Introduction

Astronomy is, inherently, a high-interest subject. However, at the high school level there is a tendency to teach astronomy using higher-level abstractions and complex mathematics. This teaching approach thus eliminates a large number of students who have difficulties with abstractions and complex mathematics, thereby restricting the study of astronomy to a rather select group of students.

The astronomy course offered since 1976 at Wauwatosa West High School was developed to reach a wide range of students with differing abilities. The prerequisite for this one-semester elective course is the successful completion of one year of high school science. Most of the students enrolled in this course are high school juniors and seniors, ages 16-18. Since algebra is not a prerequisite, the “math phobic” students have been attracted to the course. The higher ability students enjoy the challenges posed by astronomy and often take this course as a supplement to their physics classes. Students who normally have difficulty with science suddenly discover that they can succeed in astronomy, and we have introduced a whole new group of students to this high-interest subject.

Activities

Our astronomy course focuses on hands-on activities, which can illustrate higher-level abstractions in a more concrete manner. In particular, we use Project STAR activities, which were developed at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Our text is also the Project STAR textbook (Coyle, et al, 1993). The following subsection will illustrate some of these hands-on activities.

Orientation: Celestial Sphere

[Slide: exterior of Wauwatosa West High School] Wauwatosa West High School is located in a suburb of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on the western shore of Lake Michigan.

Imagine trying to teach reading to students who do not know the alphabet or driving to someone who does not know the purpose of the brake. As teachers, we have a view of what the fundamental ideas that our field are and make decisions about their coverage and order in our courses. Yet, research shows that students rarely have the foundation that we expect; they hold misconceptions about the physical world that actually inhibit the learning of many scientific concepts. Moreover, the metaphors that we employ for building student understanding: reliving the historical development of the field, journeying from the closest to farthest reaches of the universe, and observing the objects in the sky, are only based on our own beliefs in their effectiveness. Empirical evidence shows that they are of little value; there is rarely any lasting change in students’ conceptual understanding in science. Yet, by testing large populations, one can tease out the relative difficulty of astronomical conceptions, which misconceptions inhibit understanding of scientific ideas, and which concepts are prerequisites for others. These relationships allow the determination of an intrinsic structure of astronomical concepts, the way in which novices to experts appear to progress naturally through to an understanding of the field. Such a structure has application in the classroom. Certain ideas appear to be so fundamental to understanding light, scale, and gravity that no headway can be made until they are mastered. If we learn to set realistic goals for our students and teach the prerequisite notions prior to the more exotic ones, we may be able to optimize student learning and build understanding that outlasts the final exam.

Introduction

The status of teaching Astronomy in European countries is variable. Sometimes Astronomy appears as a compulsory subject or as an optional subject, but on many occasions Astronomy appears within another subject, depending on the country. It is even possible for Astronomy not to appear anywhere in the curriculum. But of course the position here is better than in other less developed places. In Europe there are various topics which can be organized into two main groups: aspects related to relative motions and aspects related to properties of light. Some examples of teaching activities and materials in various countries will be described.

It is also necessary to emphasize several initiatives such as the review of Astronomy curricula, the publication of general books on Astronomy for secondary schools and the organisation of new journals to promote Astronomy in schools.

It is essential to mention the new European Association for Astronomy Education (EAAE) founded last November in Athens. This meeting was attended by 100 teachers and astronomy professionals from 17 European countries. It is hoped that this, in conjuntion with the other initiatives, will do much to encourage the study of Astronomy.

Relative Motions.

In this field, as in others, there is some very interesting material promoted by the Comite de Liaison Enseignants et Astronomes (CLEA) in France. Denise Wacheux has produced a special umbrella which is used to study the movement of the Sun and celestial sphere in relation to the horizon, and which has very interesting didactic applications in secondary schools. It is possible to change the latitude and to move the umbrella around its axis.

Students, young and old, find the existence of extraterrestrial life one of the most intriguing of all science topics. The theme of searching for life in the universe lends itself naturally to the integration of many scientific disciplines for thematic science education. Based upon the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), the Life in the Universe (LITU) curriculum project at the SETI Institute developed a series of six teachers guides, with ancillary materials, for use in elementary and middle school classrooms, grades 3 through 9. Lessons address topics such as the formation of planetary systems, the origin and nature of life, the rise of intelligence and culture, spectroscopy, scales of distance and size, communication and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Each guide is structured to present a challenge as the students work through the lessons. The six LITU teachers guides may be used individually or as a multi-grade curriculum for a school.

