To date, the main regulatory documents have been adopted, the main guidelines regulating issues related to changes in the basic general education program. This gives grounds to say that changes should be made to the main educational program on the basis of the Order of the Ministry of Education and Science.

The order was signed and officially came into effect on June 7, 2017 - order No. 506 “On amendments to the Federal component of state educational standards for primary general and secondary complete general education, approved by order of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia dated March 5, 2004 No. 1089.”

The order actually says that “Astronomy” is being introduced into the Federal State Educational Standard as a compulsory subject of the federal component.

In this regard, the following changes are made to the main content:

• The standard is supplemented by a separate section on general astronomy, basic level;
• it is not intended to introduce astronomy at the profile level;
• the mandatory minimum content of the PLO is presented, which must be included in the work program for the subject;
• content components of the basic level in “Social Studies” are excluded from the Federal State Educational Standard;
• within the framework of “Physics”, content elements related to astronomy remain;
• in the “Astronomy” course itself, these subjects, on the one hand, are duplicated, on the other hand, they are interpreted in detail.

The order of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation is the basic document and the basis for making changes to the set of documents that guide the school when implementing the educational program.

Work program for the course “Astronomy”

First, the teacher needs to develop a work program for the Astronomy course. The requirements are no different from the standard set of requirements.

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There should be three main elements in the program:

• content,
• thematic planning
• elements associated with educational outcomes must be set out.

Integration of the work program into OOP

The second stage of the work is the integration of this work program and the introduction of appropriate changes based on the developed work program into the OOP in the OO.

This is the main document that describes the educational activities of the school according to the Federal State Educational Standard, its components are:

• work programs by subject,
• syllabus.

Practical steps for implementing the OP

The third stage occurs after documented changes have been made and appropriate changes have been made to the OOP.

At the third stage, we should talk about specific practical steps related to preparing the conditions for the implementation of the educational program. There are two levels of these conditions.

Information and methodological conditions

These conditions are associated, first of all, with the awareness of the fact which educational and methodological packages the public organization will work on when implementing a specific work program. The choice of educational and methodological package is left to the school. The teacher teaching the subject has the final word on which educational and methodological set to rely on.

The current Federal List of Textbooks includes two main textbooks that can be used by OOs to implement this course:

• textbook published by "Drofa";
• textbook from the publishing house "Prosveshchenie".

In addition to textbooks, it is important to understand and reflect in the work program what other resources will be used to implement the Astronomy course. It's about not only about paper textbooks, but also about numerous network, electronic and digital resources, which in this case will help diversify the course and most adequately reflect the content of the work program in the process of its implementation.

Why should the course be introduced into the main educational program?

The school has two current Standards: 2004 and 2010. The structure of the 2004 Standard suggests that this Standard has mandatory subjects of the federal component and another part of this 2004 Standard is the component educational organization. If the federal components and the number of compulsory subjects within the curriculum increase, then, of course, it increases due to the reduction of that part that is called the part of the educational organization. It is therefore a matter of redistribution from one part of the curriculum to another. This issue is left to the discretion of the RF Ministry of Education and Science. The changes to the 2010 Standard have not yet entered into force, they do not exist yet, but here the required number of hours can be taken from that part of the educational program that is optional, which is formed through the choice of other participants in the educational process, i.e. the part that actually provided profiling.

Structural unit of the NGO: inclusion of “Astronomy” in the work program

In many cities, regional centers, subjects of the Federation, in many universities there are and operate quite successfully both in status structural divisions NGOs, and as independent cultural or educational institutions, for example, a planetarium. In this case, no one is stopping the teacher from including in the structure and composition of the work program, on the basis of network interaction, the use of a planetarium to explain certain topics related to one or another topic of the Astronomy course. Such use imposes certain additional obligations on the organization, which will be required to enter into an appropriate contract or networking agreement with these organizations.

Personnel conditions for the course implementation

The second important point is related to personnel conditions. The decision of the manager responsible for the implementation of the educational program lies within the responsibility of the director of the educational organization, which distributes the load and approves tariffs, etc.

An important point is that there is no separate specialty related to astronomy. Therefore, in most cases, the choice occurs between one or another subject teacher, who has his own basic course. In this case, there is a need to improve the qualifications of the relevant specialist in those structures that have a license and developed an additional professional educational program related to advanced training in astronomy.

