Astrobiology teacher training at Edinburgh

Meteorite image by Andrew Silver
Meteorite image by Andrew Silver

Edinburgh hosted the fourth year of the Astrobiology Academy. This continuing professional development event, set up by the UK Centre for Astrobiology, takes astrobiology into secondary schools and uses the subject to teach fundamental science.

Since its foundation, the Astrobiology Academy has produced lesson plans for UK secondary schools that this year were assembled into astrobiology units for year-long teaching blocks. The Academy's lesson plans have been downloaded over 5000 times by teachers and cover subjects from astronomy to biology.

This year 13 teachers came to Edinburgh to listen to astrobiology lectures, write lesson plans and gain expertise in teaching the subject. The academy was supported by the National Space Centre and was attended by Susan Buckle of the UK Space Agency.

Next year the academy will offer one day astrobiology continuing professional development events as well as its residential course, and will extend astrobiology teacher-training to primary school teachers.

Who can attend?

The Astrobiology Academy is open to science teachers and anyone with a science/technology background and good writing skills who are enthusiastic and self-motivated with interests in the fields of chemistry, biology, physics, geology, astronomy or engineering.  Applicants are expected to work together to create and edit astrobiology-based lesson plans for secondary schools.  If you are excited by the idea of this science opportunity then register your interest for 2017 now!

More information and lesson plans can be found at www.astrobiologyacademy.org