"Our home in the cosmic ocean" is the title chosen for the new edition of the International Summer Course for teachers organized by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) together with other educational institutions, which will take place from July 26 to 30 in virtual format.
After the success of the last edition, held entirely online and in which some 200 teachers from more than 40 countries participated, the International Summer Course Astronomy Education Adventure in the Canary Islands repeats the format, with the aim of contributing to curb the pandemic of COVID-19 and reach more participants in a sustainable way.
The contents of this seventh edition, to be held between July 26 and 30, will focus on the Solar System, with nods to the TV series "COSMOS: A Personal Voyage", by the astrophysicist and science popularizer Carl Sagan, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of its first broadcast (in 1980 in the USA and between 1981 and 1982 in Spain and other countries). Sharing Sagan's pacifist spirit and his defense of science and rationalism against pseudoscience and superstition, the course also celebrates the fact that 2021 has been proclaimed the International Year of Peace and Trust.
“We have joined the fantastic initiative of the Museum of Science and the Cosmos, Museums of Tenerife, to pay tribute to the great Carl Sagan and his COSMOS series, which have inspired generations of astronomers and awakened the interest in the Universe in millions of people around the planet”, explains Nayra Rodríguez Eugenio (IAC), one of the coordinators of the course.
This year's edition will include talks with IAC researchers and hands-on workshops that will present innovative learning methodologies and digital STEAM tools that teachers can use to bring research and exploration of the Cosmos into the classroom. Participants will learn how to program observations with professional robotic telescopes, practice with astronomical image visualization and analysis programs and with real data obtained with the Liverpool Telescope, the LCO network and ESA space missions. All this with a special focus on our home in the Universe: the Solar System.
Despite its virtual format, the training also includes activities that allow participants to interact with each other and establish links with teachers from other countries. "We want teachers to enjoy a learning and collaboration experience that they can pass on to their students under similar conditions, encouraging cooperation between schools around the world on research projects," says Rosa Doran (NUCLIO), the other course coordinator.
This course is organized by the IAC and NUCLIO and is carried out in collaboration with the Faulkes Telescope Education Team, the National Schools’ Observatory and the CESAR team (Cooperation through Education in Science and Astronomy Research) in the framework of the IAC PETeR project and of teacher training activities of the European School Innovation Academy (ESIA).
The training will be given in English and in virtual mode, using the videoconference software ZOOM. It will last 27 hours and will be certified by the IAC and NUCLIO, within the framework of the European project Galileo Teacher Training Program. It is aimed at teachers of all educational levels and subjects who wish to immerse themselves in a real experience with the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) areas.
Registration will be open until July 15 (or until all 250 registrations are received) and places will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.
The course is financed by the organizing and collaborating institutions. In this edition it has been decided to include a symbolic registration fee (10 euros) that will go entirely to the NUCLIO Trust program to support students from developing countries to pursue university studies. Those teachers who cannot afford this donation may request a waiver of the fee.
More information:
Previous editions:
Contact:
Nayra Rodríguez Eugenio: peter [at] iac.es (peter[at]iac[dot]es)
