Contents
- About
- How to Use
- Core Learning Questions
- How did matter come together to make planets and life in the first place?
- How did Earth become a planet on which life could develop?
- What is life?
- How did life on Earth originate?
- How have life and Earth co-evolved?
- How has life evolved to survive in diverse environments on Earth?
- How do we explore beyond Earth for signs of life?
About
The purpose of the Astrobiology Learning Progressions is to provide cognitive, instructional, and communication support for formal and informal educators, scientists, outreach specialists, and product developers who create and conduct learning experiences and otherwise communicate about astrobiology. The content of the Astrobiology Learning Progressions aligns closely with the topics covered in the Astrobiology Primer v2.0 and the NASA Astrobiology Strategy.
Astrobiology’s investigations and core concepts are inherently interdisciplinary, and are underpinned by fundamental science concepts in many different scientific disciplines. The Astrobiology Learning Progressions provide direct connections between discipline-based, fundamental concepts in science and the interdisciplinary core concepts of astrobiology.
State standards guide K-12 educators to teach those fundamental concepts, yet even the newest standards, the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), are just beginning to reflect the interdisciplinary nature of many fields of science. The Astrobiology Learning Progressions support teachers to use the interdisciplinary nature of astrobiology to teach those fundamental concepts required by the standards.
And for scientists, as they prepare to make classroom visits, give public talks, or otherwise communicate about astrobiology, the Astrobiology Learning Progressions help them to link their own work in astrobiology with the formal learning their audiences have likely have had in Earth, life, and physical sciences.
How to use this resource to best communicate astrobiology concepts
There are 6 major parts of the Astrobiology Learning Progressions that help frame and guide education, outreach, communication, and public engagement efforts in astrobiology. Select the tabs below to learn more about these components.
Core Learning Questions and their Sub-Questions
The Astrobiology Learning Progressions are broken down into 7 main questions, each of which represents a major interdisciplinary concept in astrobiology. Each Core Learning Question has several sub-questions, each of which has a web page that is further divided into grade bands.
Core Learning Questions
- Where do life’s building blocks come from?
- What are the sources of life’s building blocks within the Earth?
- What are the sources of life’s building blocks outside the Earth?