Three of the keys to Project ASTRO's success
are the careful selection of teachers and
astronomers, the careful matching of teachers
with astronomers before the training workshops,
and the training workshops themselves.
Teacher Selection. Teachers are
selected in a competitive process developed in
the Project ASTRO pilot project. Criteria include
grade level taught, interest in teaching
astronomy, science teaching background, and
student populations taught (an emphasis has been
placed on reaching students traditionally
underrepresented in science because Project ASTRO
has been found to be unusually successful with
these students).
Teachers are not required to have any
experience teaching astronomy, but they are
expected to have an interest in and enthusiasm
for participating in Project ASTRO. It is
considered helpful if a teacher has had some
experience in inquiry-centered, hands-on teaching
of science. However, the pilot experience showed
that teachers with no such experience benefited.
In fact, some went on to change their teaching
styles.
Teacher candidates are also asked whether they
have the time, flexibility, and willingness to
integrate an astronomer-partner into their class
schedules. This is not always easy given the time
constraints of most teachers.
Astronomer Selection. The selection
process for astronomers is competitive.
Commitment and interpersonal skills but not
teaching experience per se are viewed as
essential. It is not essential for the candidate
to be either a professional or an amateur
astronomer; both have proved successful in the
program.
Astronomer-candidates must be able to commit
to participating fully in Project ASTRO's two-day
training workshop and to visiting the
teacher-partner's classes at least four times
during the year.
Although no teaching experience is required,
experience explaining astronomy to children or
the public is preferred. In the pilot project,
16% of those responding to a questionnaire were
teaching for the first time, 34% had been making
school or youth club visits for more than one
year, and 50% indicated adult or college teaching
experience.
Creating Good Partnerships. To ensure
good partnerships, Project ASTRO lead
institutions--those in charge of Project ASTRO
sites-- follow certain guidelines developed from
the pilot project:
- Team size: Lead institutions match
each astronomer with one, two, or
sometimes three teachers.
- Timing: Partnerships are formed
before the training workshops, so that
the workshops are an opportunity for
partners not only to learn but also to
develop a friendship for and confidence
in one another.
- Partnership training: The training
workshops cover how to have a successful
partnership. It is consider critical for
teachers and astronomers to attend
together. Then there is ongoing training
and networking throughout the year and in
subsequent years.
- Failed partnerships: Because they
involve human beings, not all
partnerships are successful or continue
in subsequent years. Project coordinators
at each site play an important role in
negotiating or counseling when
difficulties arise or in finding
replacement partners when necessary.
Training Workshops. The two-day
training workshops have three different strands:
- How children learn; preconceptions that
children have; cognitive development and
the significance of a child's age
- Inquiry-based teaching is demonstrated,
with outstanding science educators as
models
- What classrooms are really like; what
works in classrooms and what doesn't; how
to form effective partnerships (including
a brainstorming session on what to do and
what not to do in various situations).
There is also a strong emphasis on the
importance of networking, initially locally and
eventually nationally. Participants draw on each
other as resources, and most sites create
informal list-servers, newsletters, and follow-up
activities to support a continuation of this
collaboration and sharing.
Training Materials. All teams receive
the 44-page How-To Manual for Teachers and
Astronomers and the 813-page looseleaf
notebook entitled The Universe at Your
Fingertips: An Astronomy Activity and Resource
Notebook, view the video entitled
"Partners in Learning," and receive any
equipment needed to do any of the activities that
were modeled or performed during the workshop.
