Scientific Program

Astronomy attracts many young people to education in important fields in science and technology. But in many countries, astronomy is not part of the standard curriculum, and teachers do not receive adequate education and support. Still, many scientific and educational societies and government agencies have produced materials and educational resources in astronomy for all educational levels. Technology is used in astronomy both for obtaining observations and for teaching.

In the IAU resolution on the Value of Astronomy Education, passed by the IAU's General Assembly in 2003, it was recommended: to include astronomy in school curricula; to assist schoolteachers in their training; to inform teachers about available resources; and to contribute to the training of teachers. The aim of the proposed Special Session will be to contribute to the implementation of these recommendations, introducing innovative points of view regarding methods of teaching and learning. Astronomers from all countries—developed or developing—will be equally interested.

IAU Commission 46 on Astronomy Education and Development has National Liaisons from nearly every member country of the IAU, differentiating it from all other commissions. It is important and useful to have a special session during the General Assembly of the IAU to make it easy and possible for IAU members from all countries to participate. It is especially important to have a wide range of countries attending in order to implement the resolution on the importance of education in astronomy that was passed at the 2003 General Assembly.

A separate Special Session, SpS5, will deal with issues of astronomy in developing countries. Both Special Sessions will be reachable, starting immediately and continuing, through links on the Commission's Website at http://www.astronomyeducation.org.

We have accepted 40 oral presentations and 40 poster presentations for the two days of Special Session 2 (SpS2). Since time is tight, we will try to have the session compactly organized.

Please note:
Oral speakers are allotted 10 minutes for the talk and 3 minutes for the presentation. The total allotment of 15 minutes allows some transition time. Invited speakers are alloted 15 minutes for the talk and 3 minutes for the presentation, plus the two minutes of transition time.

The posters should fit within a space 97 cm wide and 180 cm high (but we are informed that the appropriate height for readers is only 100 to 115 cm).

More details appear on the General Assembly's Web page:
http://www.astronomy2006.com
More detailed instructions for presenters appear there.

Thursday August 17  

THEME 1: General strategies for effective teaching

09:00 Welcome — J. Pasachoff/R.M. Ros

09:05 Main Objectives of SpS2 — J. Pasachoff/R.M.Ros

09:25 Learning Astronomy by Doing Astronomy — J. Percy

09:45 Hands-on Universe — Europe R. Ferlet

10:00 Life of the Earth in the solar atmosphere — E. Kononovich, O.B. Smirnova, T.V. Matveychuk, G.V. Jakunina, S.A. Krasotkin

10:15 A Model Of Teaching Astronomy To Pre-Service Teachers — W.R. MacIntyre

10:30 Coffee

11:00 How to Teach, Learn, Do, and Enjoy Astronomy — R.M. Ros

11:20 Clickers: A New Teaching Tool of Exceptional Promise — D.K. Duncan

11:35 Teaching Students Astronomy through After-School Programs — A. Krishnamurthi, J. Lochner

11:50 Teaching the evolution of stellar and Milky Way — G. Theureau

12:05 Education Efforts of the International Astronomical Union — J. M. Pasachoff

12:25 Lunch

13:50 Astronomy and Culture — M. Stavinschi

14:10 Light Pollution: A Tool for Astronomy Education — M. Metaxa

14:30 Student Gains in Understanding the Process of Scientific Research — T.A. Rector, C.A. Pilachowski, M.J. Young

14:45 Effects of Collaborative Learning on Students’ Achievements in Introductory Astronomy — M.-H. Rhee, S.-W. Kim, E.-J. Kim, J. Kim

15:00 Worldwide On-line Distance Learning University Astronomy — S.P.S. Eyres, B.J.M. Hassal, I. Butchart, G.E. Bromage

15:15 Edible Astronomy Demonstrations — D.A. Lubowich

15:30 Coffee

16:00Amateur Astronomers as Public Outreach Partners — M.A. Bennett

16:20 Does the Sun Rotate around the Earth or Does the Earth Rotate Around the Sun? – An Important Aspect of Science Education — S. Isobe

16:40 Using Sounds and Sonifications for Astronomy Outreach — F.J. Ballesteros

16:55 Teaching Astronomy and the Crisis in Science Education — N.R. Lomb, T.M. Stevenson, M.W.B. Anderson, G.G. Wyatt

17:10 Astronomy for All as Part of a General Education — J.E.F. Baruch, D.G. Hedges, J. Machell, C.J. Tallon, K. Norris

17:25 Posters

17:45 End

THEME 3: Connecting Astronomy with Public

09:00 A Status Report from the Division XII Working Group — D.R. Crabtree, E.I. Robson, L.L. Christensen

