Project ThaiPASS: international outreach blending astronomy and Python. (11th February 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Keegans, James D; Stancliffe, Richard J; Bilton, Lawrence E; Cashmore, Claire R; Gibson, Brad K; Kristensen, Mikkel Theiss; Lawson, Thomas V; Pignatari, Marco; Vaezzadeh, Iraj; Côté, Benoit; Chongchitnan, Siri
• Is Part Of: Physics education. Volume 56:Number 3(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-02-11
• Subjects: advanced -- 16–19 -- A-level -- atomic/nuclear -- astronomy/cosmology; Physics -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Periodicals; 530.0712
• DOI: 10.1088/1361-6552/abdae7
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0031-9120

Abstract

Abstract: We present our outreach program, the Thailand–UK Python+Astronomy Summer School (ThaiPASS), a collaborative project comprising UK and Thai institutions and assess its impact and possible application to schools in the United Kingdom. Since its inception in 2018, the annual ThaiPASS has trained around 60 Thai high-school students in basic data handling skills using Python in the context of various astronomy topics, using current research from the teaching team. Our impact assessment of the 5 day summer schools shows an overwhelmingly positive response from students in both years, with over 80% of students scoring the activities above average in all activities but one. We use this data to suggest possible future improvements. We also discuss how ThaiPASS may inspire further outreach and engagement activities within the UK and beyond.