Outreach: Why You Should do it, and How to Succeed

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The Canadian Astronomy E/PO Initiative

In 2001, the Canadian Astronomical Society (CASCA), in partnership with the RASC and other organizations, embarked on a major E/PO initiative. This was motivated by several developments: (1) the report of a Long-Range Planning Panel for astronomy in Canada; (2) the appearance of astronomy in the school science curriculum in many provinces; (3) heightened interest in and concern about science literacy and education; (4) two decades of E/PO experience in the US, funded by NASA, the National Science Foundation, and other organizations; (5) the availability of (modest) federal and provincial funding support for science E/PO in Canada. The initiative is administered by CASCA and its Education Committee, with input from an Advisory Board, including representatives of the RASC and other partners. With limited funding, the initiative must be selective, and designed to provide maximum leverage; it will be targeted through educators (broadly defined) to young people in schools and youth groups, but organized in such a way that anyone interested in astronomy can benefit. The centrepiece will be a Canadian astronomy education website, with information and resources which are directly relevant to the needs of the target audiences; some of those needs are described elsewhere in this article. The website will support the E/PO activities of professional and amateur astronomers, graduate and undergraduate students, educators at all levels, in all settings. Workshops will be organized to help educators -- teachers, youth group leaders, and astronomers -- make use of the resources i.e to implement a "train the trainers" approach. This will be done through a "network and nodes" structure, spanning the country, and by partnering with other like-minded organizations. The emphasis will be on identifying and disseminating exemplary existing material; new material will be developed only if necessary.

Needs Surveys

As part of the Canadian astronomy E/PO initiative, we have carried out small surveys among three participant populations:

RASC Centres interesting in starting or expanding their E/PO activities, and presumably other astronomy clubs, requested the following, in descending order of priority: (1) a Canadian astronomy education web site; (2) curriculum-related materials, activities, and resources; (3) information on effective teaching and learning of astronomy; (4) information on sky events and phenomena; (5) images, slides, posters; (6) workshops on education and outreach; (7) "templates" for school visits.

Grade Nine Teachers. Astronomy is now a compulsory part of the grade nine science curriculum in Ontario and many other provinces. Teachers have little or no background in astronomy, and need as much support as they can get. They request, in descending order of priority, the following curriculum-linked items: (1) student activities; (2) audio-visual materials; (3) on-line resources; (4) guides to the implementation of the curriculum; (5) astronomy guest speakers; (6) regional workshops; (7) opportunities for field trips; (8) software.

Science Consultants for school boards had very similar requests: (1) regional workshops; (2) on-line resources; (3) background information about curriculum topics - videos, for instance; the curriculum now includes several difficult topics such as the origin and evolution of planetary systems, the life cycles of stars, and the origin and evolution of the universe; (4) astronomy guest speakers; (5) information about sky events, and school star parties, if possible.

These suggestions will be very helpful to the Canadian astronomy community in developing its national E/PO initiative. A Canadian astronomy education web site is a high priority. It must be selective, listing and linking to materials which are relevant and exemplary. Teachers especially do not need "yet another web site"; they need a site which is curriculum-relevant and user-friendly; it must be "steak, not sizzle".

What People Know about Astronomy

Those who embark upon astronomy E/PO are amazed at the apparent breadth of peoples' interest, especially among young children. Many people know quite a bit about astronomy, but much of it is deeply incorrect. Indeed, Professor Neil Comins (2001) has written a whole book about astronomy misconceptions, and has a list of over 1700 of them on his website. Comins (1998) has also divided these misconceptions into at least 16 classes. Some are truly conceptual in nature ("seasonal changes in temperature are due to the changing distance of the earth from the sun") but others are due to such causes as language ("weightlessness" indicating that there is no gravity in space), incomplete observations ("the moon is only visible at night"), religious belief ("creationism") and popular culture ("UFOs are alien spacecraft"). One way to become aware of misconceptions is to read the literature. Another is to talk in depth with students and the public. Astronomy instructors know that another is to read the bizarre answers that students often give on exams!

Why Do People Acquire Misconceptions?

Faulty knowledge of astronomy can be ascribed to deficiencies in science education. Those who are knowledgeable about astronomy sometimes find it difficult to understand why others are less knowledgeable. In fact, the learning of science is not a trivial process; it occupies the efforts of hundreds of education researchers worldwide. And remember that teaching and learning are two different things; only a small fraction of teaching actually results in learning!

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