Integral to the development process was the collection of evaluation data on draft materials from field test teachers, students, and scientists. These data led to revisions and further field tests. Responses indicate that the objectives for the materials were achieved, and that the materials were well received. The LITU project was conducted by the SETI Institute in Mountain View, CA; the project was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The LITU Series is being published by Teachers Ideas Press, a division of Libraries Unlimited, Englewood, Colorado, USA.

Goals

Early in this century, many cities and universities could support telescopes large enough to do serious research. There were significant observatories even in the less accesable parts of the world. Astronomy was very much an international science, and the IAU was founded to aid this international outlook.

In the middle of this century, astronomy changed in two ways. First, the frontier research turned to new topics. It needed telescopes too expensive for most small and many large countries. Second, physics became a more prominent part of astronomy. That left many of the existing small observatories scientifically isolated, especially in developing countries. The scientifically lonely astronomers there needed new alliances to survive.

Simultaneously, the new prominence of physics led to astronomers appearing in physics departments of developing countries. These new astronomers were also isolated and they also needed to build alliances to survive.

Since the 1960s, the IAU has tried to support astronomy in developing countries, especially the lonely astronomers, by several teaching-related projects, supervised by IAU Commission 46. I shall tell you the more formal aspects of these projects, and then I want to summarize some of the successes and difficulties. But first I want to emphasize an important principle for each of these projects:

Any country or university where the IAU helps to develop astronomy must contribute significantly to this project. The more usual alternative has been tried by other scientific societies. Typically, they donated a piece of research equipment. Far too often several years later, the equipment has been found rusting in some corner. Those of you familiar with tropical countries know that rust destroys neglected equipment very rapidly.

This project had two principal objectives: to communicate safe methods to observe the Sun, so as to prevent ophthalmological accidents to people during the total solar eclipse of 3rd November 1994, and to collaborate with the primary school teachers in the science classroom, illustrating the classes, motivating the students to observe sky phenomena.

Introduction

In January 1993, a commission called “ECLIPSE 94” Executive Commission, of the Brazilian Astronomical Society was created to coordinate assistance with arrangements for observing the total solar eclipse of 3rd November 1994, that in Brazil was total in the western part of Parana State, in Santa Catarina State and in a Rio Grande do Sul zone. Professional astronomers from Brazil and from several parts of the world were mobilized to observe this eclipse. The biggest interest in this phenomenon was because the next one of this type, in Brazil, will only occur in the year 2046, and will be visible in Paraiba State. The general coordination was done by Prof. Dr. Oscar Matsuura, from the Astronomical and Geophysical Institute of University of São Paulo.

Following the suggestion of the Working Group on Eclipses of the International Astronomical Union, this commission decided to amplify their action, assuming the articulation of a large publicity campaign about eclipses, close to the common people. Such a campaign was aimed at giving technical and astronomical information and at preventing ophthalmological accidents to people during the total solar eclipse of November 3, 1994. Utilising this fact, we decided to use this campaign to collaborate with the teachers, principally in high school, illustrating science classes, and motivating the students to observe sky phenomena.

I discuss the burgeoning World Wide Web and how it can be used to aid astronomy teaching. I supply a list of a variety of useful Web sites.

The World Wide Web was invented 5 years ago at CERN, which is now translated as the European Laboratory for Particle Physics, as a way of aiding access to information from remote sites. The invention of graphic interfaces, notably Mosaic by a group at the National Supercomputer Center in Illinois and then Netscape Navigator as a private development by many of the original Mosaic people, led to an explosion in use of the Web. Millions of people around the world are now able to access information from over 100,000 Web sites.

There is much astronomical information on the Web, though that information make up only a small fraction of all the information available through this medium. The astronomical information is of many varied types, from images of observations to tables of data to lesson plans to journal articles. The question for us to address here is how best to make use of this information for astronomy teaching. Even with the increased resources available at our desktops, the individual teacher remains an important part of the educational enterprise.

One set of alternatives deals with whom the Web information is aimed at. To present new Web data in class, it is useful to have a means of projecting computer information on a screen, which is most often done with an LCD projector panel.

Background

For the teaching of astronomy there can be no alternative to the hands-on experience of using instruments on a real telescope observing on a clear dark night. Such experience is not possible for millions of students who are excited by the ideas of astronomy. It is not merely one of cost. The logistics of assembling a class of students after school hoping for clear skies destroys the possibilities of real observing for the majority of students. Robot telescopes change all that.

