National Astronomy Education Coordinator: IAU Office of Astronomy Education
New Effort in 2020
New Effort in 2020
Each NAEC team is meant to help the OAE document and analyze how astronomy is used in teaching in its country, identify existing relevant actions, organize professional development for teachers and develop readily accessible and high-quality educational material tailored to the specific needs of the country, and for specific groups and school levels. Each NAEC team will be the interface between the OAE and the astronomy education community in its country, particularly creating a link from the IAU to teachers interested in astronomy and in using astronomy as a tool for teaching science in primary and secondary school.
Help the OAE document how astronomy education works in each country.
Represent your country’s specific needs in astronomy education.
Disseminate our common results within your country.
Liaise with curriculum experts, and work with the local education community to modify curricula.
Organise teacher training events, and develop educational material tailored to your country’s needs.
Be the interface between the OAE and the local education community in your country.
David Lockett is middle school STEM and computer science teacher at Bok Academy in Lake Wales, Florida. For the past three years, he has implemented a variety of astronomy-based projects including the Bok Small Radio Telescope (BSRT). The project focused on naturally occurring radio light from stars, galaxies, and other astronomical objects. As an ACEAP Ambassador, accessing and using data being collected and other resources from observatories builds understanding for future growth and continuing scientific discovery. The Astronomy in Chile Educator Ambassadors Program (ACEAP) brings American astronomy educators to Chile to demonstrate firsthand how astronomical facilities function, how they make their data and discoveries accessible to the public, and how astronomy and science benefit communities on a local and global scale. The Astronomy in Chile Educator Ambassadors Program (ACEAP) is a collaboration between AUI, the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, AURA, National Optical Astronomy Observatory, and Gemini Observatory, and is supported by the National Science Foundation.
He is a recipient of the International Society of Technology in Education STEM Professional Learning Network Award, which is awarded to STEM teachers that have displayed leadership and advocacy in understanding and advancing the authentic use of STEM in education.
David is currently a collaborator on the Innovators Developing Accessible Tools in Astronomy (IDATA), a NSF STEM+C project, working to advance knowledge and understanding of best practices in teaching and learning related to computation and computational thinking in astronomy.
Denise Wright is an Earth Science/STEM Educator from Horry County Schools in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. She is the founder of the amateur astronomy club, Grand Strand Astronomers, in her community, advises a student astronomy club, and volunteers for NASA as a Solar System Ambassador. She has presented locally and at national conferences: including the International Society for Technology Education, 2020 NASA Playground, and NASA's Space Educators Explorers Conference in Houston, Texas. Denise was among the first educators in her state to pilot a historic 1926 Alvan Clark Refracting Telescope with the South Carolina State Museum. This historic telescope is now being utilized in solar/night sky classroom distance education programs across South Carolina. She additionally attended Adult Astronomy Camp at the University of Arizona, and the launches of NASA's Parker Solar Probe, Space X CRS18.
Michelle Ferrara Peterson is the program director at AstroCamp, a residential science center located in Idyllwild, California. She began her career in research, which took her to interesting places such as Australia, Hawaii, Alaska, and Antarctica. Through her adventures, she discovered her passion for sharing science with others and began her love with informal science education. She first worked at AstroCamp for five years as an instructor. Her zeal for education brought her to OMSI, where she was able to hone her skills of blending informal and formal education. In 2010, she returned to AstroCamp. She feels that nothing can replace a clear night sky to spark the interest of students in astronomy. She is a member of the IPS and ASP. She is also lead for the RECON team at AstroCamp, which is one of 64 sites in this citizen science astronomy network. Michelle believes that the best part of science is that there is always more to discover.
Christine Hirst Bernhardt believes that space education can change the world by empowering the leaders and explorers of tomorrow. She flew on NASA’s SOFIA mission, traveled to Chile as an education ambassador and founded a space camp in Hong Kong. Christine regularly leads outreach events as a NASA Solar System Ambassador and Space Foundation Liaison, and serves on the National Aerospace Advisory Board. Christine has spent the last decade developing innovative curriculum and supporting science teachers through the California Science Project, in conference sessions and workshops, and through the development of astronomy courses for the California Department of Education through the Specialized Secondary Projects grant program. She is a two time Toshiba Innovation Grant winner. Christine founded a student space experiment program using high altitude balloons, and has mentored students to publish astrophysical research, to author both a NASA and ISS proposal (through Student Space Experiments Platform) and to build a telescope. She believes in empowering learners and leaders, and supported students to develop an elementary afterschool astronomy program. She has worked for several of the leading curricular companies as a subject matter expert, and developed Earth and Space activities for the second largest district in the Nation with Infiniscope. Christine is currently a 7th grade teacher and astronomy professor for College of the Canyons, the Endeavor STEM Program, and is a PhD student at UC Santa Barbara in STEM Education, where her focus is on Astronomy Education.
William H. Waller is a Ph.D. astronomer, science educator and communicator based in Massachusetts. He has worked with NASA on several space science research missions and educational outreach programs. He continues to teach and mentor students in both high-school and collegiate settings. Author of The Milky Way -- An Insider's Guide, Bill co-edits The Galactic Inquirer, a free online journal on diverse astronomical topics (http://galacticinquirer.net).