09:20Outreach Using the Media — J. Fierro

09:40 Hands-on Science Communication — L.L. Christensen

09:55 Critical Evaluation of the New Hall of Astronomy for the Science Museum — S. Torres

Special Lecture: Astronomy Education Research

10:10 Revitalizing Astronomy Teaching through Research on Student Understanding — T. Slater

10:35 Coffee

THEME 2: Effective Use of Instruction and Information Technology

11:00 ESO's Astronomy Education Programme — D.P.I. Pierce-Price, H. Boffin, C. Madsen

11:20 Astronomy Remote Observing Research Projects of USA High School Students —

M. Kadooka

11:35 Global Network of Autonomous Observatories Dedicated to Student Research —

R. Gelderman

11:50 “Elements of Astronomy”: A Television Course of 30 Lessons — J.P.D. Perez, E.P.G. del Pozo, R.R.T. Rodriguez, A.M.B. Mendez, E.R.F. Rodriguez, R.G.D. Gamez

12:05 Remote Telescopes in Education: An Australian Study — D.H. McKinnon, L. Danaia

12:20 Visualizing Large Astronomical Data Holdings — C.A. Christian, A. Connolly, A. Conti, N. Gaffney, S. Krughoff, B. McClendon, A. Moore, R. Scranton

12:25 Lunch  

THEME 4: Practical Issues Connected with the Implementation of the 2003 IAU Resolution

13:50 Stellar evolution for Students of Moscow University — E.V. Kononovich

14:10 Astronomy for Everybody: An Approach from the CASAO — M.C. Pineda de Carias

14:30 Remote Telescope System for Science Education — H.L. Malasan, T. Kurabayashi, B. Indradjaja, K. Kinugasa, T. Kurata, H. Taguchi, G.I. Prasetyono

14:45 Towards a New Program in Astronomy Education in Secondary Schools in Turkey — Z. Aslan, Z. Tunca

15:00 Astronomy in the Russian Scientific-Educational Project — A. Gusev, I. Kitiashvili

15:15 Universe Awareness for Young Children — C. Scorza, G. Miley, C. Ödman, C. Madsen

