Introduction

The curriculum and the teaching of astronomy in any school are driven by the syllabus and the individual school's developed and implemented curriculum. Other factors that may affect the delivery of the intended curriculum will include the competence and interests of individual teachers and the use of textbooks and other resources, to support this curriculum. The successful teaching of astronomy in primary and secondary schools is dependent on the teachers' own understanding of concepts and abilities to challenge students' prior conceptions, therefore the courses undertaken by pre-service teachers must be in the context of teaching astronomy, and teachers' own studies must challenge and develop their own understanding of concepts in astronomy.

To understand fully the possible derivation of alternative conceptions or difficulties in understanding key concepts in astronomy, it is essential to trace the stages of teaching and learning in astronomy through the curriculum. It may be that students have not been provided with the opportunities to challenge and/or restructure their prior knowledge or intuitive beliefs through appropriate teaching strategies.

The prefix “pseudo” is derived from a Greek word meaning “false.” Pseudoscience refers to theories, assumptions, and methods that are mistakenly thought to be scientific. Obviously the distinction between science and pseudoscience is not clear-cut. Pseudoscience overlaps with scientific “misconceptions” - beliefs that are held by students and the general public that differ from scientific fact. Both of these concepts are subtle ones, since all scientific theories can be regarded as tentative to some degree.

At the 1996 IAU conference on astronomy education in London, UK, Neil Comins classified astronomical misconceptions into about 20 types, and he has described these in detail in his book Heavenly Errors (Columbia University Press, 2001). Some misconceptions are cognitive in nature; they are dealt with in our Part II. Others are products of religious belief or superstition (often transmitted through the “authority” of family or friends), or popular culture, or errors or excesses of the media. In relation to astronomy, notable pseudosciences include astrology, space aliens, and creationism; the works of Velikovsky also fall under the pseudoscience rubric. The majority of students will be affected in some way by these beliefs.

How to deal with them? The theory of constructivism is one of the most influential sciencelearning theories in schools today. It states that, by reflecting on their own knowledge and experiences, students build their own new knowledge about the universe around them. Teachers must therefore be aware of students' pseudoscientific beliefs, as well as their other misconceptions, if they are to correct them through their teaching. Many of them are deeply rooted. They cannot easily be changed by lectures and textbooks. They must be confronted through minds-on teaching.

Delta Cephei

To get an idea of what variable-star observing is all about, here are two active, easily found stars that we will observe informally. The first is Delta Cephei, an ideal star to begin with for several reasons. It is part of a bright and compact star group, is usually around magnitude 4, and is an active star, always offering something interesting to watch.

Delta Cephei's variation was discovered by John Goodricke in 1784 (see Chapter 32), and it is the star for which all the Cepheid variables are named. The variation in this giant star is small but extremely regular with a period of several days. It is also typical that this star enjoys a leisurely decline to minimum that is followed by a rapid rise to maximum.

At maximum, Delta Cephei is easily visible at magnitude 3.5, and at minimum it shines at 4.4. If you observe every night or two you will soon see how it falls, then rises, week after week.

Notice the two stars Zeta and Epsilon in Fig. 6.1 and in the sky. Which is brighter? Let us give Zeta Cephei an arbitrary value of “1” and Epsilon a value of “5”. Each night estimate the brightness of Delta Cephei as follows:

1. – as bright as Zeta

2. – slightly fainter than Zeta

3. – halfway between Zeta and Epsilon

4. – slightly brighter than Epsilon

5. – as faint as Epsilon

Even though we are not using actual magnitude values here, we still estimate to better than 0.2 magnitude.

Introduction

The Astronomy Education Review (AER), a new electronic journal, was established to serve the growing community of researchers and educators who are active contributors to astronomy and space science education.

For decades, it has been a cause for concern that too few US undergraduates are being trained in science, engineering, and mathematics (NCEE, 1983). In addition, our increasingly technological society requires citizenry that is at least somewhat literate in science. As a consequence, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and National Science Foundation (NSF) have committed very significant resources toward improving both access to, and the quality of, science education at all levels. Proposals to the NSF are now judged not only on the intellectual merit of the proposed research but also on its broader impacts, including how well the work will advance “discovery and understanding while promoting teaching, training and learning” (NSF, 2004).

