Planetary Climates and Critical Thinking in STEAM Education

Title: 
Planetary Climates and Critical Thinking in STEAM Education

Presenter:
Harufumi Tamazawa (University of Tokyo / Kyoto City Univ. of Arts, Japan)

This was a poster presented at the 5th Shaw-IAU Workshop on Astronomy for Education, organised by the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education (OAE, http//astro4edu.org).

When the discussion of planetary climate is used in education, it is often stressed that the importance of conservation of the global environment and the survival of humankind is important. Considering that the timescale of astronomy is longer than the timescale of human existence, academic discussions and educational ideas do not necessarily match. There are also efforts to incorporate the perspective of environmental ethics into STEAM education. When seriously trying to incorporate ethical and philosophical perspectives into STEAM education, there are times when we think about the pros and cons of human survival. Although this material is effective in training critical thinking, it should be considered carefully, especially in the context of primary and secondary education.

About the 5th Shaw-IAU Workshop on Astronomy for Education:
This year’s Shaw-IAU Workshop on Astronomy for Education focuses on two themes: one special practical astronomy education topic and one scientific topic. The special topic is astronomy education outside the classroom, looking at how astronomy can be taught in a diverse range of environments such as science centers, planetaria and youth clubs. The scientific topic is planetary atmospheres, both in the solar system and exoplanets as well as our own Earth. The workshop was organised by the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education (http://astro4edu.org). More details can be found on: https://astro4edu.org/shaw-iau/5th-shaw-iau-workshop/schedule/

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