TEACHING METHODS IN ASTRONOMY AND THE HISTORY OF ASTRONOMY
Course required for degree Diploma in Astrophysics.
VII Semester 2+2, VIII Semester 2+2


TEACHING METHODS IN ASTRONOMY. Astronomy, Its Tasks, Significance and Connection with Other Sciences. Teaching Astronomy as an Educating Process. Didactical Principles and Rules. Types of Teaching and Basic Forms. Tasks in Teaching Astronomy. Plans and Programs of Lectures. Organization of Teaching. Teaching Methods. Astronomical Tools. Numerical Exercises. Practical Exercises and Observations. Methodical Instructions for Principal Methodic Units. Preparation of the Teacher. Examination and Grading. Methods in Giving a Lecture. Organisation of Free Activities and Practical Exercises in Astronomy. A Short Survey of the Development of Teaching Methods in Serbia.


HISTORY OF ASTRONOMY. The Beginning of Astronomy in China, Egypt and Mesopotamia. The Ancient Greek Period (Aristotle). The Alexandrian School (Aristarchus, Apollonius, Erathosten, Hipparchus, Ptolemy). The Middle Ages (The Arabian Astronomy, the Westeuropean Astronomy and the Byzantian Astronomy). The Renaissance Astronomy (Coppernicus, Tycho, Kepler, Galileo, Hygens, Newton). The Development of Practical Astronomy (Roemer, Halley, Flamsteed, Bradly, Mayer, LaCaille, Maskelyne). The Development of Theoretical Astronomy (Bernoulli, Euler, Clairaut, D'Alambert, Lagrange, Laplace). Measurements of the Earth. Determination of the Astronomical Unit. The Beginning of Stellar Astronomy (Herschel). The Discovery of Big Planets (Herschel, Adams, LeVerrier, Lowell, Tombaugh) and Minor Planets (Piazzi, Gauss, Olbers, Kirkwood, Kuiper). The Development of Meteoritics (Chladni, Stojković). The Development of Telescopes: Refractors (Dollond, Fraunhofer, Foucault, Clark) and Reflectors (Gregory, Newton, Herschel), till the Present Day (Adaptive Optics, Multiple Mirrors, Space Telescopes). The Further Development of Observational Astronomy (Bessel, Struve, Pickering). The Further Development of Celestial Mechanics (Adams, LeVerrier, Newcomb, Poincaré). The Beginning of Astrophysics (Kirchoff, Draper, Lockyer, Janssen). The Development of Galactic Astronomy (Leavitt, Shapley, Oort, Baade). The Progress in Studying the Sun (Schwabe, Carrington, Hale, Babcock). The Development of Extragalactic Astronomy (Hubble, Humason, Baade, Sandage, Schmidt). The Development of the Theory of Stellar Structure and Evolution (Schwarzschild, Saha, Eddington, Payne-Gaposchin, Chandrasekhar, Bethe). The Beginning of Radio Astronomy (Jansky, Reber, Hay, Hulst). The Development of Space Astronomy. Astronautical Era. The Development of Nonoptical Astronomy. The Development of Cosmogony (Kant, Laplace, Jeans, Oparin, Alfven, Modern Hypotheses). Creating of Scientific Cosmology (Gamow, Dicke, Peebles, Guth, Linde). Astronomers Nobel Prise Winners for Physics. A Short Survey of the Development of Serbian Astronomy.


EXERCISES. Numerical and Practical Exercises. Practice in Teaching: at the University, in Planetarium, in Petnica Sciense Center and in High School. Seminars in Advancement the Astronomy Teaching in High School or in History of Astronomy.





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