Astronomy Program to Improve Science & Math Outcomes in High School

The main goal of the APSS project was to develop a sustainable model that uses astronomy to improve the low levels of science and math outcomes in rural areas of South Africa. To achieve this, the project organised a number of complementary activities, involving various stakeholders and targeting multiple audiences – a teachers workshop, parents workshop, a science club for students, and a summer program for high school students.

Activities

  • teachers workshop on 20 of April 2022 to share the project goals and how best to partner with them to fulfil this goal
  • science club for grade 8 and 9 students from 21 May to 22 October 2022. Here students attended sessions twice a month engaging in different activities in physics, mathematics and astronomy
  • workshop on 3 December 2022 with the parents of students who participated in the summer school; to share the project goals and understand the challenges that affect the students
  • 3 week summer school program for grade 11 students which ran from the 5-24 December 2022 where they were taught grade 12 physical science, mathematics in preparation of their matric year and also astronomy.
  • A mentorship program started on 01 April 2023 where the mentors, who are former students, assist students with school work throughout the year

The team will collect feedback from the teachers on how the students are performing and how their participation in the project has affected their interest in science. There will also be a survey of the students in addition to feedback on how involving their parents and mentorship is contributing to their academics. Finally, the team will follow up on how many students take up science courses/field after matric.