Shaw-IAU Workshops by the OAE

This session will focus on practical applications of astronomy education in primary school classrooms, highlighting successful classroom strategies and innovative teaching techniques that engage students at both primary and secondary levels.

This session will focus on practical applications of astronomy education in secondary school classrooms, highlighting successful classroom strategies and innovative teaching techniques that engage students at both primary and secondary levels.

This session will explore recent developments and findings in astronomy education research, examining methodologies, assessment techniques, and the impact of various educational interventions on learners and educators.

This session will highlight methods for integrating real astronomical data into teaching, showcasing projects and resources that allow students to engage in inquiry-based learning with authentic datasets.

This session will cover the latest scientific discoveries about galaxies, their formation and evolution, and how these topics can be effectively incorporated into educational settings.

Dedicated to discussing and sharing effective teaching tools, digital resources, and pedagogical strategies that enhance astronomy education at different levels. This session covers a broad pedagogical range from online teaching, to teaching with art and other disciplines and teaching with museum exhibits.

This special Amharic-language session will provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of astronomy education in Ethiopia, spanning the primary, secondary, and tertiary levels. It will delve into the progress made in integrating astronomy into formal and informal education systems, highlight existing initiatives led by national institutions and grassroots educators, and examine how astronomy is being introduced to young learners and aspiring scientists across the country. The session will particularly focus on the vital role that universities and colleges can play in supporting astronomy outreach within their respective regions—through organizing public events, hosting sky-watching programs, developing localized curricula, and mentoring schoolteachers and students. By fostering stronger linkages between higher education institutions and local communities, astronomy can be used as a tool for science engagement and inspiration.

The Arabic-speaking countries would benefit from a special session exploring the various ways AI can serve transformative functions in the teaching of astronomy and space sciences. One of the major questions concerns the establishment of AI integration in education with the central question being: will AI be a force for empowerment for the teacher or a rival to the teacher's role?

In this special session we invite all Hebrew speaking people to participate in an open discussion about Space Education in Israel. The panel will include the Israeli NAEC team members, and everyone interested is welcome to join, ask questions, raise issues, and describe their experience in the field of space education. The outcome of the session will be a summary of successes and challenges, and action items for the next year.

The Portuguese-language session of the 7th Shaw-IAU Workshop on Astronomy for Education will address the challenges faced by the astronomy education community across Portuguese-speaking countries, while also exploring perspectives for the future. The session is designed to encourage dialogue among participants, promote the exchange of experiences, and strengthen connections between communities. By sharing ideas and opportunities for mutual support, the session seeks to advance astronomy education throughout these countries. Invited speakers from various Portuguese-speaking nations will provide brief updates on the key challenges currently faced by their communities and share insights into future directions.

The session will be coordinated and moderated by Ms. Elisabeta Ana NAGHI, the Romanian NAEC and inspector for Mathematics and Astronomy at the Romanian Ministry of Education and Research, with the support of Felicia Elena CĂLMUC, NAEC associate and English teacher for nonformal education at Palatul Copiilor, city of Craiova. The Romanian session will be divided into 2 sections, each of them illustrating a distinct approach related to the importance of specific astronomy projects implemented in Romania and STEAM based astronomy activities in the context of AI educational use, thus emphasizing the complexity of the education for astronomy.

This regional session aims to highlight the progress, challenges, and prospects of the National Astronomy Education Coordinator (NAEC) teams across South America, by presenting research and innovative experiences in astronomy and education from different countries in the region. Each national contribution will showcase practices that integrate teacher training, the social appropriation of astronomical knowledge, curriculum development, and the dialogue between knowledge and school or community settings. The second part of the session will convene a round-table discussion with NAEC representatives, designed to critically reflect on the current state of the programmes in each country, their shared challenges, and the possibilities for building a robust, contextualized, and transformative South American agenda for astronomy education. The session will be conducted in Spanish, but Portuguese speakers are also welcome to participate.

This regional session focuses on astronomy education in Turkic-speaking countries including Azerbaijan, Türkiye, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The aim is to bring together educators, outreach professionals, and curriculum developers to share experiences and strategies related to teaching astronomy in their native Turkic languages. One of the central themes of the session is the development and use of scientific terminology in local languages, particularly for complex astronomical concepts. The session will explore how localized resources and culturally relevant methods can enhance student engagement and comprehension. The session will be conducted in Azerbaijani and Turkish. Presenters will speak in their native languages, accompanied by English slides and subtitles. To ensure accessibility and smooth understanding for international participants, the moderator’s remarks, key announcements, and the Q&A segments will be simultaneously interpreted into English.