Shaw-IAU Workshops by the OAE

Astronomy education, particularly in Western Nations, has the potential to disrupt colonial narratives while providing greater access to 21st century skills. Participants will be provided a space to explore the integrations of astronomy to foster and facilitate equity and justice, while connecting to the natural world. Some issues may be personally challenging to address, such as environmental racism and bias. This session will be highly interactive and allow participants to explore the use of satellite imagery to address social justice issues in their region and abroad. Participants will develop their own activities connected to their individual spaces which they can immediately use in formal K-12 education settings.

Biography:

Christine Hirst Bernhardt is a passionate STEM educator and teacher leader from California. She has taught STEM courses and astronomy in middle, high school and college, as well as to teachers through NASA’s Endeavor STEM Leadership program. Christine’s commitment to propelling the intersectional needs of STEM education and passion for bringing space content to the masses have resulted in her appointment as an Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator, the Thomas J. Brennan award for Excellent Astronomy Teaching, participation aboard NASA’s SOFIA mission and travel to Chile as an educational ambassador. She is also an Emerging Teacher Educator fellow with the California Teacher Education Improvement Network. Christine has worked for several curricular companies and advisory boards to advance space education. As an educator, Christine utilized project-based learning to promote agency and equity in STEM through relevant and culturally applicable phenomena, which she plans to develop into her doctoral research at UC Santa Barbara. She developed a unique and regionally famous high altitude balloon experiment program, student space symposium and international space camp. Christine loves all things adventure; she raced mountain bikes until 2016, won two national championships, and founded the first all-women’s professional gravity mountain bike team to advance women in a male dominated industry. She holds an M.S. in Space Studies from the University of North Dakota and an M.A. in Science Education from CSU Northridge. Her research centers on the intersections of STEM/Astronomy and Social Justice and international STEM/Astronomy education and teacher professional development. As the US NAEC lead, she hopes to form international connections and collaborations amongst countries and classrooms.

Watch a video for this poster (external link)