Plates for Education - Scotland: Simon Christopher Reynolds at the OAE’s 4th Shaw-IAU Workshop
0Title: Plates for Education - Scotland.
Summary: Using physical artefacts from astrophysics research to engage secondary teachers.
This was a talk given at the 4th Shaw-IAU Workshop on Astronomy for Education, organised by the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education (OAE, http//astro4edu.org).
We present a project that embeds physical artefacts from astrophysics research in secondary school education in Scotland, and trains physics teachers to engage their pupils with astronomy and research data. The Sloan Digital Sky Survey has produced one of the largest maps of galaxies in our Universe, using 80cm aluminium plates to position optical fibres. After their single use, these plates have no value for research - but huge value in the classroom. Following earlier ‘Plates for Education’ activities in the US,weprovidesecondaryteacherswithaplate,training,classroom resources and research data. We also present a parallel education research project, assessing the impact of teacher professional learning on their well-being and physics identity.
About Simon Christopher Reynolds:
Simon Reynolds is the outreach officer for the School of Physics & Astronomy at the University of St Andrews. After completing a masters in Physics at Imperial College, London and a PhD in Astrophysics at the University of Edinburgh, Simon has been a professional science communicator since 2010.
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