Press Release |
  |
NAS RA V. Ambartsumian Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory (BAO)
Press release 21.04.2020
Astronomy for Education
The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has created an Office of Astronomy for Education (OAE) to achieve the goals set out in the IAU Strategic Plan 2020–2030. The OAE has been established through an international Call for Proposals and is hosted by the Astronomy Outreach Centre in Heidelberg, Germany. It will have the following main objectives:
- establish a network of National Astronomy Education Coordinators (NAECs) that will represent the interface between the OAE and the community of teachers, in each Coordinator’s country, who would be interested in astronomy and in using astronomy as a tool for teaching science in primary and secondary school;
- through the NAECs, liaise with curriculum experts and hopefully with education ministries to further the inclusion of astronomy in the national curricula, and perhaps to propose modifications of the national curricula and the schools’ syllabi, to develop educational material tailored to the needs of specific countries or groups and school level;
- analyze, with the support of the NAECs, how astronomy is used in teaching in all the IAU countries, identifying existing relevant actions and liaise with them, e.g., organizing professional development for teachers and high-quality teaching material that is readily accessible and that can be translated into the local language;
- develop and encourage the use of standards to be followed in the organization of teacher training activities;
- organize Regional or International Schools for Astronomy Education (SAE) for teachers, adhering to these standards;
- recruit and organize volunteer IAU members who are willing to contribute to the teacher training programme.
Dr. Marietta Gyulzadyan, Sona Farmanyan, and Armine Patatanyan are appointed as IAU OAE Armenian NAEC team.
Meline Asryan
