August 31, 2016
Dr. Sharon Price Schleigh wins national teaching award
Dr. Sharon Price Schleigh, assistant professor in the College of Education, Dept. of Mathematics, Science & Instructional Technology Education (MSITE), has been awarded the Summit Ascent Teaching Award. The Summit Ascent Teaching Award is given annually at the National Astronomy Teaching Summit held in San Francisco on August 1.
The highly coveted and competitive teaching award honors a distinguished educator who is recognized by their peers and students for excellence in improving the teaching of astronomy across the country.
“Dr. Schleigh has helped hundreds of teachers build telescopes to share the wonders of the night sky with their students,” says National Astronomy Teaching Summit award committee chair Professor Tim Slater of the University of Wyoming.
An author of numerous scholarly articles and books, Dr. Schleigh was selected for the award from a large pool of nominated scholars.
Stephanie Turner Slater reports that one of her nominators stated, “Not only has she tirelessly constructed telescopes alongside novice teachers who typically shy away from science, Dr. Schleigh has also helped North Carolina’s teachers use the internet to connect and operate some of the world’s largest telescopes on the far side of the planet, such as in Hawaii and Australia.”
The National Astronomy Teaching Summit attracts an international gathering of science education scholars and astronomy outreach enthusiasts each year in a professional conference forum to learn from one another and share novel insights focused on improving astronomy education worldwide.
The next Summit will be held in August of 2017 in Ft. Myers, FL in preparation for the Great Solar Eclipse of 2017 on August 21, which will be visible across much of North America.