Content changes in the Astronomy course

On the one hand, the topic was included in the physics course and did not remain outside, on the other hand, there is a significant difference.

Let us consider the content that was recorded in the basic and profile levels of teaching the subject “Physics” in terms of astronomical topics.

In the “Mechanics” section there was formulation related to the use of the laws of mechanics to explain the movements of celestial bodies and to develop space research. The section “Quantum physics, elements of astrophysics” contained such components as an introduction to the solar system, stars, their energy sources, modern ideas about the origin and evolution of the sun and stars, the spatial scale of the observable universe and the applicability of the laws of physics to explain the nature of cosmic phenomena. The basic part of astronomical problems was completed by a topic related to the observation and description of the movement of natural bodies. This was all that a physics teacher had to teach about astronomy at a basic level.

Main sections of the new course

The developers of this federal component of the astronomy standard fulfilled another task, which was formulated by the Ministry. Namely, to clarify the content and detail the content on this subject.

Astronomy has been introduced and will remain taught at a basic level.

The first section is devoted to cultural and historical issues. It addresses the following questions:

• about the role of astronomy in the development of civilization, the evolution of human views on the universe, incl. associated with the geocentric, heliocentric system, features of methods of knowledge in astronomy,
• practical applications of astronomical research, etc.

New components that open up great scope for interdisciplinary connections and for the formation of personal results in terms of patriotic education:

• development of domestic astronautics,
• we are talking about the creation of domestic science, domestic applied technology of Earth satellites,
• modern achievements of world cosmonautics as a whole.
• integration of the efforts made by Russia and all countries in space exploration using artificial aircraft.

Other topics covered in the course:

• basics of practical astronomy
• laws of motion of celestial bodies,
• solar system,
• methods of astronomical research
• laws of motion of celestial bodies, solar system
• methods of astronomical research.

A comprehensive interpretation and precisely developed topics, presented in a mandatory minimum of content, allows you to build the course systematically, allows you not to miss any of the topics that are significant from the point of view of modern astronomy, and has its own internal logic, it is possible to draw interdisciplinary parallels and reach meta-subject results, which is a requirement of the new standard.

Monitoring the achievement of educational results in astronomy

The course lasts 35 hours, but it is worth noting that the school decides where the course should be integrated into the curriculum. Course delivery intensity:

• one hour a week for half a year, two quarters,
• one hour every two weeks during 10th or 11th grade.

All decisions about the introduction of the course and the intensity with which it will be delivered are made by the educational organization.

The volume of studying Astronomy is less than 64 hours over 2 years, however, Astronomy is one of the compulsory subjects, so it is necessary to put a final grade on it in the certificate.

Final control

All-Russian testing will take place no earlier than 2020. Order 506 does not remove astronomical topics from the federal component, the minimum content of a physics course. They are removed only from Natural History. If the child chooses to take the test within Unified State Exam physics, there, within physics, in test materials, there are types of tasks related to the content of astronomy. As far as we know today, there are no normative grounds to believe that astronomical topics have disappeared from physics. As for the next two years, the final test in the form of the Unified State Exam for those who choose physics as an elective subject will be faced with it.

Staff development

The specifics of the goals and content of the course are closest to the subject competencies of physics teachers. In addition, his competencies include the development of skills in using natural science and physical and mathematical knowledge for an objective analysis of the structure of the surrounding world using the example of the achievements of modern astrophysics, astronomy, and cosmonautics. This does not mean that the opportunity to teach astronomy is blocked for other specialties.

If there is no strong physicist within the educational institution, but there is a strong geographer, no one bothers to decide that the geography teacher, after appropriate advanced training, will be able to take on the issues of teaching the astronomy course.

In order to consider proposals for advanced training as full-fledged and valid, for a physics teacher there must be at least 36 hours, for teachers of the natural sciences (teachers of geography, mathematics, for example) at least 72 hours).

Should a physics teacher take retraining courses to become an astronomy teacher?

The school director has the authority to determine the qualification level of the teacher who is entrusted with teaching the subject. To say that advanced training courses or retraining are formal grounds that may or may not be taken into account by the school director. The school director takes responsibility for assessing the teacher's professionalism. Most directors say that they do not want to take on all this responsibility and send teachers on courses. In this case, the director will attach to all cases a document stating that he has a formal basis.

Legally, the director may well manage his decision without additional expenses associated with advanced training. The law gives him this right. In this case, he finds himself in a situation of explaining to regulatory authorities about how competent the people who teach this course are, and how much this ensures the quality of the course implementation.