The afternoon summer storm has just passed and the sky is clearing rapidly. It's a weekend evening and you decide to set up the telescope. By the time the Sun has set, your telescope is assembled and you are ready for a night with the stars. What do you do first? While the telescope is adjusting to nighttime temperatures, check out the sky. Is it just as you left it last time? A good way to begin any night of observing is to review the familiar constellations and asterisms. Slowly and methodically check each star down to 2nd or 3rd magnitude. In all likelihood, all is well, but you never know. An erupting star, a nova, might be out there waiting to be noticed as a “star out of place.” A nova is not, as its Latin name implies, a new star. It is really an old star system that is exploding. In the case of an ordinary nova it is a binary system that goes into outburst as it blows off some of its atmosphere, or as a supernova, it spectacularly blows a large fraction of its mass over space.

A nova in Cygnus

On a Saturday evening in late August 1975, when I was returning with friends from an early dinner, I looked up, quite by habit, and saw what I assumed to be a slow-moving satellite just north of Deneb.

Stars are people, too. Each star, like each person, is unique. For whatever efforts we make to classify either people or stars, we always run into exceptions, and when we create a new category for the exceptions to the old category, that usually turns out to have exceptions as well. Although it is an exaggeration to say that every variable star in the sky is in a class by itself, it is useful to think of variables as individuals capable of surprises.

There is a different aspect, however, of the philosophy of classification. Just as we can find strength and beauty by looking at the diversity of language, behavior, and culture in people, a look at the kinds of variation in stars will help to show just how extraordinary this field of study really is.

Some classifications are obvious. You would never want to confuse a stately, mature, slowly varying red giant like Mira with a little dwarf star that erupts every two months. An Orion variable, changing brightness for no apparent rhyme or reason, would not be confused with a slightly unpredictable semiregular. The eclipsing binaries, revolving together in clockwork fashion, are not the same as the intricate “breathing” of the Cepheids. Astronomers recognize these broad divisions that help us both to understand the different patterns of variation and to plan our observing programs for them.

Standardized testing and the scientific funnel

A national trend in the United States since 2002 has been an increase in required standardized testing, often as part of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA). The unforeseen consequences of NCLBA seem to be an increasing rate of failures and the abandoning of topics of secondary importance - like astronomy - next to reading, writing, and arithmetic.

In New York State, for example, the percentages of students passing the 2003 mathematics exam required for high-school graduation was so far below 50 per cent that the test had to be withdrawn, though similar problems with the physics exam did not lead to a similar temporary solution (Winerip, 2003).

Editors' Note: This paper was solicited by the editors in March 2004.

Nearly 250 outreach professionals in the astronomical community gathered in Washington, DC, on October 1–3, 2003, to attend the “Conference on Communicating Astronomy to the Public.” This three-day conference attracted public information officers, astronomers, educators, and members of the entertainment and news media to explore the gaps in outreach, the current and emerging demands of the public, the needs of the astronomical community, and to work on methods to answer these needs. “Education and Public Outreach,” now often abbreviated as “E/PO,” was the overall subject.

The conference was organized by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), for which I am a public information officer, and hosted by the US National Research Council. The morning sessions of this conference were based on a series of panel discussions, addressing such topics as astronomy in entertainment, image repositories, best practices, and underdeveloped audiences.

With growing experience you can follow several enticing stars throughout their entire range with standard 7 × 50 binoculars. These four stars are easy to find; just use the charts in Figs. 15.1, 15.2, and 15.3.

R Scuti

This most interesting bright variable ranges over about two magnitudes in almost five months. However, it shows many irregularities, and even its period, listed as 140 days, is not precise. Because the inspiring open cluster NGC 6705 (M11) is nearby, R Scuti is as easy to find as it is fun to estimate. The range is large, it is well placed in the sky from May to September, and is a fine example of an easily observed bright variable.

