The Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) organizes, in collaboration with the Interactive Nucleus for Astronomy (NUCLIO, Portugal), the Faulkes Telescope Project (Cardiff University, UK) and the National Schools' Observatory (Liverpool John Moores University, UK), the second edition of the “Astronomy Adventure in the Canary Islands” Summer Course designed for teachers in STEM disciplines (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). This training course, which will be held at the IAC headquarters, in La Laguna (Tenerife), from 25th to 28th July 2016, includes lectures and workshops on Astronomy, as well as a formative visit to the Observatorio del Teide, in Tenerife. There is also an optional visit to Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos, in La Palma, on Friday July 29th.
Inquiry-based learning, online educational resources and laboratories, and the use of robotic telescopes in the classroom, will be the featured content of a programme that aims to provide teachers with tools that help them to make science and technical education more challenging, more playful and, above all, more imaginative and inspiring for their students.
The course will be in English and is open to the Spanish educational community and to teachers from other European countries (through the Erasmus+ programme). This gives the course an international flavour and offers teachers an excellent opportunity to establish links and partnerships with schools from different countries.
There is no registration fee for Spanish teachers, but they will need to register, as there are a limited number of places available (20). Registration will be open until 15 July (or until full capacity is reached) and the places will be assigned on a first come, first served basis. At the end of the course, participants will receive a certificate of attendance issued by the IAC that credits a 25-hour training.
This Summer Course is organized in the framework of IAC’s Educational Project with Robotic Telescopes (PETerR), and European projects Inspiring Science Education and Galileo Teacher Training Program. It is intended to be an annual event for innovation in science and technology teaching in middle-level education, as well as for teacher training in astronomy and related fields. The first course was held at the Centre for Astrophysics in La Palma of the IAC, in July 2015, and it was attended by 13 teachers from the Canary Islands, the United Kingdom and Portugal.
To register, it is necessary to fill out the attached registration form and send it by email to Nayra Rodriguez Eugenio (nre [at] iac.es (nre[at]iac[dot]es)), Coordinator of the course, along with a copy of your ID card.
Lecturers
Nayra Rodríguez Eugenio is the Research Director of the Educational Project with Robotic Telescopes (PETeR) of the IAC, in which she started to work in 2011. She has a degree in Physics and MSc in Astrophysics at the Universidad de La Laguna (ULL), Spain. She obtained her PhD in Astrophysics at ULL and IAC, studying the physical and chemical properties of star-forming galaxies when the Universe was about 6.000 billion years old. She is part of the IAC Communication and Scientific Culture Unit, where she is also involved in other public outreach and communication activities, such as public talks, press releases, web news, social networks, etc.
Rosa Doran is the president of NUCLIO (Núcleo Interactivo de Astronomia), a non-profit association devoted to public outreach and science education. She has a degree in Physics at Pontifícia Universidade Católica in São Paulo, Brazil.; an MSc in High Energies and Gravitation, at the University of Lisbon; and is studying for her PhD in Science Education at the University of Coimbra. She is certified by the Scientific and Pedagogical Council of Continuous Training (University of Minho, Portugal) as a Teacher Trainer in the areas of Physics and Astronomy. At an international level she is the vice-president of the executive council of the Global Hands-on Universe Association (www.globalhou.net), chair of the Galileo Teacher Training Program, vice-chair of the panel of education of COSPAR; and member of the task force for education of the IAU Office of Astronomy for Development.
Fraser Lewis is the Research Director of Faulkes Telescope Project (FTP, Cardiff University, Wales). He has been working with FTP since December 2004, and completed his degree in Physical Science with the Open University in 2005. He gained a PhD in 2010 at the Open University studying the low mass binary systems (X-ray binaries) that include neutron stars or black holes. He is based at Cardiff University and IS UK National Co-ordinator for the EU-funded FP7 'Go-Lab' project, aimed at inspiring learners with STEM through the use of online labs. He is also Operations Officer for the National Schools' Observatory at Liverpool John Moores University.
Contact: Nayra Rodríguez Eugenio (IAC), nre [at] iac.es (nre[at]iac[dot]es), 922605371
