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Cambridge University Press
9780521880152 - Innovation in Astronomy Education - by Jay M. Pasachoff, Rosa M. Ros and Naomi Pasachoff
Frontmatter/Prelims

INNOVATION IN ASTRONOMY EDUCATION

Astronomy leads to an understanding of the history and nature of science, and attracts many young people to education in science and technology. But while in many countries astronomy is not part of the standard curriculum, many scientific and educational societies and government agencies have produced materials and educational resources in astronomy for all educational levels. This volume highlights the general strategies for effective teaching and introduces innovative points of view regarding methods of teaching and learning, particularly those using new technologies. Technology is used in astronomy, both for obtaining observations and for teaching. The book also presents ideas for how astronomy can be connected to environmental issues and other topics of public interest. This valuable overview is based on papers and posters presented by many of the world’s leading astronomy educators at a Special Session of the International Astronomical Union General Assembly in Prague in 2006.

JAY M. PASACHOFF is Field Memorial Professor of Astronomy at Williams College, and was President of the Commission on Education and Development of the International Astronomical Union.

ROSA M. ROS is Professor of Mathematics at the Technical University of Catalonia in Barcelona and Vice-President of the International Astronomical Union’s Commission on Education and Development.

NAOMI PASACHOFF is a Research Associate at Williams College and an author of science textbooks and biographies of scientists.

Cover: The Astronomical Clock of Prague, one of the main tourist sites in this city that hosted the 2006 International Astronomical General Assembly, in which the Special Session on which this book is based was included. The clock shows the Sun’s position in the sky, the lunar phase, the zodiac, the positions of the Sun and Moon on the ecliptic, and other items of interest to astronomers. The oldest part of the clock dates back to 1410, though the clock’s current appearance comes from major repairs after World War II devastation. Moving statues, for which tourists gather on the hour, were added in the seventeenth century. (Richard Nebesky/Lonely Planet Images/Getty Images)

Johannes Kepler’s heliocentric idea, from his Mysterium Cosmographicum (1596), that the planets’ spacing was determined by the Platonic solids. Kepler moved to Prague, the site of the International Astronomical Union’s 2006 General Assembly at which this Special Session on Innovation in Teaching and Learning Astronomy was held, to work with Tycho Brahe, leading to Kepler’s three laws of planetary motion. (Photo courtesy of Jay M. Pasachoff with the assistance of Wayne Hammond, Williams College’s Chapin Library.)

INNOVATION IN ASTRONOMY EDUCATION

JAY M. PASACHOFF
Williams College, Massachusetts, USA

ROSA M. ROS
University of Catalonia, Barcelona

NAOMI PASACHOFF
Williams College, Massachusetts, USA

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First published 2008

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