PERVUSHKIN BORIS NIKOLAEVICH

CHOU "St. Petersburg School "Tete-a-Tete"

Mathematics teacher of the highest category with the right to teach Astronomy

ASTRONOMY AT SCHOOL

IN Russian schools the subject “astronomy” has actually been outlawed since 2008 - under the pretext that none of the existing astronomy textbooks have been approved and allowed for use in schools. And the rule now is that there is no approved textbook, therefore, this subject cannot be taught. Apparently, officials from the Ministry of Education and Science considered that knowledge about the Universe and cosmic laws for our children is completely unnecessary.

There is no direct ban on studying astronomy in schools; in some schools, astronomy is still taught as a special course, but none of the recently written textbooks has the stamp of the Ministry of Education, which recommends using the textbook in educational process. And there is a catastrophic shortage of teachers who can teach astronomy in high schools.

Let me remind you that, paradoxically, the elimination of astronomy as a compulsory subject in Russian schools took place just before 2009, declared the International Year of Astronomy by the UN General Assembly. While constantly declaring in words its desire to become part of the international community and declaring its desire to join the WTO, in reality Russia ignored the UN resolution. This inappropriate behavior of education officials caused a strong reaction from many teachers, university professors and the scientific community.

In 2009, Russian astronomers asked the authorities: “to return the teaching of astronomy to schools, restore astronomical training in pedagogical universities, and provide state support for the popularization of this science,” says the text of the conference resolution adopted as the basis. The statement of Russian scientists said: “the elimination of astronomy in high school inevitably creates fertile ground for the widespread dissemination of pseudoscientific ideas about the world, astrology, magic, witchcraft, in conditions where popular scientific literature is inaccessible to wide circles of the population due to high prices. We believe that the need for universal astronomy education is due to the importance of the contribution of astronomy to the creation scientific picture peace and the formation of a scientific worldview modern people. Natural science is part of a single universal human culture and natural science knowledge should become the property of any educated person. Currently, astronomy and space exploration are rapidly developing in the world, but in Russia graduates educational institutions"doomed to astronomical illiteracy"

This initiative was supported by the rector of the Moscow State University Victor Sadovnichy. “Astronomy should once again become a compulsory school subject,” he said, “and in universities it is necessary to revive the training of astronomy teachers. A person looking at the sky must have elementary representations about what it is. Astronomy is culture, it is knowledge that every cultured person should have. What are stars, what are planets, what is matter, what is space, why is it infinite.”

So why should astronomy be taught in schools?

For thousands of years, the foundations of astronomical knowledge - the foundations of ideas about the Universe - were part of the training system for younger generations. Even in the monastic schools of the Middle Ages, astronomy, along with arithmetic, geometry and music, was included in the “quadrivium” - the highest level of the seven liberal arts, required for the study of subjects. From here this scheme passed into those that arose in XII-XIII centuries first universities.

In Russian gymnasiums there was a compulsory course in descriptive astronomy - cosmography. Astronomy was also included in the curriculum of Soviet high schools as a compulsory subject. However, in those years there were attempts to remove astronomy from the high school curriculum. Shortly before the start of the Great Patriotic War, some “wise men” from the then People's Commissariat for Education tried to remove astronomy from high school programs. Then the country's leading astronomers turned to Academician A. A. Blagonravov, who was then the President of the Academy of Artillery Sciences (such an academy existed at one time), and he had the right to directly contact I. V. Stalin. And so one phone call from Blagonravov to Stalin was enough - and the issue of restoring astronomy in the school was immediately resolved.

Why is it so important to study astronomy in high school? This is necessary for a modern educated person due to those important social functions, which astronomy has performed throughout the history of mankind and to which the modern era brings new facets. The first of these functions is applied. This is the development of methods of orientation in time and space, which is a necessary condition production activities man, his social existence and his Everyday life. The second function is general cultural: it is the determination of the place and role of man in the structure of the Universe. For thousands of years, the astronomical picture of the world has been and is an integral part of the scientific picture of the world as a whole; that part of it that gives a person an idea of ​​the spatio-temporal structure of the world in which he lives and acts. Here it should be emphasized that, despite all its close connections with physics, astronomy is an independent integral science with its own specific object and method of research.

