Organisation: EAAE-WG3

The European Association for Astronomy Education is the first all-European network for teachers interested in Astronomy. The EAAE has a set of working groups which works in various fields. The spirit of WG3 working group on training teachers of EAAE is to offer teachers access to specific reasearch, to new educational materials and methods and the possibility to exchange experiences.

This group consists of: Belgium (R. Boninsegna), Finland (I. Hannula), France ( F. Berthomieu, F. Dahringer, J.L. Fouquet, M. Gerbaldi, L. Gouguenheim J. Sert), Germany (R. Gaitzsch, R. Szostak), Italy (L. Abati, G. Casali, A. Frattini L. Fucili), Portugal ( A. Costa, F. Martins), Spain (S. García, R.M. Ros, E. Viñuales).

The fourth summer school will be organised by the EAAE-WG3. This summer school is open to all teachers who work in primary and secondary schools in European countries. The fourth summer school for European teachers will be held next July in Portugal. For a week general lectures, working groups, workshops and observational sessions will be held for around fifty European teachers. To that end, the Portuguese members of EAAE-WG3 have to prepare the local organisation with the support of Portuguese institutions. The Chairperson of the Local Organising Committee is F. Martins, and R.M. Ros is the Chairperson of EAAE-WG3.

Main features of the summer school

The summer school will take place on 6 days in the first week of July (3.7.00 - 8.7.00). Various different kinds of activities at this event will be presented by astronomers and/or professors from universities or school teachers from different European countries, with the active participation of the audience. In general, instructors at the Summer School will be members of EAAE-WG3.

General Lectures will be presented during the Opening and/or Closing session.

Working groups WG will focus on general discussions on topics related to teaching astronomy of interest to the participants.

Workshops WS will also be held with small groups. The objective of observations. Sometimes these activities will need to extend into the night.

The topics of the activities will be selected from:

1.- Using stars to find the way

2.- The Astrolabe and the Sextant

4.- Traveling through the Solar System

5.- Tides, the Moon and the Sun

6.- Navigational instruments

7.- GPS

8.- The longitude problem

9.- Determining latitude

10.- Space Navigation

A proposed schedule is:

Monday: General Lecture (1.5 h.) / WS (1.5 h.) / LUNCH / WG (Introduction) (1 h.) / WS (1.5 h.) /

Tuesday: WS (1.5 h.) / WS (1.5 h.) / LUNCH / WS (1.5 h.) / WG (Poster Session) (1 h.) / Observation.

Wednesday: WS (1.5 h.) / WS (1.5 h.) / LUNCH / WS (1.5 h.) / WG (Poster Session) (1 h.) / Observation.

Thursday: REST DAY : Possible boat trip

Friday: WS (1.5 h.) / WS (1.5 h.) / LUNCH / WS (1.5 h.) / WG (Problems to teach Astronomy) (1 h.) /

Saturday: WG (Evaluation) (1.5 h.) / General Lecture (1.5 h.)/ LUNCH /

Observation sessions will be held during the summer school. The objective of these is to introduce the participants to the use of small telescopes and binoculars, as well as observations made with the naked eye. Photographs will also be taken. The main objects observed will be: constellations, planets, galaxies, etc. which are visible. The instructors in this case will be members of WG3 of EAAE and the Observatório Astronómico de Tavira, who have offered their instruments for use in these activities.

Materials Bazaar The Summer School organisers are particularly interested in promoting the exchange of information berween participants. This year a Materials Bazaar will be a place open for a few hours (break and lunch periods) every day and every body can sell or excahnge their products there: academic papers, models, photographs, diskettes, etc. with astronomical contents.

If you are interested in selling your materials, please arrive at the Summer School with copies that you think will be necessary (the Summer School will not be able to make copies there).

Poster exhibitions will be organised, to which participants are invited to contribute by presenting posters of particular astronomical activities. Participants interested in presenting a poster should send an English summary (max. 200 words) to Rosa M. Ros by fax 34 93 8967700 with the registration form. The posters will be presented during the Summer School in English, Portuguese or French, with the summary in English.

Session to summarize the results of different activities will take place on the last day there will be a final session to make comments on the course contents. At the end a general discussion will be held.

The organisation of the summer school will publish the material necessary to carry out the activities on the programme. On the first day of the summer school, each participant will receive a booklet with:

• the contents of each general lecture.
• an explanation of each workshop with the material on paper necessary to do it: sketches, tables, graphics, drawings, etc. and information on the activity involved.
• material needed for observation sessions.
• a summary of posters.
• addresses of participants and instructors

Each national representative member of EAAE will receive information about the summer school, and they should inform the school teachers of their country about this course. There will be a total of 50 participants. The summer school is for school teachers interested in Astronomy even if they only have limited knowledge in this field. The summer school is not aimed at experts. The languages will be English, Portugues and French, so it is desirable that participants can speak two of these languages, as the aim of the organisers is to promote very active participation and the exchange of ideas. Although the organisation will not be offering simultaneous translation, it will provide multilingual documentation. In the proceedings, the contribution will be presented in English and one other language (Portuguese or French).

The 4^th EAAE summer school will be held in Tavira and in the Observatório Astronómico de Tavira, Portugal.

The registration fee for EAAE members for the summer school is $150$ euros, to be paid before March 15^th 2000, with a further $25$ euros to be paid at a later date. For non-EAAE Members the fee is $175$ euros, to be paid before March 15^th 2000, with a further $25$ euros to be paid at late date. We enclose the registration form.

December 15^th 1999

Rosa M. Ros Chairperson of the EAAE-WG3

Felisbela Martins Chairperson of Local Organising Committee

First name............................................................(sex:M/F)*

Family name.....................................................................

Personal address................................................................

Qualifications..................................................................

Workplace.......................................................................

Work address.........................................................................

Fax number.............e-mail........................Phone number...............

{ Accommodation }

Registration fee

total...........................................................................

Please send both:

1. this registration form, by fax, to Rosa M. Ros, fax.number:34 93 8967700