Overcoming the Hurdles in Imparting Astronomy Education in Schools

Overcoming the Hurdles in Imparting Astronomy Education in Schools

Presenter: Vaibhav Trivedi, Fergusson College, Pune, India & Suresh Parekh, Department of Physics, Savitribai Phule Pune University, India

This was a poster presented at the 4th Shaw-IAU Workshop on Astronomy for Education, organised by the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education (OAE, http//astro4edu.org).

Here, we discussed our research and answers to the astronomy education issues that students face. We conducted a teaching experiment at a local school. We first presented astronomy in a standard manner. Later we presented the same ideas using working models, and exhibits and using less mathematical content. When we performed an identical assessment on students, we saw that their analytical abilities to comprehend the problems had greatly improved. The students quickly achieved the much-needed visualisation skills compared to a standard way of teaching. The same students now have no trouble solving astronomy-related mathematical problems that they previously had difficulty with. We visited many schools and got similar results. These methods enhanced their learning process.

About the 4th Shaw-IAU Workshop:

The topic for this year’s Shaw-IAU Workshop on Astronomy for Education is ‘Leveraging the potential of astronomy in formal education’ and is scheduled to run 15 to 17 November 2022 as a fully virtual event on Hopin as in previous years. This year’s Shaw-IAU Workshop focuses on the role of astronomy in the core regions of formal, primary and secondary, education: How do we teach astronomy as its own subject? What is the role of astronomy in teaching physics or chemistry – or in communicating such a central future topic as climate change? In sessions marked with a * we aim to hear specifically from teachers. We also address the question of how to approach those who set the framework for teaching: How can you get your administration, or at a much higher level: your education ministry, to listen to you? Last but not least we look at how to bridge the divide between the fundamentals that are commonly taught in school and results from cutting-edge research, which tend to be fascinating to students and the general public alike. he 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/4th-shaw-iau-workshop/

Keep up to date with future Shaw-IAU Workshops and other opportunities at the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education by joining our mailing list https://astro4edu.org/mailing-list/ Follow the IAU OAE on Twitter and Facebook under @astro4edu