Indonesia's Development of Teaching Methodology in Astronomy via NASE
BANDUNG, itb.ac.id— With three different time zones implemented, Indonesia's geographical location, crossed by the equator, presents the golden opportunity to expand its space science and technology. However, astronomy education in Indonesia is still uncommon, especially in hands-on practices by students. This causes the curiosity of Indonesians in the study field to not be channeled properly.
Due to the progression of science and technology, teaching methods in astronomy continue to improve for being more creative and engaging by educators. Hence, astronomers of the Astronomy Study Program from the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Science (FMNS) of Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB) teamed up with Institut Teknologi Sumatera (Itera) and International Astronomical Union (IAU) to organize the Network for Astronomy School Education (NASE). This training can be attended by high-school teachers (especially Astronomy Olympiads supervisors), college students, and administrators of astronomy communities.
NASE Training
NASE aims to guide educators in applying creative learning methods when teaching astronomy. The program, which was established in 2009, collaborated with professors from various universities. To adapt to the pandemic, NASE 2020 was held online for three days.
The training consists of three main sessions: public lecture, workshop, and group work. The public lecture was directed by the teaching staff of ITB’s Astronomy Study Program, in which its topics covered the history and development of astronomy, life and evolution of stars, cosmology, and the solar system.
During the workshop session, more topics are taught, such as local horizons, solar times, as well as solar and lunar eclipse. The presentation also included displays of the stars, sun, and moon. Meanwhile, discussions in group work were mostly about Indonesia’s preparations in astronomy and archeoastronomy, led by six local instructors. Four of them are from Itera who joined NASE 2018 and 2019.
Participants’ Enthusiasm
74 visitors from 13 provinces in the central and western part of Indonesia took part in IAU NASE 2020. The event was open for educators and students in universities and high schools. Community representatives were also welcomed to join.
Teachers who attended the event were not only astronomy teachers, but also teaching mathematics and physics. On the other hand, most visiting college students are members of their regional or institutional astronomy communities. Due to Indonesia's increasing public interest in astronomy, the recorded number of NASE 2020 participants was the highest compared to the previous three events.
This community service program has been reported and published in the ITB Engineering rubric of Media Indonesia on 10 August 2021 through the following link: https://pengabdian.lppm.itb.ac.id/information/guru_dan_pembelajaran_astronomi_di_indonesia
Reporter: Hanan Fadhilah Ramadhani (Teknik Sipil Angkatan 2019)
Translator: Ruth Nathania (Teknik Lingkungan, 2019)
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