Applications are open for Hands-on Astronomy Curriculum Training for Primary and Secondary School Science Teachers, Nigeria
HOACTS is a sustainable local socio-economic development workshop through Astronomy which is designed to promote astronomy appreciation among primary/secondary school science teachers in Nigeria. It will promote Astronomy awareness using the RSU 15cm Vixen brand equatorial mount refractor Optical telescope. It will also promote indigenous design and fabrication of small locally made solar glasses.
In 2015, the Centre for Basic Space Science Nsukka Nigeria, had made a strong move to catalogue space science (Astronomy) and technology education in the primary and Secondary School Teaching Curriculum. We need a strong campaign to push this proposal for accreditation in all our teaching education curriculum. Through the past programs, Astronomy is fast spreading and accepted in all government and most private secondary/primary schools across the country. This would be a unique opportunity to offer specialized training on Astronomy and basic space science for teachers in government/private secondary and primary schools in Nigeria to learn how to implement the Astronomy and space science curriculum embedded in the Introductory technology, basic science, integrated science, geography, physics, chemistry, mathematics, etc curriculum. Students who are studying to become teachers also need to be trained to enable them learn how to implement the curriculum before they graduate. Since Astronomy education at this level is in a developing state, we need a serious awareness and training program across the country to develop these teachers who have already been employed to teach Astronomy at this basic educational level without any experience. It is important to note that most of these primary and secondary school science teachers are not astronomers but are charged to teach these subjects as part of the educational curriculum. Astronomy unawareness will cause serious harm to technological society; thus, our younger generation and the teachers should be exposed to this interesting field of science to teach our children and as well learn how to fabricate eclipse, water rocket models etc, needed as a teaching aid. In Nigeria, most of the secondary and primary school teachers are not physicists but are charged to implement the astronomy curriculum; hence we need a strong science movement through Astronomical popularization at this grass root level.
This teacher hands-on training will aim at upgrading the skills, teaching tools and aids of these teachers, equipping them with innovative and simple method of teaching and learning. Priority will be given to female teachers thus; this will promote gender equality and reduce inequality. The course material will include Astronomy based activities and hands-on instrument design using low cost/locally available material, and others Astronomy instrument earlier mentioned. The 3-day practical workshop will be held in Holy saviour high School hall Ile Oluji, Ondo state, Nigeria. The program will encompass Astronomy talks, hands on activities, demonstrations, design and fabrication of simple astronomy and space instrumentation. See poster for more details