(William H. Waller — Endicott College, The Galactic Inquirer, and IAU/OAE/US-NAEC)
Abstract:
Scientific literacy encompasses the ability to read scientific literature and to effectively communicate scientific knowledge and reasoning via writing, speaking, and other means. This skill comprises a key goal of K-12 education, as borne out by educational standards worldwide (cf. The Next Generation Science Standards followed by U.S. schools). Advancing astronomical literacy provides a compelling gateway to advancing scientific literacy overall, as the subject of Astronomy is both interdisciplinary and very popular. In this article, I discuss the motivation and development of an astronomical writing contest for high-school students. Such a contest would engage students in active writing projects suitable to their grade levels. In my own science classes, I have obtained impressive results with the student writing that I assigned and mentored (cf. https://sites.google.com/site/sciencegazette/ap-physics?authuser=0, and http://galacticinquirer.net/). For the competition I have co-piloted, writing genres can include research reports, essays, book reviews, speculative fiction, dramatic scripts, poems, and musical lyrics for optimal inclusion. Potential partners could include national and international astronomical societies, observatory consortiums, library organizations, telescope manufacturers, textbook publishers, and other supporters of astronomical inquiry. Progress on the pilot contest being hosted by The Galactic Inquirer is presented.
What is Scientific Literacy?
It is tempting to say that any well-educated person should know what it takes to be scientifically literate. But what does scientific literacy really involve? Given that scientific literacy is a key goal of most science education standards and frameworks, considerable ink has been dedicated to utilizing the term in pedagogical papers.
Summarizing the challenge, education researchers Andrew Zucker and Pendred Noyce note in their paper on “Improving Science Education Standards” (https://improvethengss.org/2020/11/19/developing-students-scientific-literacy/) that …
“The primary goal of K-12 science education should be to develop students’ scientific literacy. For example, the New York State P-12 Science Learning Standards identifies that very goal, stating that, “our education system [should] keep pace with what it means to be scientifically literate.”
But what exactly does “scientific literacy” mean? One way to define it would be to stack up the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), the appendices to the NGSS, and the Framework for K-12 Science Education (the template for the NGSS). Scientific literacy could be defined as everything in those documents. But that is close to 1,000 pages of text.
English teachers and science teachers can agree that 1,000 pages makes for an unwieldy definition. Can we do better?
The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA)—which periodically tests thousands of students in dozens of countries across disciplines, including science—developed a more concise definition. For PISA:
Scientific literacy is defined as the ability to engage with science-related issues, and with the ideas of science, as a reflective citizen….”
While this definition is admirably inclusive, it neglects to explain what “engage” means. Towards these ends, I offer the following more “literal” definition …
Scientific literacy encompasses the ability to read scientific literature and to effectively communicate scientific knowledge and reasoning via writing, speaking, and other means.
Here, the goal is to cultivate an informed citizenry capable of engaging with evidence-based scientific discourse. By extension, astronomical literacy involves those aspects of scientific literacy that pertain to astronomy and space exploration. Motivated to advance the cause of astronomical literacy (so defined), I have pursued the development of an astronomical science writing contest for high-school students.
Why Astronomy?
Among the physical and natural sciences, Astronomy holds a special place within the educational lexicon. It is often regarded as the “gateway science,” as it is both interdisciplinary and very popular. Within its topical purview, Astronomy encompasses the solar and planetary sciences (including Earth as a planet), the astrophysics of stars, nebulae, galaxies, and greater cosmos, as well as the exciting new fields of astrochemistry and astrobiology. Across cosmic time, it offers “the greatest story ever told” – a 14-billion-year saga of matter emerging from the hot big bang and evolving into the expanding menagerie of galaxies and all that they contain – including our very selves.
Astronomy’s popularity is astounding but not surprising. Once people are introduced to the many wonders of the day and night sky, they tend to respond as participants in the cosmic drama – savoring the aesthetic appeal and inspirational qualities of their natural birthright. To be a minute part of something so huge is humbling, awesome and somehow reassuring. Astronomy is quite literally universal. We are all the stuff of stars, as connected to the Cosmos as the galaxy, solar system, and planet that spawned us.
Consider that more than 100 million people flock to planetariums each year. Even greater numbers of people marvel at the latest astronomical images and video presentations via a myriad of media platforms. Amateur astronomers spread the love on every continent. And then there is the allure of robotic and human space missions that continues to captivate people by the billions.
Developing an Astronomical Science Writing Contest for High-School Students:
Together, Astronomy and space exploration are most fitting subjects for student writing projects, including the astronomical science writing contest considered here. Students have a strong affinity for contests in general, and such a writing contest should be no different. The contest being piloted will engage high-school students in active writing projects suitable to their grade levels. A similar contest might also work well in middle school, but I wanted to pilot it at the high-school level first where I have more experience as an educator. In my own high-school and college science classes, I have obtained impressive results with the student writing that I assigned and mentored (cf. https://sites.google.com/site/sciencegazette/ap-physics?authuser=0, and http://galacticinquirer.net/). From these experiences, I highly recommend that teachers allow sufficient time to mentor their students in finding a suitable topic, taking useful notes, outlining, drafting, and refining their written pieces. For the piloted competition, students are welcome to work in a variety of writing genres such as research reports, essays, book reviews, speculative fiction, dramatic scripts, poems, and musical lyrics. In this way, a diversity of students in both science and English classes can pursue this competitive project.
As currently configured, the contest is being hosted by The Galactic Inquirer – a free online journal that covers a wide range of astronomical topics. Partners include the American Astronomical Society, North America’s largest organization of astronomers, the International Astronomical Union’s Office of Astronomy for Education, and the Slooh remote telescopes service. The contest is for high-school students interested in astronomy and space exploration. Finalists receive prizes and publishing opportunities. Accepted genres include research reports, news stories, essays, biographical profiles, book reviews, speculative fiction, dramatic scripts, poems, and musical lyrics. Submitted pieces should be 500 to 2,500 words in length, depending on the genre. Information on submissions includes topical prompts. The deadline for submissions is March 15, 2025. If you wish to partner on this project, please contact Bill Waller at williamhwaller@gmail.com.