Abstract
The NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) Astrophysics Education and Public Outreach (EPO) community and Forum work together to capitalize on the cutting-edge discoveries of NASA Astrophysics missions to enhance Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) instruction. In 2010, the Astrophysics EPO community identified online professional development for classroom educators and multiwavelength resources as a common interest and priority for collaborative efforts. The
result is NASA’s Multiwavelength Universe, a 2–3 week online professional development experience for classroom educators. The course uses a mix of synchronous sessions
(liveWebEx teleconferences) and asynchronous activities (readings and activities that educators complete on their own on the Moodle, and moderated by course facilitators).
The NASA SMD Astrophysics EPO community has proven expertise in providing both professional development and resources to K–12 Educators. These mission and grant-based EPO programs are uniquely poised to foster collaboration between scientists with content expertise and educators with pedagogy expertise. We present
examples of how the NASA Astrophysics EPO community and Forum engage the K–12 education community in these ways, including associated metrics and evaluation findings.
