Space education source book for primary teachers
As part of an ongoing drive to promote space education in Europe, ESA’s Education Office and the Dutch European Space Education Resource Office (ESERO) have combined their efforts to produce a new, innovative source book for use by primary school teachers.
Entitled “Travel through space in 80 lessons – a source book about space and astronomy for primary teaching”, the bronnenboek (source book) was developed during two years of consultation, testing and development, with valuable inputs provided by science teachers, inspectors, curriculum designers and other educational experts.
The project began after staff at the ESERO, based at the NEMO Science Centre in Amsterdam, concluded that there was a lack of modern, space-related teaching material in the country’s primary schools.
The outcome is a source book that is unique in terms of content and its approach to teaching. Using innovative space themes and based on the latest educational research, it encourages primary school teachers to apply explorative learning and promotes space education through an inquiry-based approach.
The bronnenboek offers primary school teachers a set of 80 lessons for children aged between 4 and 12 years. Produced in the form of a file, it has been designed as a flexible resource which can be easily used and adapted by teachers in order to suit the needs of different student groups. All 80 lessons are accompanied with learning objectives and recommendations for teachers, as well ready-made lesson sheets for use in classrooms.
The emphasis is on explorative learning, e.g. through inquiry-based teaching and hands-on projects. Exercises encourage pupils to develop a curiosity about space from a young age. The same space topic (e.g. solar system) is presented for different age ranges in order to stimulate cumulative learning and the acquisition of scientific competencies, as well as reading and mathematical literacy. This approach also meets the objective of the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science to provide more interdisciplinary teaching in schools.
“The exploration of space provides many opportunities to explain a variety of subjects in an entertaining way,” said Meie van Laar of NEMO, one of the authors of the bronnenboek. “It has an enormous sense of attraction. This causes children to be enthusiastic about what they are taught.”
Maria Ramselaar is a primary school teacher in Amsterdam who has tested and evaluated the Bronnenboek in her classes. “The Bronnenboek is very welcome because it coincides with new ways of learning we are about to introduce in our school,” she said. “From being a teacher who knows it all you become their guide and mentor. You learn to know your children in a different way.”
The Dutch ESERO is making available 5,000 copies of the Bronnenboek, free of charge, for all primary schools in the Netherlands. Distribution is being organised with the Verbreding Techniek Basisonderwijs (VTB), a programme of the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science which promotes technology education in primary schools. This will be followed by training courses which will familiarise teachers with the bronnenboek material and enable them to provide feedback.
The bronnenboek is funded by ESA’s Education Office. The possibility of adapting the source book for use in other ESA countries which have ESEROs will be studied by the Dutch ESERO.
