Journey Through the Cosmos

Astronomy and cosmology are areas of science which are fascinating and exciting to young people. Space and astronomy can play a major role in encouraging more young people to continue their studies of science. Yet most secondary school science teachers are not specialists in these areas and many claim that they do not feel confident teaching astronomy. 'Journey Through the Cosmos' is a series of television programmes and resources aimed at teachers and students. We explain many of the phenomena that we experience in our lives - the Sun rising and setting, the phases of the moon and the seasons. We look at why the planets appear to move relative to the stars and we travel into the vast scale of the solar system, taking a detour to discover comets, asteroids and meteors. We look at how the Sun manages to produce such a colossal amount of energy and we learn about the life cycle of stars, seeing how they are born, die, and give birth to new stars. We consider the whole galaxy and ask how many stars it contains. We consider the whole universe and how we can measure distances in space. We look at how the universe was formed and how we know it's still growing now, before finally scratching the surface of the most recent theories, wondering about the existence of dark matter or the Higgs Boson. We will focus on topics from the National Curriculum and GCSE specifications, whilst also touching upon a number of subjects from the wider field of science. We have attempted in particular to look at areas such as the shape of orbits, the phases of the moon, or the reasons for seasons, where there are often difficulties in understanding or even misconceptions by students. Some of these areas are known to cause problems for teachers, who may themselves have misconceptions. The programmes contain specially created animated factual sections aimed at students, but which teachers can also watch to improve their own knowledge. Subjects in the programmes are linked explicitly to scientific jobs and institutions. Our presenter, Dr Maggie Aderin visits observatories and telescopes across the country, along with other scientific facilities such as fusion reactors and particle accelerators. With the aid of satellite images and computer animations, she explains the fascinating science behind different areas of astronomy. The factual sections are followed by a discussion of the topics with David Bowdley, an astronomy teacher who is the Training Development Manager for the National Schools' Observatory. He talks with a small group of science teachers, answering their questions as well as providing suggestions for hands-on activities that can be attempted in the classroom. All this will be freely available to all teachers in the country, on Teachers TV and via DVDs which will be distributed by the Institute of Physics. But 'Journey Through The Cosmos' is more than just the television programmes. To make teaching as easy as possible, the sections for students are available separately topic by topic on the DVD or from the Teachers TV website. The website and the DVD also contain details of the practical ideas, full lesson plans and other useful resources that teachers might need, enabling them to easily deliver high quality lessons. By providing this, we hope to enhance the quality of lessons, variety of teaching ideas, and confidence in teaching astronomy in secondary schools. We want to create a fascination and enthusiasm for astronomy in both students and teachers, which will result in a lasting desire to find out more.