In educational terms a robot telescope can provide a range of experiences of observational astronomy. The development of CD-ROM and the Internet to support classroom learning have produced the concept of REAL(Dunlap 1996): a Rich Environment for Active Learning as an appropriate framework on which to develop the classroom response to these technologies. The Bradford Robot Telescope has demonstrated student centred experiences to generate a Rich Environment for Active Learning(REAL), for astronomy. It is based on a massive extension of the library and experiential resource available to the teacher over the Internet, the opportunity for the student to develop and answer questions associated with the learning programme and access to a robot telescope which provides two modes of operation: service observing and eavesdropping. In the concept of REAL the students are:-

• Allowed to, and taught to, determine what they need to learn through questioning and goal setting

• Provided with sufficient scaffolding in the environment to help students with prompts, examples, modelling and collaborative support

• Enabled to manage their own learning activities

• Enabled to contribute to each others’ learning through collaborative activities.

Introduction

Sometimes I find my self in a society in the middle of The Global Village and sometimes in a society in a little state with a large number of computers not speaking the language I usually talk. When a prevailing part of the population are working in one area the society is named after that area, allthough a lot of other things can characterize the society. The latest societies are:

• Agricultural society

• Industrial society

• Information society

The agricultural and industrial societies have come to an end. When a society comes to an end, it is usually because the efficiency of production reaches a level higher than necessary, to keep all the workers busy. Many of the workers are attracted to other kinds of work, which gives rise to the next culture.

We must imagine a similar over production of information, so that the number of people occupied by producing information will start to decline. Some say that we have reach the end point already, because we have access to information from all over the world through computers, Internet and World Wide Web in an amount larger than we can handle. But that may not be true because we are waiting for large numbers of the population to learn to utilize all that information. The demand may increase for some time to come.

We can see the extremly high impact computers have on politicians, compared to their previous interest in libraries. In Denmark more money has been put into school computers during the last five years, than have ever been used for school library books.

Introduction

The objective of this work is to make known the astronomical activities in the region of Campinas, the process of developing municipal cooperation and the general conclusions that reflect this process.

This research has been done by means of interviews with people related to the creation of astronomical centers in the region of the city of Campinas that is located in the state of São Paulo in Brasil (Fig. 1 and 2).

The conditions studied are related with this region but many ideas could be used in developing countries or others.

Nowadays there are works in the areas of research, teaching and popularization in many institutions besides the individual efforts of teachers and amateur astronomers in general. At two local universities (Unicamp and Puccamp) the discipline of astronomy at the graduate level is still optional. There are no groups or departments of astronomy but various students have obtained the MSc degree in areas such as black holes, active galactic nuclei, cosmology and teaching of astronomy. There is also a small planetarium, a naked eye observatory, some astronomy clubs as well as various amateur astronomers who contribute with systematic observations of the sky in many fields such as Sun, planets, occultations, comets, astrophotography, CCD astronomy and even with the use of spectroheliograph, coronograph and a Schmidt camera. Some teachers conduct astronomical activities in many schools of the region within disciplines like sciences or physics as well as lectures, exhibits and observations of the sky. There are six municipal observatories (Campinas, Americana, Itapira, Piracicaba, Diadema and Amparo), with continuing activities of observational programs, public observation, exhibits, and other activities directed to students.

Introduction

A European Initiative

Astronomy knows no geographical borders – the sky is the same over all countries. However, while professional astronomers have long established bi- and multilateral collaborations, many of which take place under the auspices of the IAU, few similar schemes exist within astronomy education.

Now, following the establishment in 1995 of the European Association for Astronomy Education (EAAE), this situation is about to change on that continent. This new association offers an efficient platform for astronomy educators at various levels – in particular at the approx. 7000 secondary schools in this geographical area – to interact in all related matters, e.g. curricula, all kinds of teaching materials, student exchanges and other events. Together with the European Commission and some of the professional institutes, EAAE is now planning a major, international event in November 1996.

Geographical disparity

Astronomy is taught at secondary school level in most European countries, but there are enormous differences from area to area. In some places astronomy plays an important role within the physics curriculum, in other places CCD-equipped telescopes of medium size are available for observational studies, and in some places astronomy is barely visible or the connected matters are spread over many different subjects. With some notable exceptions, it cannot be said that the teaching of astronomy in Europe is satisfactory, and it would appear that the great potential inherent in this science with so many connections and of such an outspoken interdisciplinary nature is very poorly exploited.

