Galileo Teachers Program
First Galileo Teacher Training Program Workshop in the US is a Success
“In the Footsteps of Galileo”, an initial 2-day workshop to train US teachers on how to convey basic astronomical concepts in a hands-on way, took place near San Francisco on Sept. 12 & 13, 2009, as part of the 121st Annual Meeting of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP). Approximately 30 teachers from around the United States participated, and were joined by five astronomy education specialists (from as far away as Australia and Israel) who want to replicate the workshop locally. The workshop was led by Andrew Fraknoi (of Foothill College & the ASP) and Dennis Schatz (of Seattle’s Pacific Science Center). Other presenters included Connie Walker and Robert Sparks (National Optical Astronomy Observatories) and Suzy Gurton (ASP).
Among the areas covered in the workshop were:
* Research on Student Learning and Hands-on Science
* Jupiter’s Moons: Galileo’s Experiment
* Building and Using a “Galileoscope”
* Paper-Tape Solar System: An Easy Scaling Activity
* Measuring the Dark: Activities on Light Pollution
* The Moon Doesn’t Phase Me: Understanding the Changing Appearance of the Moon
* Who is Your Hero: Creating Your Own Constellations.
Participants received a wide range of activity handouts and astronomy resource materials that can be put to direct use in the 3rd through 12th grade classroom.
More information is posted at:
http://www.gttpusa.org/
One of the Global Cornerstones developed by the IAU to sustain the legacy of the International Year of Astronomy 2009 is the Galileo Teachers Training Program. The IAU’s goal is to create by 2012 a worldwide network of certified ambassadors, master teachers and teachers, through nation-specific workshops and online training tools, to empower teachers to take advantage of the rich astronomy educational resources available today. These resources are underutilized, as teachers worldwide generally lack the training to effectively use them in their own classrooms.
With this cornerstone project, we plan to bring the necessary training to the international educational community through a series of continuing education workshops. Master teachers from different countries and regions will be trained and then sent back to their homes with the resources necessary to train their local colleagues.
This program is in need of sponsorship for within the U.S. and internationally, and for the year 2009 and beyond. If you are interested in helping, please contact mailto:donate@astronomy2009.us or email us at mailto:donate@astronomy2009.us. Thank you!
