The International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009) provides an excellent opportunity to engage the formal education community in the excitement of astronomical discovery as a vehicle for improving the teaching of science in classrooms around the world. An incredibly rich store of useful astronomy resources is available for such an effort, much of it in digital form and freely available on the internet. However, experienced educators and outreach specialists identify a critical impediment: many teachers lack the training to understand these resources or use them effectively in their curricula. To address this problem and to sustain the legacy of the IYA2009, the IAU - in collaboration the National Nodes and leaders in the field such as the Global Hands-On Universe project, the US National Optical Astronomy Observatory and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific - is embarking on a unique global effort to empower teachers by developing the Galileo Teacher Training Program (GTTP). The GTTP goal is to create a worldwide network of certified "Galileo Ambassadors" by 2012. These Ambassadors will train "Galileo Master Teachers" in the effective use and transfer of astronomy education tools and resources into classroom science curricula. The Galileo Teachers will be equipped to train other teachers in these methodologies, leveraging the work begun during the IYA2009 in classrooms everywhere. Through workshops, online training tools and basic education kits, the products and techniques developed by this programme can be adapted to reach locations with few resources of their own, as well as computer-connected areas that can take advantage of access to robotic optical and radio telescopes, webcams, astronomy exercises, cross-disciplinary resources, image processing and digital universes (web and desktop planetariums).

Task group (current membership):

Jim Manning (ASP): This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it (chair)
Rosa Doran (GHOU): This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it (co-chair)
Pedro Russo (IAU/IYA): This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Sergio Cabezón (NRAO): This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Mary Dussault (Center for Astrophysics, Harvard-Smithsonian Institute): This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Andrew Fraknoi (Foothill College/ASP): This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Mary Kay Hemenway (University of Texas - Austin): This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Inge Heyer (JACH): This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Robert Hill (NISO): This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Doug Isbell (NOAO): This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Margarita Metaxa: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Carl Pennypacker (GHOU): This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Douglas Pierce-Price: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Steve Pompea (NOAO): This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Sarojiny Saddul-Hauzaree: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Denise Smith (Space Telescope Science Institute): This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Simon J. Steel (Science Education Department Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics): This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Barbara Villone: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Sotira Trifourki: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Main goals:
Educational engagement, teacher professional development. Focus on making teachers proficient with the resources of astronomy/science teaching, which can be adapted to the teaching of content that varies somewhat from one country to the next--and one school district to the next.

Resources:
There are a lot of training protocols and materials for beginner activities in astronomy that have been developed at the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, Global Hands-on-Universe and others, online technologies (e.g., distance learning, robotic telescope access) of which to take advantage, as well as a variety of basic materials being adapted by various working groups for IYA. All of these are potentially valuable tools and materials for use in countries and projects that want to approach teachers and students who are not already science oriented. The IYA2009 Galileo Teaching Resources can be adapted in one global training package, adaptable for locale and circumstances.

Approach:
The Project Office recruits and designates a lead organization to serve as the global coordinator, with input from the GTTP Steering Committee (presently, the task group). The Office, Lead Organization and the Committee recruit and designate six regional node organizations to create the global coordination network, and two to four Galileo Trainers to conduct Ambassador workshops. The Office, Lead, Committee, network of nodes, and Trainers work together to develop the educational kit and Ambassador workshop model.

The Galileo Trainers travel to network regions and conduct Ambassador workshops in coordination with the regional node organizations - the products of which are a cadre of Master Teachers called Galileo Ambassadors capable of training teachers in their countries on adapting and using the resources available.

These Galileo Ambassadors, in turn, work with their nations' IYA SpoCs to coordinate and conduct teacher workshops in their countries on the same model - the products of which are a cadre of teachers called Galileo Teachers capable of training more teachers in their districts and school on the methods of the GTTP. (The GTTP Program effort ends at the creation of the Galileo Teachers.)

Early in the effort, a Web site is developed as a repository of materials, information and online lessons. Throughout the effort, front-end, formative, and summative evaluation will be conducted and materials and workshops refined accordingly. At the conclusion of the initial two-year effort, a plan will be developed for sustaining and expanding the network and population of teachers served.

The effort is depicted graphically below, with initial rough numbers included.

As mentioned, a Web site, whose location is to be determined, will be the main repository for teacher educational resources and will undergo review before placement there. These Web-based resources in turn provide material for training teachers, who can then continue to use the Web site to improve and enhance their efforts.