And in general, what needs to be proven if we were the first to create spaceships, the first to overcome gravity! We were the first to conquer space! We were the first to go out open space! It is our Proton rockets that launch satellites of any country into orbit! Russia trains astronauts from all countries! Cosmonautics is one of the few areas of science where we still maintain a leading position in the world.

And all this because astronomy, taught in schools, revealed to children the beautiful and mysterious world of the Universe! It was from former schoolchildren who fell in love with the starry sky that talented designers and astronauts emerged! Scientists of international level! And it’s very disappointing that now, when the rest of the civilized world has become interested in astronomy, we have stopped teaching it at school.

Although, following the logic of our rulers, why do our children need to know the laws of the universe and have a scientific understanding of the world? Computer shooting games on the theme are enough for them star wars", science-fiction films about aliens like "Skyline" and a course on God's law... Yes, "Star Factories"... As a result, now few modern youth can answer the simplest questions: who is Tsiolkovsky, how planets differ from stars and why solar eclipses happen...

In 2009 The world celebrated the 400th anniversary of observing the starry sky using telescopes. In 1609 Galileo Galilei directed the telescope he created towards the Moon, Sun, stars and planets and discovered that there are mountains on the Moon, and spots on the Sun, that Jupiter has satellites, Saturn has rings, and the Milky Way consists of stars. Astronomy is currently undergoing another revolution. Today it is one of the most rapidly developing sciences, where discoveries follow one after another. In Russia, since the time of Peter I, astronomy has been a compulsory subject in schools and colleges. At the beginning of the 20th century, it was his interest in astronomy that led Friedrich Zander to the construction of an interplanetary jet aircraft. In the 60s In the 20th century, it was impossible to imagine that astronomy would be expelled from the secondary education curriculum. Then the spacecraft created by our scientists opened up new knowledge about the Moon, Venus, and Mars for all humanity. Today, alas, other countries are engaged in fundamental space research: Europe, the USA, Japan, China, India, and in Russia officials believe that we have had enough of space transportation for money and space tourism for money....

The UN General Assembly in its resolution noted that astronomy is one of the oldest fundamental sciences, that it has a serious influence on the development of other sciences, applied research, culture, philosophy, etc., that astronomy is an absolutely necessary science that should be studied starting from childhood.

And the elimination of the study of astronomy in Russian schools goes in parallel with Russia's withdrawal from the field of fundamental sciences and from such high-tech areas as space. In words, the authorities advocate for the innovative development of Russia, but in reality they are engaged in the destruction of fundamental education, removing astronomy from schools and universities and replacing the theory of evolution with delusional myths about the seven days of creation. It is especially significant that this is happening right now, during the years of a grandiose scientific breakthrough in the field of astronomy and space physics in the leading countries of the world...

MOSCOW, February 17 - RIA Novosti, Olga Dobrovidova. At the beginning of February 2013, reports appeared on the Internet that a certain group of Orthodox activists allegedly intended to collect 100 thousand signatures to ban the teaching of astronomy in Russian schools and universities.

Despite the dubious source, the news was very actively spread by the media for some time - at least until in mid-February, as astronomer Dmitry Wiebe aptly put it, astronomy flew straight into the windows, including of several Chelyabinsk schools. Since then, there has been no new information about this “initiative”.

According to VTsIOM, in 2013, astronomy was the top three areas of science that arouse the greatest interest among Russians, after medicine and technical achievements - 16% of respondents are interested in it. True, there is a possibility that this is not exactly the kind of astronomy that is of interest to the institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences: according to the Yandex.Words service, aliens, the mysterious planet Nibiru and the end of the world according to various calendars are used by Russian-speaking netizens to an extreme degree. great success than, say, the American Curiosity rover or the Russian Radioastron observatory.

Astronomy in schools in Russia is not prohibited - there is no formal ban on introducing such a lesson into the curriculum, and yet this “beast” is perhaps more rare than the Amur tiger. RIA Novosti talked with famous Russian astronomers and tried to figure out where and how to find a place in the school curriculum for science, which “leaves no room for miracles,” but in return can open eyes to the strict beauty of real infinity.

Lesson history lesson

As Efrem Levitan and Alexander Rumyantsev write in a famous article for the magazine Earth and the Universe in 2002, at the beginning of the 20th century astronomy “was taught in almost all types of secondary schools.” educational institutions Russia", and before the revolution of 1917, the country published 45 different textbooks only in Russian. True, these were textbooks on cosmography - descriptive astronomy, which, as decided at the All-Russian meeting of teachers of physics, chemistry and cosmography in June 1917, "crowns constitutes a real education in secondary school." The tradition of teaching astronomy in school was then successfully "inherited" by the USSR.

