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Published on January 28, 2008

Teachers will be able to teach more interestingly, effectively and confidently after they have completed the course, it is hoped.

As astronomy has just been added to the basic education curriculum, there is an acute shortage of local teachers with knowledge about the subject.

To make up for the shortfall, the Learning Centre for Earth Science & Astronomy (LESA) and Chulalongkorn University have jointly initiated the courses, which will instruct primary and secondary students on the subject.

"The two courses are called iAstro [Internet astronomy]; iAstro 101 will be provided for teachers instructing primary and lower secondary students while iAstro 102 will be for those teaching higher secondary students," said Colonel Thagoon Kirdkao, director of the LESA.

 "Each will take around four months to complete."

Teachers enrolling for those courses will study astronomy through the Internet. After enrolment, they will receive astronomy books, CDs and software used to survey the universe.

Thagoon estimated they would pay no more than Bt4,000 per course.

"We've created the courses teaching via the Internet to reduce the cost and time for travelling to study [in classrooms]," he said.

"Chulalongkorn will take responsibility for controlling the standard of these courses as we aim for them to be accepted by the Education Ministry.

"We will start teaching iAstro 101 in June and iAstro 102 in November. Staff will email the teachers a lesson, recommend books and websites to search for information, as well as assign homework which they have to hand in within one week.

"They will have to do exercises and make teaching aids such as star maps."

In addition, the teachers will eventually do a written exam at Chulalongkorn and a field exam at Kirdkao Observatory in Kanchanaburi. They will receive a certificate after they complete each course.

Wannapa Phetdee

The Nation