Workshop

7th Shaw-IAU Workshop on Astronomy for Education

The 7th Shaw-IAU Workshop on Astronomy for Education was held from the 18th of November 2025 to the 21st of November 2025 (UTC time)


The 7th Shaw-IAU Workshop on Astronomy for Education is scheduled to run 18 - 21 November 2025 and, as in previous years, it will be a fully virtual event.

The Shaw-IAU workshops focus on astronomy education for primary and secondary school students, as well as teacher training in universities. This year's Education focus session on Teaching with authentic data and the Science focus is on Galaxies.

The complete list of session topics is listed below:

  • Astronomy education in schools in practice (primary and secondary schools)
  • Astronomy Education Research
  • Teaching methods and tools
  • Science focus session on Galaxies
  • Education focus session on teaching with authentic data

Talks may be presented in any language, although abstracts will need to be submitted in English. In addition, English subtitles will be required for all talks, and slides should be in English. Posters should be submitted in English. Please note that we only accept talks in other languages if the subtitles (not the transcription) are also provided - subtitles should be prepared with the time coding and in the right format ready to be used.

Following their success the last couple of years we also aim to host regional or special language sessions during the Workshop.

To stay up to date with the activities of the IAU OAE, and to receive our announcements about projects, opportunities for collaboration, and events, please subscribe to the OAE mailing list.

Abstract submissions have closed

The sessions for the 7th Shaw-IAU Workshop on Astronomy for Education are listed below

Opening Session

Chair

Markus Pössel

Markus Pössel

Schedule

Astronomy Education in Schools in Practice (Primary Schools)

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.

Chair

Eduardo Monfardini Penteado

Eduardo Monfardini Penteado

Schedule

Astronomy Education in Schools in Practice (Secondary Schools)

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.

Chair

Eduardo Monfardini Penteado

Eduardo Monfardini Penteado

Schedule

Astronomy Education Research

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.

Chair

Tshiamiso Makwela

Tshiamiso Makwela

Schedule

Education Focus Session: Teaching with Authentic Data

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.

Chair

Simon Kraus

Simon Kraus

Schedule

Science Focus Session: Galaxies

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.

Chair

Samantha Brown-Sevilla

Samantha Brown-Sevilla

Schedule

Teaching Methods and Tools

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.

Chair

Niall Deacon

Niall Deacon

Schedule

Amharic Language Community Meeting

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.

Chair

Nebiyu Suleyman Mohammed

Nebiyu Suleyman Mohammed

Schedule

  • Wednesday Nov. 19, 2025

    UTC: 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. America/New_York: 9 a.m.- 11 a.m.

Arabic Language Community Meeting

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?

Chair

Abd El Fady Morcos

Abd El Fady Morcos

Schedule

  • Thursday Nov. 20, 2025

    UTC: 3:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. America/New_York: 10:30 a.m.- 12:30 p.m.

Hebrew Language Community Meeting

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.

Chair

Ayelet Weizman

Ayelet Weizman

Schedule

  • Wednesday Nov. 19, 2025

    UTC: 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. America/New_York: 9 a.m.- 11 a.m.

Portuguese Language Community Meeting

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.

Chair

Eduardo Monfardini Penteado

Eduardo Monfardini Penteado

Schedule

Romanian Language Community Meeting

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.

Chair

Elisabeta Ana Naghi

Elisabeta Ana Naghi

Schedule

  • Wednesday Nov. 19, 2025

    UTC: 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. America/New_York: 9 a.m.- 11 a.m.

South American Regional Meeting

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.

Chair

Lara Rodrigues

Lara Rodrigues

Schedule

  • Thursday Nov. 20, 2025

    UTC: 3:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. America/New_York: 10:30 a.m.- 12:30 p.m.

Turkic Language Community Meeting

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.

Chair

Aynura Hasanova

Aynura Hasanova

Schedule

  • Thursday Nov. 20, 2025

    UTC: 3:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. America/New_York: 10:30 a.m.- 12:30 p.m.

astroEDU in your classroom

AstroEDU, the open-access platform by OAE, offers educators a monthly opportunity to discover new, peer-reviewed, high-quality educational activities in the fields of astronomy, Earth sciences, and space science. AstroEDU is already available in English, Italian, and Spanish, and the French and Greek versions are currently under development. The platform is also testing new technologies like the A.A.A., the A.I. Assistant (currently under evaluation), which will be introduced to improve the user experience. In this workshop, we will provide an overview of the activities published to date and offer insights into how to use the A.A.A. to search for the right activity for your classroom. During the second part of the workshop, participants will be guided through an interactive process that involves analyzing and discussing case studies in the context of the publication journey. Additionally, some authors of AstroEDU activities will join us to share their direct experiences, offering valuable perspectives on creating and publishing educational resources. This workshop is designed to introduce AstroEDU to both teachers and researchers involved in education, providing a comprehensive understanding of how to use and create high-quality educational resources that can benefit educators worldwide.

Chair

Federica Duras

Federica Duras

Livia Giacomini

Livia Giacomini

Schedule

  • Wednesday Nov. 19, 2025

    UTC: 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. America/New_York: 9 a.m.- 11 a.m.

  • Thursday Nov. 20, 2025

    UTC: 8 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. America/New_York: 3 a.m.- 4:30 a.m.

  • continued

    Thursday Nov. 20, 2025

    UTC: 9:30 a.m. - 10 a.m. America/New_York: 4:30 a.m.- 5 a.m.

Townhall Meeting

The International Astronomical Union’s Office of Astronomy for Education (OAE) has supported astronomy teacher training and development programmes worldwide since 2022, reaching over 2,000 teachers through initiatives led by National Astronomy Education Coordinators in collaboration with local educators and astronomers. The TTPOAE’s approach places strong emphasis on contextual relevance supporting training initiatives that address the specific needs of local communities, thereby creating meaningful and lasting impact. In 2025, the programme was expanded to incorporate the Astronomy Teacher Training Transparency Standards (AT3S), developed from a global study of teacher training practices. The AT3S framework promotes transparency, documentation, and the systematic sharing of best practices. This Town Hall session seeks to engage the OAE and broader IAU community in a discussion on current practices, challenges, and the future directions of astronomy teacher training and professional development globally.

Chair

Tshiamiso Makwela

Tshiamiso Makwela

Markus Pössel

Markus Pössel

Schedule

  • Thursday Nov. 20, 2025

    UTC: 1 p.m. - 3 p.m. America/New_York: 8 a.m.- 10 a.m.

    • Discussion Panel: Townhall Panel Chair: Tshiamiso Makwela Panel Chair: Markus Pössel

Closing Session

Chair

Markus Pössel

Markus Pössel

Schedule

  • Friday Nov. 21, 2025

    UTC: 2 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. America/New_York: 9 a.m.- 10:30 a.m.

The Office of Astronomy for Education is an office of the International Astronomical Union, with substantial funding from the Klaus Tschira Foundation and the Carl Zeiss Foundation.
Imprint | Privacy Policy
Website adapted from HTML5 UP