My Sixty Years in Astronomy Education: Highlights, and Lessons Learned

This paper presents 10 highlights of my 60-year career as an astronomy educator, and why these highlights were significant for me and my students. References will be provided. (1) Learning about teaching and education from passionate experts, in school, university, and teachers college; (2) Helping to grow a new university campus “from scratch”, including its academic and teaching functions; (3) Using variable star astronomy (my research field) to develop and integrate STEM skills in over 200 undergraduate and talented senior high school students, motivated by doing real research, with real data; (4) Discovering and contributing to international astronomy education and development in the 1970s, through the IAU; (5) Creating an undergraduate STEM Education minor program which students could combine with their STEM major; (6) Connecting and collaborating with my university’s professional teacher educators and education researchers; (7) Partnering with governments and teachers organizations to develop and effectively deliver astronomy in the school curriculum; (8) Partnering with public libraries and seniors groups to bring astronomy to the community; (9) Helping link astronomy and the arts, during International Year of Astronomy 2009, through a superb multimedia music program (created by musician colleagues) which toured the world to great acclaim; (10) Co-presenting a paper, at as university teaching conference, with my wife and our daughter — both award-winning university teachers!