15:30 Coffee

17:45 End

1. A Educational CD-ROM Based On The Making of Guide Star Catalog II — R.L. Smart
2. An Astronomer In The Classroom: Observatoire de Paris’s Partnership Between Teachers and Astronomers — A Doressoundiram, C. Barban
3. An Effective Distance Mode of Teaching Astronomy — V B Bhatia
4. Astrobiology and Extrasolar Planets – A New Lecture Course at Potsdam University — S. A. Franck, W. von Bloh , Ch. Bounama
5. Astronomia.pl Portal as a Partner for Projects Aimed at Students or Public — K. Czart, J. Pomierny
6. Astronomical Black Holes as an Exciting Tool and Object for Teaching Relativistic Physics — V. Karas
7. Astronomy and Space Sciences in Portugal : Communication & Education —P. Russo, A. Pedrosa, M. Barrosa
8. Astronomy Education in the Republic of Macedonia — O. Galbova, G. Apostolovska
9. Astronomy Education In Ukraine , the School Curriculum, and a Lecture Course At Kyiv Planetarium — N.S. Kovalenko, K.I. Churyumov
10. Astronomy Education with Movement and Music — C. A. Morrow
11. Astronomy in the Laboratory — B. Suzuki
12. Astronomy in the Training of Teachers and the Role of Practical Rationality in Sky Observation — P.S. Bretones, M. Compiani
13. Astronomy, the Australian School Curriculum, and the Role of the Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium — A. Axam, M. Rigby, W. Orchiston
14. Cosmic Deuterium and Social Networking Software — J.M. Pasachoff, D.A. Lubowich, T.-A. Suer, T. Glaisyer
15. Cosmology and Globalization — D.K. Perkins
16. Crayon Coloured Planets: Using Children’s Drawings as Guides for Improving Astronomy Teaching — A.B. De Mello, E.A.M. Gonzalez, B.C.G. De Lima, D.H. Epitácio Pereira, R.V. De Nader
17. Critial Evaluation of the New Hall of Astronomy for the Science Museum at the University of Mexico — S. Torres-Peimbert, C. Doddoli
18. Daytime Utilization of a University Observatory for Laboratory Instruction — J.R. Mattox
19. e-SpaceCam : Development of a Remote Cooperative Observation System for Telescopes with P2P(Peer-to-Peer) Agent Network Using Location — T. Okamoto
20. Education and Public Outreach for eGY: Virtual Observatories that connect teachers with authentic science data — P.A. Fox
21. Education at the Pierre Auger Observatory: The Ciniema as a Tool in Science Education — B. Garcia, C. Raschia
22. Educational Opportunities in Pro-Am Collaboration — R.T. Fienberg, R.E. Stencel
23. Elementary Astronomy — J. Fierro Gossman
24. Experiences in the “Sky Classroom” — A.T. Gallego
25. Gemini Observatory's Innovative Education and Outreach for 2006 and Beyond — J. Harvey
26. History of the Teaching of Astronomy in Serbian Schools — Sonja Vidojevic, S. Segan
27. Challenges of Astronomy: Classification of Eclipses — Sonja Vidojevic
28. Identification and Support of Outstanding Astronomy Students— A.D. Stoev, E.S. Bozhurova
29. Image Subtraction Using A Space-Varying Convolution Kernel — J.P. Miller, C.R. Pennypacker, G.L. White
30. Light Pollution: A Tool for Astronomy Education — M. Metaxa
31. Light Pollution: A Study based on the Assessment of Actual Cases — A. Pattini, B. Garcia, M. Canton, L. Corica, C. Martinez, M. Emndrizzi, L. Ferron, A. Risi, A. Cicero
32. Making and Using Astronomical Fairy-tales on DVD in Planetarium — V.G. Goncharova
33. Modern Facilities in Astronomy Education — H. A. Harutyunian, A.M. Mickaelian
34. News from the Cosmos: Daily Astronomical News Web page in Spanish — A. Ortiz
35. Outreach Activities of National Astronomical Observatory of Japan — T. Ono, J. Watanabe, H. Agata
36. Physics Education: A Significant Backbone of Sustainable Development in Developing Countries — A.R Akin
37. Podcast, Blogs and New Media Outreach Techniques — A. Price, P. Gay, T. Searle
38. Popularization of Astronomy under Cooperation between Students and Educators in Japan : the TENPLA project (1) — M. Hiramatsu
39. Popularization of Astronomy under Cooperation between Students and Educators in Japan : the TENPLA project (2) — K. Kamegai
40. Reproduction Of William Herschel's Metallic Mirror Telescope — N. Okamura, S. Hirabayashi, A. Isida, A. Komori, M. Nishitani
41. Research Thinking Development by Teaching Archaeoastronomy — P. V. Muglova, A.D. Stoeva
42. Role of Creative Competitions and Mass-media in the Astronomy Education of School Students — E.Yu. Aleshkina
43. Sendai Astronomical Observatory - Its Renewal and History as an Observatory for general public — J. Watanabe
44. Simple, Joyful, Instructive: Make an Unique Telescope of your Own and Explore the Universe — Y. Hanaoka
45. Star Week - A Successful Campaign in Japan — J. Watanabe
46. Successful Innovative Methods in Introducing Astronomy Courses — T.K.C. Chatterjee
47. The 2005 Annular Eclipse: a Classroom Activity at EPLA — H. Filgaira
48. The Armagh Observatory Human Orrery — M.E. Bailey, D.J. Asher, A.A. Christou
49. The Constellations of the Zodiac: Astronomy for Low Vision and Blind People — . Garcia, A. Cicero, M. Farrando, P. Bruno
50. The Distance-learning Part-time Masters and Doctoral Internet Programs in Astronomy at James Cook University, Australia — G.L. White, A. Hons, W. Orchiston, D. Blank
51. The First Two Years of the Latin-American Journal of Astronomy Education (RELEA) — P.S. Bretones, L.C. Jafelice, J.E. Horvath
52. The Names of Ukraine in Space — I.B. Vavilova
53. The Pomona College Undergraduate 1-meter Telescope, Astronomy Lboratory and Remote Observing Programme — B.E. Penprase
54. The Recent Globe at Night Initiative Involving Schoolchildren and Families from 96 Countries — C.E. Walker
55. The Universe: Helping to Promote Astronomy — R.M. Ros, F. J. Moldón
56. Use of Modern Technologies in Improving Astronomy Education in Tanzania — N. Jiwaji
57. Visualisation of the Astronomy Domain: a ‘Mapping’ Strategy in Teaching and Learning Astronomy — S. Gulyaev
58. Weaving the Cosmic Web: Frontiers of Astronomy Education on the Internet — D.K. Perkins
59. What Mathematics Is Hidden Behind the Astronomical Clock of Prague ? — M. Krizek, A. Solcová, L. Somer
60. With Weekly Astronomy Tips Against the Weekly Papers' Astrology Humbug — G. A. Szécsényi-Nagy