for example:
Informal education resources, for example:
Background material that can be used by informal educators to supplement existing or create new informal education products/programs (e.g., fact sheets, brochures, lithographs, posters, video/audio tapes, Web sites, remote-sensing imagery, software, writers' guides, educators' guides, etc.)
Informal education/interpretive materials that can be used "off the shelf," in informal education settings, interpretive programs, exhibits, special events, etc. (e.g., temporary or permanent displays/exhibits, handouts for the public, informal education activities, pamphlets or guide booklets, Web sites, videos, etc.)
Most of the materials in the collection are available over the internet. Many are also available at NASA Educator Resource Centers (http://spacelink.nasa.gov/ercn) or for purchase from the NASA Central Operation of Resources for Educators (http://core.nasa.gov), which distributes materials to teachers, nationally and internationally, for a shipping and handling charge.
The reviews are conducted for NASA by the
Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) - a non-profit
education organization. The reviews include panels consisting of classroom
teachers with experience at the appropriate level; education specialists who
are familiar with the current trends and needs in science education and knowledge
of national education standards (e.g., science, math, geography, and technology);
informal educators; and scientists with a relevant background in the science
content of the materials being reviewed. The review of the learning resources
is based on their scientific accuracy and educational value and is detailed
below. This review is not intended to replace field testing and evaluation
that should be part of the product's development. Rather, this review is one
of the final steps before an Earth system science education product goes into
national publication/distribution by NASA.
The purpose of the reviews is to help ensure that education materials distributed
by NASA are of high quality and meet rigorous standards, as well as provide
feedback to product developers from educators and scientists. The review includes
Earth system science materials for formal education (elementary-college) and
informal education (e.g., museums, science centers, youth groups). Products
listed in this collection have passed the NASA Earth science education product
review. For more information about the review, see: http://science.hq.nasa.gov/education/ed_product_review.html.
The evaluation forms used by the K-12 educator reviewers are derived from
the National Research Council's National Science Education Standards, "Science Content Standards for Grades K-4,
5-8, and 9-12" and developed specifically for evaluating NASA Earth science
education materials.
Informal education products are evaluated based on modified criteria,
as the pedagogical purpose of informal products is different than products
intended for formal education. The informal education forms were developed
broadly based upon the criteria for interpretive products
used by the National Park Service (NPS).
The individual review forms are available
at http://www.strategies.org/NASA_Reviews_Forms/EvaluationCriteria.html.
These forms have been refined over several review cycles.
In the table below, the first column represents the DLESE review criteria.
The corresponding criteria from each ESE evaluation form are listed in the
remaining columns. The number in parentheses indicates the NASA review form
criterion number.
| DLESE Review Criteria |
NASA K-12 Criteria |
NASA Informal Education Criteria |
NASA
|
| 1. Scientific accuracy |
|
|
|
| 2. Importance or Significance |
|
|
|
| 3. Well-documented |
|
|
|
| 4. Robustness as a digital resource |
|
|
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| 5. Ease of use for Teachers or Students |
|
|
|
| 6. Power to inspire or motivate students |
|
|
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| 7. Pedagogical Effectiveness |
|
|
|
* COPPA- Children's Online Privacy Protection Act
Resource quality assurance
The resources made accessible via the NASA Reviewed Collection adhere to the
requirements of a general and reviewed DLESE collection. Resources are reviewed
as described above.
Metadata quality assurance
The metadata records are initially generated by product submitters and are
reviewed by NASA Reviewed Collection staff for meeting minimum DLESE metadata
requirements, spelling and data integrity. New records are added at the end
of each review cycle, and as records need updating (e.g., update URLs for
broken links). If users of the collection find errors or have suggestions
for improvement for either the resources in the collection or for the metadata
of the collection, the NASA Reviewed Collection will consider the suggestions
and make changes as appropriate.
Please direct questions about the NASA Reviewed Collection to Diane Schweizer (diane.schweizer@nasa.gov) and Theresa Schwerin (theresa_schwerin@strategies.org). Inquiries are answered as soon as possible.
The collection is expected to continue growing and to exist indefinitely as long as funding is reliable.
For the NASA Reviewed Collection, terms of use issues have two components, a resource's terms of use and metadata terms of use.
Resource terms of use
The NASA Reviewed Collection attempts to provide a statement of copyright
information or information on how a resource may be used. Library users are
encouraged to read the copyright information or go directly to the cataloged
resource to obtain the latest copyright and terms of use for a resource.
Metadata terms of use
NASA Reviewed Collection metadata records are public domain as works of NASA
and are subject to U.S. Code, Title 17, Sec 105 copyright law. Please
refer to http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#105.
Individual metadata records are available for harvest from the NASA
Reviewed Collection.
NASA Earth Science Education Product
Reviews: http://science.hq.nasa.gov/education/ed_product_review.html
Evaluation Criteria Forms: http://www.strategies.org/NASA_Reviews_Forms/EvaluationCriteria.html