Its gradual “erosion” in school curriculum began in 1993: as RIA Novosti once explained in Russian Academy Education (RAE), where new educational standards are being developed, the astronomy course at that time did not fit into their general structure. Astronomy is not currently included in the federal core curriculum, but schools can choose to introduce it as an elective course.

Almost five years ago, in March 2009, participants in the “Astronomy and Society” conference, held in Moscow as part of the International Year of Astronomy, asked the Russian authorities to return the teaching of astronomy in schools, restore astronomical training in pedagogical universities and provide state support for the popularization of this science. After this, the issue of “school” astronomy was periodically raised by scientists, journalists, and even young specialists in the aerospace industry - as, for example, at a large lecture by the then head of Roscosmos Vladimir Popovkin for students of technical universities in September 2012.

In every sense, a sudden turn in the discussion about astronomy in schools was brought about by the Chelyabinsk meteorite, which “visited” the Urals almost a year ago: after February 15, not only those who fought for this the previous five years started talking about the need to return the subject to the school curriculum. Thus, senator from the Chelyabinsk region Konstantin Tsybko then stated that in order for people with early years could understand the nature of such emergencies, “we must return astronomy (to school).”

A year later, Tsybko, in an interview with RIA Novosti, in particular, welcomed the fact that “for the 2013/2014 academic year, the Ministry (of Education and Science - ed.) recommended astronomy to educational institutions as a separate subject,” and for the first time a separate textbook on astronomy was recommended. The senator himself considers astronomy a subject not only interesting, but also necessary for a person to develop as a person.

Astronomical difficulty

“Issues of school astronomy education are a very sensitive topic in the circles of astronomers and astronomy enthusiasts. At any conference where discussions on this issue begin, it is almost impossible to stop them. There are as many astronomers, so many opinions,” notes the Scientific Secretary of the RAS Scientific Council for Astronomy and coordinator of the astronomical Olympiads under the auspices of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Mikhail Gavrilov.

Indeed, everyone unconditionally agrees only that astronomy is an amazing science, from a closer acquaintance with which schoolchildren will only benefit. The catch here, as elsewhere, is in the details - from in what class and how this introduction should be carried out, to what is generally understood by astronomy as a school discipline.

Leading researcher at the Sternberg State Astronomical Institute (SAISH) of Moscow State University Sergei Popov, who taught astronomy at his “native” school for eight years, is convinced that as a separate subject to which obviously little time will be devoted, astronomy in school simply cannot “survive” .

“In fact, it is impossible, even at the level of teacher training, to motivate students seriously, en masse—the word “massively” is important everywhere—if a subject is taught for one hour in one class. Any similar subject will be doomed to some kind of inferior existence in the school cycle, it will always be not even the second echelon, but the last, no matter how many echelons you make,” Popov believes.

In his opinion, basic astronomical knowledge has a place in natural history, and, for example, basic astrophysical knowledge, say, about the origin chemical elements and the expansion of the Universe, can be “scattered” throughout physics and chemistry courses.

Proponents of “autonomous” astronomy object that this discipline would still be better perceived as a separate subject. In addition, they are not sure that teachers teaching other subjects, to which, in theory, expanded elements of astronomy will be “added”, in practice will not take advantage of the opportunity to arbitrarily “evict” them.

“From personal experience, such blocks are usually “swallowed.” When I was at school, astronomy was gradually disappearing, the physicist took it over and, in general, quickly abolished it. Such a system does not imply the training of individual teachers in astronomy, and therefore the teachers who will be entrusted with this as a result will be insufficiently qualified,” says Oleg Ugolnikov, a senior researcher at the Space Research Institute (IKI) of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Mikhail Gavrilov, at the same time, notes that although general education astronomy would be desirable as a separate subject in grades 8-9, in this case “wishes must correspond to capabilities.”

"Here vicious circle. Now it is simply impossible to declare astronomy a separate compulsory subject: there are no teachers. But there are no teachers, because there is no demand for the production of specialists in teaching astronomy. But there is no demand, because there is no compulsory subject,” explains Gavrilov.

