During the first month of the project, you will need 1 to 2 class periods to have the students complete:

1. The online assessment.
2. The lesson plan, Meet Me at NASA, in which students discuss the difference between an occupation and a career, research a NASA partner's career, and develop interview questions for a videoconference interview with a NASA partner. Meet Me at NASA is available from the Lessons/Activities Download Link.

Pre Conference Notes:

1. You will receive a schedule that indicates the dates and times of the videoconferences.
2. The entire group assigned to a NASA partner should participate in the interview.
3. Arrange the classroom so that the students asking the questions sit at a table near the microphone.

Videoconference Outline:

1. Introductions and welcome by DLN staff.
2. NASA partner introduces himself/herself to the students. He/she may ask the students questions or talk about a particular career or a project that he/she is working on.
3. Students ask interview questions.
4. DLN staff close the interview session.

Discussion:

1. What was the biggest surprise?
2. What did it feel like to meet and talk to your NASA partner?
3. What was most interesting about your NASA partner's career?
4. What did you learn today that you might not have learned froma book or a news particle?

Complete the lesson plan, The Community Meets NASA, in which students share the information they learned on their chosen career path with other members of the community. The students will create a display that will be presented to the community during a NASA Explorer School Family Career Exploration Night. The Community Meets NASA is available from the Lessons/Activities Download Link.

After completion of The Community Meets NASA, students should complete the online assessment to help measure each student's awareness of careers in STEM.

National Science Education Standards

Science and Technology In Society - Content Standard F:
As a result of activities in grades 5-8, all students should develop an understanding that:

• Scientists and engineers work in many different settings, including colleges and universities, businesses and industries, specific research institutes, and government agencies

History and Nature of Science - Content Standard G:
As a result of activities in grades 5-8, all students should develop an understanding of Science as a Human Endeavor.

• Women and men of various social and ethnic backgrounds-and with diverse interests, talents, qualities, and motivations-engage in the activities of science, engineering, and related fields such as the health professions. Some scientists work in teams, and some work alone, but all communicate extensively with others.
• Science requires different abilities, depending on such factors as the field of study and type of inquiry. Science is very much a human endeavor, and the work of science relies on basic human qualities, such as reasoning, insight, energy, skill, and creativity--as well as on scientific habits of mind, such as intellectual honesty, tolerance of ambiguity, skepticism, and openness to new ideas.
  

National Standards for Technological Literacy
Standard 17 - Students will develop an understanding of, and be able to select and use, information and communication technologies. Grade Level 6-8:

• Information and communication systems allow information to be transferred from human to human, human to machine, and machine to human.
• The design of the message is influenced by such factors as intended audience, medium, purpose, and the nature of the message.