{"id":25404,"date":"2022-03-11T06:10:40","date_gmt":"2022-03-11T06:10:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/astro4dev.org\/?p=25404"},"modified":"2023-07-25T10:29:49","modified_gmt":"2023-07-25T10:29:49","slug":"astronomy-in-ghana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/astro4dev.org\/astronomy-in-ghana\/","title":{"rendered":"Astronomy in Ghana"},"content":{"rendered":"\t
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The Astronomy in Ghana project aimed to promote practical astronomy topics and hands-on activities among students and teachers to foster problem-solving skills and develop an interest in STEM subjects for informed academic and career choices. The project successfully formed astronomy clubs in six schools across three southern regions of Ghana: Greater Accra, Volta, and Central Region. The schools involved were Christ Church Anglican Basic School, St. Martha\u2019s Catholic Basic \u201cB\u201d School, St. Mary\u2019s Anglican Basic A&B school, Domiabra Methodist 2 Basic School, Osu Presbyterian Girls School and E.P Kekeli International school.<\/span><\/p>\n

Activities<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<\/colgroup>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Content Development<\/span><\/td>\n15th February – 15th April 2022<\/span><\/td>\n2 months<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Project Onboard Meeting<\/span><\/td>\n17th June 2022<\/span><\/td>\n3hours<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pre – Trainers – workshop<\/span><\/td>\n11th May 2022<\/span><\/td>\n1 day<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Trainers Workshop<\/span><\/td>\n19th – 21st May 2022<\/span><\/td>\n2 days<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Initial presentation and school visits<\/span><\/td>\nJuly – August 2022<\/span><\/td>\n1 month<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Teachers Training Workshop<\/span><\/td>\n15th June – 17th June 2022<\/span><\/td>\n2 days<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Clubs monitoring and Evaluation 1<\/span><\/td>\nNovember-December 2022<\/span><\/td>\n2months<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Educational Visit to GRAO<\/span><\/td>\n27-Jan-23<\/span><\/td>\n3 weeks<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Clubs monitoring and Evaluation 2<\/span><\/td>\nJanuary – June 2023<\/span><\/td>\n5 months<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Inter-School Astronomy Quiz<\/span><\/td>\n2-Jun-23<\/span><\/td>\n1day<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Deliverables:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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  • Initial Presentation (\u201cImportance of Astronomy in Ghana\u201d): This was presented during the initial school visits<\/li>\n
  • Presentations (Astronomy lessons) : These were used during the instructors workshops and Teacher\/patrons workshop to train the team members and teachers<\/li>\n
  • Handbook for Astronomy Club Patrons. This was given to the patrons after the Teacher\/patrons workshop.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Outcomes<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Teacher\/Patrons workshop<\/p>\n

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    • Before the workshop, 60%, 80%, 60%, 20%, 40%, 20% and 40% of the Patrons felt comfortable with teaching Earth, Moon and Sun, Solar System, Milky Way Galaxy, Galaxies in general, EM Spectrum, Telescopes, and Satellites topics respectively.<\/li>\n
    • After the workshop, 100%, 100%, 100%, 100%, 75%, 75% and 100% of the Patrons felt comfortable with teaching Earth, Moon and Sun, Solar System, Milky Way Galaxy, Galaxies in general, EM Spectrum, Telescopes, and Satellites topics respectively.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      The astronomy knowledge of the teachers improved comparing before and after the workshop. Teachers generally provided positive feedback on the workshop, suggesting it be expanded to a longer duration.<\/p>\n

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      • Before the workshop, average number of correct answers was 6.6 out of 15.<\/li>\n
      • After the workshop, average number of correct answers was 10 out of 15.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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        It has improved my skills of teaching astronomical topics in Science – feedback by a teacher<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

        Students performance improved in the post session tests right after the club activities. Follow up evaluations done later (2-6 months later) showed a dip in some cases – in 3 schools, the follow up test performance was between the pre-session and post-session score, in 1 school the follow up performance was better than the post-session score, while in 2 schools they were worse than the pre-session performance.<\/p>\n

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