Pamela Caldwell Vaughan
Fordyce high School
Fordyce, AR

"My destiny may have been written in the stars or at least guided by them. I was born in 1957, a pivotal year for space exploration with the launching of Sputnik. I can remember the excitement as a little girl when my father would take me outside during the night to view astronomical events. I felt this same excitement years later as I proudly gazed with a student as we watched frogs being launched on the space shuttle. The NASA frog experiment was so like one proposed by this student that the scientist in charge had invited us to be present for the launching. This past year I was filled with the same exhilaration as I watched my students as they led our community in viewing Mars. Because I have always taught in small rural schools in southern Arkansas, I have attempted to expand my students' thinking beyond their small town borders throughout the universe. In the past three years, sixteen students from the small town of Fordyce, Arkansas, have been nationally recognized by NASA because of their efforts. Today my students are the stars. It is with continued excitement that I watch these students join with me as we pursue the adventure of learning."

In this unique science classroom, some are writing a song, some are acting, some are building, some are calculating, and some are creating artwork. Students do not appear to be afraid of making mistakes. Students are working together. This classroom honors the diversity within the classroom. Students learn to draw on each other's strengths and learn to appreciate individual differences and contributions. On the first day in this classroom, students hear two things that many have never heard at school. Pam tells them that she loves teaching and that in this class, learning from mistakes is a goal, not a failure. Students are then invited to join the adventure. Just what exactly goes on in this room? Learning.

Other Highlights:

• NASA Student Launch Initiative Program - One of three schools selected nationwide to participate in a hands-on, inquiry-based learning opportunity for students to experience first hand "rocket science" by designing, building, and launching their own reusable rocket and payload.
• Team Leader, NASA Explorer School, Fordyce School District - One of fifty schools in the nation selected to partner with NASA to bring engaging mathematics, science, and technology learning to educators, students, and families
• National Second Place & third place winners NASA Student Involvement Program, 2004 Space Journalism
• Featured speaker with 2 students, NASA national Turning Goals into Reality Conference Awards Dinner, 2003
• National First Place Winner NASA Student Involvement Program, 2003 Watching the Earth Change
• National Field Test Teacher for NASA's Earth to Orbit Program, 2003 - 4
• National Field Test Teacher for NASA's Earth to Orbit Program, 2001 - 2003
• Cornell CONTOUR Comet Challenge National Student-Teacher Team Winner, 2002 - National competition to devise a program to educate and involve communities about the Contour's goal and space science.
• National Space Club Space Educator Award, 2002
• National First Place Winner NASA Student Involvement Program, 2002 Watching the Earth Change
• National Second Place Winner NASA Student Involvement Program, 2002 Space Journalism
• National Second Place Winner NASA Student Involvement Program, 2002 Watching the Earth Change
• National First Place Winner NASA Student Involvement Program, 2001 Watching the Earth Change
• National Third Place Winner NASA Student Involvement Program, 2001 Watching the Earth Change
• First, Second, and Third Place Arkansas State Winners NASA/NSTA Mission to Mars Project, 1994
• Southwest Regional Student Winner NASA/NSTA Space Shuttle Student Involvement Program, 1985
• National First Place Student Winner NASA/NSTA Space Shuttle Student Involvement Program, 1984 (Ten Projects chosen nation-wide to actually be performed on the space shuttle. At that time, this was the only winner ever chosen west of the Mississippi River.)
• Regional Student Winners NASA/NSTA Space Shuttle Student Involvement Program, 1983 & 1984
• Arkansas Education Association Human Relations Award 2003 - Statewide award based on teaching efforts and success of students in a field perceived to be dominated by males or those from more urban areas.
• Governor's appointee, Arkansas Governor's Advisory Council for the Education of the Gifted and Talented, 2003
• Arkansas Science Teachers Association Certificate of Outstanding Achievement, 2002
• Arkansas AGATE, Arkansas Gifted and Talented Education, Educator Award presented because of significant contributions for creativity in the education of gifted and talented students, 1996
• NASA Student Involvement Program Presenter, National Science Teacher's Convention, 2004
• NASA Student Involvement Program Presenter, Regional and National Conference of Math Teachers Convention- serving as a science resource for teachers in other disciplines, 2003
• NASA Student Involvement Program Presenter, National Science Teacher's Convention, Philadelphia, PA 2003
• NASA Student Involvement Program Presenter, National Science Teacher's Convention, 2001-2003
• Sponsor of Comets on the Cottonbelt Committee (Volunteer committee of students who promote space education throughout the community), 2002-2004
• Married, two children, and enjoys Historical Preservation