The data, scientific results, and expertise from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and other NASA Missions are being integrated into programs that support innovative and experimental methods to improve content in science and math education. Partnerships with science museums, teachers, other educators, community colleges, universities and other key organizations integrate unique and cutting edge science data and the associated satellite technology into resources which have the potential to enhance science, math and technical learning. The inspiring nature of astronomical data and the technology associated with the HST and other missions can be used by teachers to engage students in many inventive activities. The resources created through collaborative teaming will be discussed, as well as the process for creating partnerships to benefit the education community. Many NASA supported programs encourage electronic access and distribution of multi-media interactive activities and curriculum support materials distributed across the Internet. Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), in particular, is endeavoring to make the science results announced through the news media and through public information channels particularly relevant to a broad audience, including through resources for pre-college classrooms and informal science centers.

Introduction

Background: NASA Involvement

The science divisions within NASA have a specific charter to provide unique and often new technology instrumentation in orbit for the purpose of conducting top rank science research in the Earth, Space, Planetary and Astrophysical Sciences. The expense of commissioning useful orbiting observatories necessitates that excellent research be efficiently accomplished with the facilities.

Introduction

Michigan State University (MSU) serves a large and diverse student population, ∼ 1000 of whom take the astronomy course for non- science majors each year. Significant resources are also invested in the related astronomy lab, enrolling about half the lecture students. Although this lab is optional, the students are required to complete one lab course for their degree. In the fall of 1995, we undertook an extensive assessment of student learning in these astronomy courses.

The Student Population

Unlilke most astronomy research, information about the entire population under study (403 students) was available. This included name, major, grade earned, and concurrent enrollment in lab and lecture. Fig. l(a) shows that the shapes of the grade distributions differ for the day and evening classes, and that neither is Gaussian. Therefore the day and evening classes will be analysed separately, and statistics such as mean and standard deviation are good descriptors for only the day-class students receiving a 1.0 lecture grade or above. The lab grades were also plotted for the day and evening classes separately, and no difference in the shapes of the distributions were apparent (Fig. l(b)). This indicates that the different grade distributions of the day and evening lectures are lecture-dependent, rather than rooted in the nature of the students taking day versus evening classes. The lecture and lab grades were also plotted for males versus females (gender information was not available for eleven students), and no gender bias was evident.

Introduction

The Astronomy Village multimedia program is designed to emphasize the process of science as much as its content (Pompea and Blurton, 1995; Pompea, 1996). It was designed for 14 year-old students, but has been used at slightly younger age levels and for older students, including university students. The investigations are flexible enough to be used at this wide variety of levels.

In this CD-ROM-based multimedia program, student teams can pursue one often research investigations. In each investigation they are guided by a mentor, receive e-mail, hear a lecture in the Village auditorium, and make observations using ground or spacebased telescopes in a virtual observatory. The students also process data using the NIH Image image processing program. They keep a detailed logbook of their research activities and can run simulations on stellar evolution as well as manipulate 3-D astronomy visualization tools. At the end, they present their research results to their classmates and answer questions about their results at a press conference. The Astronomy Village builds upon previous work in the use of image processing for education (Pompea, 1994a), teaching techniques in astronomy (Pompea, 1994b) current research in astronomy (Pompea, 1995), and developments in optics education (Pompea and Nofziger, 1995; Pompea and Stepp, 1995; Pompea, 1996).

The Astronomy Village Process Model

The process model for the Astronomy Village program is that students become members of one of ten potential research teams that are pursuing front-line observational astronomy research.

Introduction

The universe of marine navigators and surveyors is basically a geocentric one. All calculations necessary for reducing celestial observations to obtain directional or positional information can be carried out within the pre- Copernican two sphere hypothesis. Some mature students on the degree courses have practical experience of navigation at sea but are not used to more abstract ways of thinking. However, most courses in navigation require students to understand the many corrections that have to be applied in astro-navigation. The planetarium can be used to illustrate the basic concepts of the two sphere hypothesis, although other methods are needed to understand the nautical almanac and the principles used in its calculation.

Coordinate Systems and the Planetarium

Obviously a planetarium is very useful to teach star identification, which all practical navigators should be able to do. Projected vertical circles, meridians, prime verticals, celestial equator and ecliptic, hour circles and projected protractors at zenith and pole are very helpful in teaching co-ordinate systems. These circles can also be used as an empirical introduction to the basic concepts of spherical trigonometry. Planetariurns can also be used to demonstrate the effect of precession on right ascension and declination. However, since the planetarium emphasises the geocentric view point it cannot readily be used to explain the physics of precession.

