Ms. Stefani Danai Oikonomidou, an English Kindergarten teacher at Mandoulides Schools, was chosen by the European Space Agency (ESA) to represent Greece at their 9th Summer Teacher Workshop in the Netherlands from 10 to 13 July, 2018.
The aim of the workshop, which was addressed to European primary and secondary school teachers, was to get them inspired by actual ESA space missions and programs. In addition, it also aimed to train them on how to include space in their lessons so as to make science and technology exciting for their students. Organized around three main space themes, Space Exploration, Earth Observation and Technology, the workshop provided teachers with a unique professional development opportunity. Through fascinating training sessions, the participants were instructed on how space can be used to teach Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) curricular subjects at school.
During the workshop 50 primary and secondary school teachers from 16 European countries attended expert lectures about space exploration, observing the earth and life in space. Many hands-on sessions and projects also took place. During their visit to Erasmus Bay and ESTEC Test Centre they also had the opportunity to find out about current missions and see where space vehicles are tested prior to launch.
On the final day of the workshop, ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli gave an inspiring keynote speech in which he discussed life on the International Space Station and the different experiments he conducted. The participants then had the honor to meet him in person and discuss with him.
Finally, all participants were given a spacecraft materials kit with a teacher’s guide and student activities to take back to their schools. Thus, our students will have the opportunity to practise and share all the knowledge acquired in a unique way.