R Scuti is a special type of star, in the RV Tauri class. This star's performance appears to mimic Beta Lyrae, although the period is much, much longer and the maxima are sharper. But RV Tauri stars are not eclipsing binaries. They are very large and luminous yellow supergiant stars that actually pulsate. The shallower of R Scuti's two minima gradually deepens until it becomes the most pronounced low point, and the star now behaves more like a long-period version of Delta Cephei. You should estimate R Scuti once each week.

X Herculis, g Herculis, and RR Coronae Borealis

These are semiregular variables that provide an interesting weekly project (Fig. 15.3).

Astronomy in mathematics in schools

Astronomy has an interdisciplinary aspect that is potentially very positive. It is good to combine astronomy with other topics and to introduce astronomy in general projects in school in order to integrate several courses, for instance physics, mathematics, geography, biology or history. However, these kinds of project are sporadic. Of course, it is a good idea to promote them, but it is not possible to organize the astronomical education of young people with only this kind of project. It can be positive for astronomy to appear as a small part of other subjects. If astronomy appears in several subjects, this communicates to the students astronomy's interdisciplinary nature, which is very positive.

Harry Shipman: Virtually everything that has happened in the conference is relevant to one or more of the recommendations of the resolution (see pp. 2–3). There should be a session like this at the next IAU General Assembly meeting and, preferably, it should not be on the last day.

Jay Pasachoff: I agree. Perhaps we are scheduled at the end of the meeting because we requested to be adjacent to the Teachers' Day. Next time we can ask to be earlier, and we can also ask for more than one session. Within the structure of Commission 46 on Astronomy Education and Development, we will certainly ask all our national liaisons to circulate the resolution within their respective countries. Further, we can ask the IAU national representatives to bring this resolution to a higher level: to the respective education ministries.

Case Rijsdijk: We should try to focus on bringing astronomy into the teacher-training institutions.

Syuzo Isobe: This resolution is a natural result of the present condition of astronomy education worldwide. However, although many IAU Commissions talk about the importance of education, the reality is that most of them only think about education at the research level, but not at the “mass” level. Therefore, our resolution should include a statement – backed up by IAU members, the IAU itself, and the national committees – to try to take school education seriously.

What are science centers and planetariums?

Science centers and planetariums are places that are dedicated to illustrating and explaining astronomical concepts. There are different types of institutions, though some have elements of more than one:

• Science centers have interactive or “hands-on” exhibits. They cover a variety of scientific subjects that in some cases include astronomy.

• Planetariums project star fields and astronomical images on a curved dome above an audience.

• Museums have objects and displays. Like science centers, they cover a variety of subjects; in some cases they include astronomy.

• Public observatories have telescopes that are available to the public.

Why take students to a science center or planetarium?

Teachers take their students to science centers, planetariums, or similar places for a variety of reasons:

• Instruction: students can be instructed by someone knowledgeable about astronomy.

• Stimulation: students will be stimulated by the exhibits, the show and the ambience.

• Enjoyment: students will enjoy the experience.

One of the goals of the conference upon which this book is based is to encourage more and better astronomy in schools around the world. A second goal, which will help to achieve the first goal, is to encourage and facilitate the development of teacher training in astronomy, and of resources and other materials for teachers. A third goal is to identify effective, efficient, culturally appropriate strategies for achieving these goals in each country. These goals are expressed in the Resolution which was presented to the 2003 IAU General Assembly by Commission 46. I am grateful to Magda Stavinschi, of Romania, for starting the process which led to this Resolution (see the Introduction to this volume). Implementation of these goals will require effective linkages between astronomers and educators; the National Liaisons to IAU Commission 46 can play an important role here. They can work through the “astronomical community” in each country, as defined by Percy (1999).

Introduction

There have been exciting times since the advent of the World Wide Web in Australia in 1993. The medium has led to a proliferation of courses on the Internet for people interested in a whole host of things ranging from astronomy to astrology, from cosmology to cosmetology, and from celestial mechanics to celestial creativity. Accompanying the courses has been a proliferation of controllable devices: the first robotic telescope was made available in 1993 at the University of Bradford; other projects have been “Telescopes in Education” in 1996, the Charles Sturt University (CSU) Remote Telescope Project in 2000, and the Faulkes Telescope Project in 2003. Other robotic devices in their various forms from cars to manipulators to electron microscopes are also available.