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Introduction

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 May 2010

Jay Pasachoff
Affiliation:
Williams College, Massachusetts
John Percy
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
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Summary

The conference on which this book is based focused on astronomy education in the schools, where our society passes on knowledge and understanding to the younger generation in a systematic and formal way. In the proceedings of an astronomy education conference held in Maryland in 1996, however, Andrew Fraknoi wrote as follows:

Let me begin by posing the following question: where does astronomy education take place in the United States? Those readers who teach will probably say that it takes place in classrooms like theirs, anywhere from first grade through university. But I want to argue that astronomy education happens in many other places besides the formal classroom. It happens in hundreds of planetariums and museums around the country; it happens at meetings of amateur astronomy groups; it happens when someone reads a newspaper or in front of television and radio sets; it happens while someone is engrossed in a popular book on astronomy, or leafs through a magazine such as Sky and Telescope; it happens in youth groups taking an overnight hike and learning about the stars; and it happens when someone surfs the astronomy resources on the Internet. When we consider astronomy education, its triumphs and tribulations, we must be sure that we don't focus too narrowly on academia and omit the many places that it can and does happen outside the classroom.

Astronomers, their institutions, and their organizations actively promote understanding of astronomy through “outreach” in all of these ways. In the USA, such outreach has recently been formalized by NASA's requirement that major projects have Education and Public Outreach (E/PO) activities.

Type
Chapter
Information
Teaching and Learning Astronomy
Effective Strategies for Educators Worldwide
, pp. 215 - 216
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2005

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  • Introduction
  • Edited by Jay Pasachoff, Williams College, Massachusetts, John Percy, University of Toronto
  • Book: Teaching and Learning Astronomy
  • Online publication: 18 May 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511614880.033
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  • Introduction
  • Edited by Jay Pasachoff, Williams College, Massachusetts, John Percy, University of Toronto
  • Book: Teaching and Learning Astronomy
  • Online publication: 18 May 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511614880.033
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Introduction
  • Edited by Jay Pasachoff, Williams College, Massachusetts, John Percy, University of Toronto
  • Book: Teaching and Learning Astronomy
  • Online publication: 18 May 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511614880.033
Available formats
×