Gyroscopes and Orreries

Many astronomy textbooks take the trouble to explain the dynamics of precession, using the spinning top analogy, but few explain the gyroscopic properties of a spinning body. Even physics students find rotary motion difficult at first, and most good physics textbooks go to great pains to explain and illustrate the concepts.

Although it comes at the end of the programme, this contribution is in no sense a ‘summary’ of the meeting. It addresses some issues that were covered by earlier speakers, but is written from the individual perspective as a research astronomer working in the UK.

Astronomy and Young People

A few comments first on education in schools – this is a special worry here in the UK, where our international rankings are disappointing. An appreciation of science is vital not just for tomorrow's scientist and engineers, but for everyone who will live and work in a world even more underpinned by technology – and even more vulnerable to its failures and misapplications – than the present one. Even more important, the option of higher education in science and technology should not be foreclosed to them. There is widespread concern particularly about the 16-18 age group. Many of us put strong emphasis on broadening the curriculum for this group, which currently enforces unduly early specialisation here in England. Young people opting for humanities should not drop all science when they are 16. (I have carefully said ‘England’ rather than ‘the UK’ because the curriculum is already broader in Scotland. Scottish education has its admirers here, but few in Scotland advocate a switch to the English system!)

It is crucial that enough of the brightest young people go on to acquire some professional expertise in science and technology. They will not do so unless, when making the key decisions at age 16 or 18, they perceive a range of appealing opportunities. They will be discouraged if the courses do not inspire them.

Introduction

Carter Observatory is the National Observatory of New Zealand and was opened in 1941. For more than ten years the Observatory has maintained an active education program for visiting school groups (see Andrews, 1991), and education now forms one of its four functions. The others relate to astronomical research; public astronomy; and the preservation of New Zealands astronomical heritage (see Orchiston and Dodd, 1995).

Since the acquisition of a small Zeiss planetarium and associated visitor centre in 1992, the public astronomy and education programs at the Carter Observatory have witnessed a major expansion (see Orchiston, 1995; Orchiston and Dodd, 1996). A significant contributing factor was the introduction by the government of a new science curriculum into New Zealand schools in 1995 (Science in the New Zealand Curriculum, 1995). “Making Sense of Planet Earth and Beyond”comprises one quarter of this curriculum, and the “Beyond”component is astronomy. As a result of this exciting innovation, within just a few years, astronomy will be taught at almost every school in New Zealand – from entry primary school through to final year secondary – at eight distinct levels. This, in turn, will eventually lead to the emergence of one of the most astronomically-aware nations on Earth.

In 1995 the Ministry of Education also introduced competitive funding for museums, science centres, observatories and other institutions wishing to offer “Learning Experiences Outside the Classroom”, and the Carter Observatory was successful in negotiating a three-year contract. As a result, a second full-time Education Officer was appointed, and the Observatory's schools program was totally revised in order to cater to the evolving needs of students, teachers and trainee teachers under the new astronomy curriculum.

Introduction

Carter Observatory is the gazetted National Observatory of New Zealand, and opened in 1941 December. From the start, the main function of the Observatory was to provide for the astronomical needs of the citizens of, and visitors to, the Wellington region, and today this remains one of its four recognised functions (Orchiston and Dodd, 1995). The other three are to conduct astronomical research of international significance; provide a national astronomy education service for school students, teachers, and trainee teachers; and assist in the preservation of New Zealand's astronomical heritage.

Since 1992 the Carter Observatory has undergone major restructuring as a result of acquiring an aging Zeiss planetarium and an accompanying visitor centre (Van Dijk, 1992), and in response to major changes in Government funding policy. As a result, there has been a wholesale revamp of the education and public astronomy functions (see Orchiston, 1995b; Orchiston and Dodd, 1996). This paper focuses on the latter area, with emphasis on development of the Visitor Centre and the publications program.

The Visitor Center

The focal point of the Observatory's in-house public astronomy programs is the Visitor Centre, comprising a foyer area with “Space Shop”, the planetarium chamber, an audiovisual theatre (that also doubles as a meeting room), a small video room which also houses a public-access PC (featuring the “Orbits”program), and the “Dome Room”where the Observatory's historically-significant 23cm Cook photovisual refractor (see Andrews and Budding, 1992; Orchiston et al., 1995) holds pride of place. There are also the mandatory wheelchair-access toilets, and adjacent to the theatre is a small kitchen.