8C-2 - A Heliophysicist & HS Physics Teacher Reflect on Their Collaboration

Abstract: In preparation for the two solar eclipses visible from North America in 2023 and 2024, High School Physics Teacher John J. Schiller, Jr, and Heliophysicist Silvina Guidoni, collaborated to prepare one hundred high school students for these events. In this presentation, Schiller & Guidoni reflect on their efforts and successes and discuss how these celestial spectacles can be used to motivate students in Physics & Astronomy classrooms. Such events serve as a venue to introduce students not only to basic principles of physics but also to state-of-the-art research in areas that have societal impacts, such as Heliophysics and Space Weather (Sun-Earth connection) and to the science that eclipses provide (e.g., test of Einstein’s theory of relativity). Schiller & Guidoni will share ideas on how others might perform a similar future partnership to promote student learning and development.