ESERO-UK Editorial in ASE’s School Science Review

The 'Space for education; education for space' ESERO-UK editorial issue of ASE’s School Science Review has been published.

All of the articles demonstrate ways in which teachers can utilise the subject of space as a context for the teaching and learning of science, technology, engineering and maths.

Allan Clements, ESERO-UK Manager has written a blog about the production of this issue and also gives information on accessing a free copy of the magazine.

Details of the articles are outlined below:

The James Web Space Telescope: using the telescope as inspiration and context for physics and chemistry teaching. An article on the success of a two-part CPD course for teachers, which will run again in 2012.

The Space Academy: going beyond ‘inspiration’ – a pioneering model for science education: In this article Anu Ojha and Sarah Hill outline the Space Academy programme led by the National Space Centre from 2008 to 2011 with the stated goals of harnessing the inspirational contexts of space and climate change to support GCSE, A-Level and vocational students in their curriculum studies as well as to enhance STEM teacher effectiveness and increase the awareness of young people about the various STEM career pathways available to them.

Using space as a context for teaching science: Mark Smith, from Shoeburyness High School, talks about a space-themed year science course to increase student engagement and motivation. Mark’s school was part of the Leading Space Education Programme, involving 30 schools, developed by the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust and funded by STFC.

ESERO-UK: Allan Clements and Edward Mather introduce the UK Space Education Office, a project designed to use space to enthuse primary and secondary students to study STEM subjects. The ESERO-UK collection, on the National STEM Centre eLibrary, now contains around 200 resources to support the use of space as a context for teaching STEM subjects, from primary through to post-16 education.

Teaching astronomy and resources for teaching astronomy in UK Schools: resources, ideas and challenges associated with teaching astronomy in schools. These two articles are written by leading educators in astronomy, including Andy Newsam, from the National Schools Observatory, and Paul Roche, the UK National School’s Astronomer.

The sky’s the limit! Introducing GCSE Astronomy at Glyncoed Comprehensive School: In this article Jennifer Jeffes sets out how one school has taken a highly collaborative approach to delivering this course, working alongside university and industry partners to develop an interactive and varied curriculum for a group of female students.

Weightless materials science: an article by Jeremy Curtis, from the UK Space Agency, on materials in microgravity.

There are now a wealth of teaching materials available in the ESERO-UK collection on the National STEM Centre eLibrary.