The effort must be able to adapt to a variety of languages, cultures, and educational circumstances, so the materials and methods will need to be adaptable. Matching teachers with volunteer amateur or professional astronomers in their localities, or even astronomy college students, can be a useful follow-up and help to sustain the effort.

Deliverables:

1) Global network of global coordinator and six regional nodes for coordinating teacher professional development using astronomy education tools.

2) IYA-related astronomy resource kit, with both physical and online elements, for adaptation as necessary around the world and for use in teacher workshops and classrooms.

3) Web-based repository of project resources, both educational and network-related.

4) Professional development teacher workshop created with Galileo Trainers and executed by same and coordinated through the network. Result: 160-320 Galileo Ambassadors trained to give subsequent workshops in their regions.

5) Professional development teacher workshops conducted by Galileo Ambassadors in coordination with SpoCs. Result: 3,200-6,400 Galileo Master Teachers trained to give subsequent workshops in their countries.


Timeline:

Definition of tasks/network/process/objectives Jan-Mar 08
SpoC engagement process Mar-May 08
Network development/Node establishment Mar - Jul 08
Education package identification/development Mar-Sep 08
Evaluation criteria/method development Mar-Sep 08, Jun-Jul 09, Jan-Mar 10
Website development Mar-Oct 08
Galileo Trainer recruitment/selection/prep Apr-Sep 08
SpoC Galileo Ambassador recruitment/selection May-Sep 08
Workshop development Jun-Sep 08
Initial Ambassador Training Workshops begin Sep 08-Jun 09
Initial Galileo Teacher training workshops begin Jan-Dec 09
Evaluation (front-end) May-Aug 08
Evaluation (formative) Sep 08-Oct 09
Evaluation (summative) Nov 09-Feb 10
Program refinements Aug-Sep08, May-Jun09, Jan-Mar10
Sustainability plan development Jan-Mar 10


Needed Resources:
Funding, first and foremost, to get the effort moving. Other resources needed include:

• Coordination and coordinators.
• Trainers.
• Web site.
• Resources Adaptation.
• E-learning material preparation.
• Galileo Education Package.
• Public relations/communication.
• Training sites and training expenses.

• It's important to communicate that we are creating professional development opportunities.
• The main objective is to train teachers with a focus on tools that can be applied to varying situations.
• We don't need new resources but to use use well the good ones already in existence.
• We must identify networks, resources and key people, and invite them to collaborate.
• We should help to give participants recognition by their local governments.
• We should link this effort to other cornerstone programs.
• Can we develop an IAU accreditation scheme for teachers?
• We must establish evaluation mechanisms (pre- and post effort) to gauge outcomes.
• We should introduce an education component in other cornerstone projects
• Focus on teaching tools and techniques that can be adapted according to varied curricula.
• Target teachers through training.
• Build in flexibility (astronomy is not in all curricula, and requirements vary).
• Create a database of resources - classified and rated.
• Use simple procedures, basic unifying concepts that can serve as a "common denominator" on which more advanced efforts can be built as regions have the resources.
• Use astronomy as a means to teach other things - look for connections with other sciences, for example.
• There will be a need for a global coordination office regional coordinator.
• Focus on skills development in using math and science and new technologies.
• Develop an inexpensive "astronomy box" of basic activities that can be accomplished anywhere, including in underdeveloped countries with limited resources.
• Use astronomy as a tool to engage teachers and students in science and math.
• Build a common umbrella and regional leaders on the ground
• Include "e-learning" opportunities and networks.
• Define learning strategies and be able to accommodate different styles.
• Produce a guideline on how to include astronomy in the curriculum.
• Base the program on a simple unifying principle (for example, "look up and seek a better understanding of the universe and your place in it.")
• Develop a cross-curricular approach of the Universe.
• Consider solutions for language issues.
• Keep the needs of the teachers themselves in mind.
• Use the excitement and appeal of astronomy as a tool to engage teachers and students in science concepts and other topics.
• How can we use this program to get educational networks working together for the longer term?
• Develop an "umbrella" structure to coordinate and support the effort.
• Point out that you don't have to be an astronomer to do astronomy.

Files

GTTP Description(.pdf format, 129 KB)

GTTP Timeline (.pdf format, 10 KB)

GTTP Logo (.pdf format, 20 KB)