Shaw-IAU Workshops by the OAE

I will present examples of IBSE (Inquiry-Based Science Education) activities, designed to be "teacher-free", and used as extended projects for students of astronomy and space science. Each project uses data and resources from the Faulkes Telescope Project and the National Schools' Observatory. Both projects provide free access via the internet to 2-metre robotic telescopes. These resources are based on open clusters and exoplanets and also include a Citizen Science type project using data from Type Ia supernovae, all of which provide an insight into the scientific process. Here, users perform browser-based photometry (using JS9) on images to add additional data-points to the Hubble Plot, enabling them to measure the expansion rate and age of the Universe.

About Fraser Lewis

Fraser is the Director of Research for the Faulkes Telescope Project which is based in Cardiff, Wales. His remit here is to work with teachers and students in research type projects using data from research-grade robotic telescopes. Fraser is also Operations Officer for the National Schools' Observatory; the outreach and education arm of the Liverpool Telescope. He has produced several IBSE (Inquiry Based Science Education) type resources around topics in astronomy such as open clusters, exoplanets and supernovae.

Watch a recording of this talk (external link)