Astronomy class

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The term astronomy instruction generally denotes all forms of institutionalized instruction in astronomy , which in addition to school astronomy z. B. also includes adult education . The term school astronomy only refers to the various forms of astronomy instruction on a school-institutionalized level.

Historical development in Germany

GDR

Astronomy teacher in the GDR in 1985.
The largest school catering facility in the GDR: the space flight planetarium "Sigmund Jähn" in Halle (Saale) (1988)

In 1959, two years after the success of the Sputnik mission, astronomy became a compulsory subject in schools in the GDR, with one hour per week in tenth grade.

“... There was no textbook for astronomy, and teaching materials were almost completely missing in most schools ... No teacher was trained to teach astronomy ... Many of the newly appointed astronomy teachers gave themselves a respite by teaching - only for the school year 1959/60 - took advantage of the opportunity to teach geography for two hours a week in the first half of the year and to start astronomy in the second half of the year ...

... in marked contrast to the otherwise in the GDR - and in particular in its national education system - practiced rigid centralism ... {originated} ... Regional quite different forms of training of new astronomy teacher ... especially by amateur astronomers launched ...

... The Central Astronomy Commission of the Kulturbund organized a two-day central conference in conjunction with the Ministry of National Education in November 1959, in which the amateur astronomers of the GDR were sworn to make their knowledge and observation devices available for astronomy lessons ...

... 'I think, colleagues, when you publish a magazine for subjects such as music and art education ... it is also time to publish a magazine for subjects such as astronomy' ... (Panelist. .. the sector manager at the Pedagogical District Cabinet Dresden, Helmut Bernhard . He was later to found the central magazine Astronomie in the school at the publishing house Volk und Wissen Berlin (East) ...

... the amateur astronomers in the Kulturbund {were} called to help again after more than a decade: The new curriculum introduced in 1971 ... provided for obligatory astronomical pupil observations ... As the school telescope Telementor from VEB Carl Zeiss Jena was not yet available (it was only delivered in 1973) ... "

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia

Due to the federal structure of the Federal Republic of Germany and a divergent historical development of the educational systems in East and West Germany, astronomy lessons exist in the form of an independent compulsory subject in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania , Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia .

Saxony

In 2007, the state government in Saxony decided, amid popular protests, to abolish independent astronomy lessons.

Brandenburg

In the state of Brandenburg , independent elective astronomy lessons have existed for six decades. Depending on the type of school, this was done at times with a total of four to five hours per week in grades 9/10. Since 2004 there has been compulsory astronomy lessons in grades 9 and 10 in addition to compulsory elective lessons, even lasting several hours if the school so decides.

Other federal states

In the other federal states , astronomy lessons usually only exist in the form of primarily voluntary working groups , compulsory elective offers, and as a subject area within physics , geography or science subject-related teaching.

In the upper level of the Gymnasium, astronomical content is taught and acquired almost exclusively in other school subjects. Only in a few federal states there are independent astronomy courses.

See also

literature

  • L. Gouguenheim et al: New Trends in Astronomy Teaching. (IAU Coll. 162), London 1998, ISBN 0-521-62373-1 .
  • JM Pasachoff, J. Percy: Teaching and Learning Astronomy: Effective Strategies for Educators Worldwide. Cambridge 2005, ISBN 0-521-84262-X .
  • SM Pompea: Great Ideas for Teaching Astronomy. Pacific Grove (USA) 2000, ISBN 0-534-37301-1 .
  • Hubert Hermelingmeier: The role of amateur astronomy in astronomy lessons in schools. In: Astronomy + Space Travel in Class. 49, 6, 2012, pp. 17-18, Friedrich Verlag in collaboration with Klett

Web links

Footnotes and individual references

  1. ↑ "... had sparked unrestrained cheers throughout the Eastern Bloc ... Lectures on astronomical and astronautical topics in club and cultural centers were overflowing ..." Klaus Lindner : ... to publish a magazine for a subject such as astronomy .. in: Astronomy + Raumfahrt 1/2013 . P. 5
  2. ↑ “The beginning of the space age can certainly be regarded as a current reason for the inclusion of the subject in the timetable. Arguments were certainly also provided by the existence of the subject of astronomy since the end of the thirties in what was then the Soviet Union and the special powers that astronomy and space travel promised for the education of the Marxist-Leninist worldview. If a large number of teachers in the GDR turned to the subject with enthusiasm, it was mainly because they saw opportunities in astronomy lessons to work for adolescents in a special, freer way ... "from: Uwe Walther, Hans- Peter Schneider: Astronomy lessons in the GDR and in the new federal states. Experiences and perspectives. in: NiU (Natural Sciences in Lessons) - Physik 4 (1993) No. 20, pp. (167–173) 7–13 (online) @ lutz-clausnitzer.de (accessed April 3, 2014)
  3. ↑ "... the middle schools that have just been renamed Ten Class General Education Polytechnic High Schools." Klaus Lindner : ... to publish a magazine for a subject such as astronomy .. in: Astronomie + Raumfahrt 1/2013 . P. 5
  4. ^ From Klaus Lindner : ... to publish a magazine for a subject like astronomy .. in: Astronomie + Raumfahrt 1/2013 . P. 5/6