Mathematics and Astronomy: Inquire Based Scientific Education at School

Abstract

Mathematics is the language of science however, in secondary and high school education students are not made aware of the strong implications behind this statement. This is partially caused because mathematical training and the modelling of nature are not taught together. Astronomy provides firm scientific grounds for this joint training; the mathematics needed is simple, the data can be acquired with simple instrumentation in any place on the planet and the physics is rich with a broad range of levels. In addition, astronomy and space exploration are extremely appealing to young (14-17 years old) students helping to motivate them to study science doing science, i.e. to introduce Inquiry Based Scientific Education (IBSE). Since 1997 a global consortium is being developed to introduce IBSE techniques in secondary/high school education on a global scale: the Global Hands-On Universe association (www.globalhou.org) making use of the astronomical universe as a training lab. This contribution is a brief update on the current activities of the HOU consortium. Relevant URLS: www.globalhou.org, www.euhou.net, www.houspain.com