OEP4

Planetary Sciences in Education
Convener: Rosa Doran 
Oral Program
 / Wed, 26 Sep, 18:15–19:45  / Room Mercury
Poster Program
 / Attendance Thu, 27 Sep, 18:15–19:45  / Poster Area

Science Awareness is one of the cornerstones of human knowledge. To know our place in the cosmos and to be curious about why things are the way they are, should be a building block of the knowledge within each and every one of us.

Planetary sciences play a major role towards that aim. It attracts the attention not only of the public at large but also young students, who very recurrently are faced with inaccurate information (many times in the form of science movies and games). The science community hand in hand with educators must assume a predominant role in targeting misconceptions or perhaps the lack of proper knowledge in the understanding of our home Earth and its surroundings. The tools are all at hand to allow this journey to be exciting and challenging.

Bringing real research to classrooms around the globe is a new trend being explored by several projects worldwide. Is this an appropriate solution to target both the misconceptions and lack of interest for science topics? Can we quickly advance for the construction of curricula that is in accordance with this need? Are educators prepared for this challenge? Are Universities preparing teachers already empowered to use this modern tools and resources? Can there be a global solution that opens equal opportunities for developed and developing countries? What steps are we taking to bridge the digital divide ? How can we use Planetary Science data to target all this issues?

This and many other cutting edge topics are the proposal for this session of this year’s EPSC/DPS meeting.

You are invited to submit abstracts for either an oral or a poster presentation.