The issue of compulsory astronomy as a subject has no more definite prospects, as Sergei Bogachev, an employee of the laboratory of X-ray solar astronomy of the Lebedev Physical Institute (FIAN), notes, “in an era when it is seriously discussed whether compulsory mathematics is needed in school, I will not risk insisting that Astronomy should be a compulsory subject."

“Astronomy as a separate subject is the adornment of any school. But based on reality, it is now difficult to demand this,” concludes Anatoly Zasov, head of the department of extragalactic astronomy and leading researcher at the Sternberg State Astronomical Institute (SAISH) of Moscow State University.

There's no turning back

Scientists evaluate the Soviet experience of school astronomy differently, but almost everyone agrees that the “mechanical” return of separate and compulsory lessons in the graduating class of the 1980s is impossible today and even rather harmful.

“I studied in a Soviet school in Soviet times, I have a grade in astronomy on my certificate, but I swear that it was not in my program, there were no lessons,” says Popov, calling the basic Soviet textbook on astronomy very boring and "not about that at all."

Scientific Secretary of the National Committee of Russian Astronomers, leading researcher at the Institute of Astronomy of the Russian Academy of Sciences (INASAN) Oleg Malkov recalls that his teacher knew astronomy much worse than the future scientist himself in his senior year. In his opinion, “most colleagues can say this about their teachers,” since they were often physicists who may have known their subject very well, but not astronomy.

Astronomer Leonid Elenin from the Institute of Applied Mathematics of the Russian Academy of Sciences did not like school textbooks either.

“What happened when I was in school is conceptually incorrect. Astronomy is a beautiful science, there are many secrets and amazing things. And in previous textbooks, as in the program, the emphasis was on cramming formulas and laws that are not needed. If a person does this, he will already remember and know them,” says Elenin.

In order not to raise unnecessary questions among today’s schoolchildren about the need for “formulas and laws,” the obligatory component of astronomy, in whatever form it is present in the school curriculum, is sometimes proposed to be reduced to that same descriptive astronomy, the history of science, or a very basic set of astronomical and astrophysical knowledge.

At the same time, as Malkov notes, such school astronomy will be more of a “temptation”, an invitation to a more detailed study of the science of the Universe, than a real placement of knowledge in the heads of schoolchildren.

"Catch" at the right moment

The same Malkov says that he once conducted an experiment in an audience of 100 astronomers, among whom were people “from first-year graduate students to corresponding members of the Academy of Sciences.”

"I asked the audience two questions. The first question was - did you take astronomy at school? I asked those who took astronomy in their graduating class to raise their hands. Quite a lot of hands went up, except for the youngest graduate students. After that, I asked them to leave their hands raised only those for whom it was these astronomy lessons in their senior year that influenced their choice to study astronomy. One hand remained sticking out,” says Malkov.

According to him, in nine cases out of ten, a person decides to study astronomy either substantially before his senior year, or after, when he has already graduated from school and tried himself in other “related” areas of science. According to Malkov, by the time he was in fifth grade he clearly understood that he wanted to study astronomy.

“I taught astronomy starting from the senior group of kindergarten, when my daughter was studying, and then in all grades of school, and I noticed that the main interest and desire to learn how the world, stars, planets, galaxies work was somewhere from the third from grades to eighth, in the fifth and sixth grades there is the peak interest,” Vladimir Surdin, senior researcher at the SAI MSU, supports his point of view.

Somewhere at this time, scientists believe, you need to try to “catch” the child and interest him in at least the most basic astronomical knowledge - so that later they themselves take more complex courses, including electives.

The author and presenter of the popular science project “Pocket Scientist” Ilya Kolmanovsky has no doubt that astronomy is truly interesting for children. About 20% of the questions that children and sometimes adults ask a biologist, however, turn out to be about astronomy: they turn to the “Pocket Scientist” to find out how it can be that the Universe is infinite, and “what’s next”, where was the point , where the Big Bang took place, and can we now point it with our finger. The most questions about statistics are asked by five-year-olds, children 8-9 years old, and those same “middle school students” 10-12 years old.

“Questions about astronomy come up very often, every week. I am a biologist and therefore I do not answer these questions in every issue. As a rule, when I need to answer them, I involve my colleagues, I call them, and they answer. Once I managed to ask (the famous mathematician and physicist from Oxford University - ed.) Roger Penrose to answer one of the questions on astronomy,” says Kolmanovsky.

Where does the nonsense come from?

Judging by some sociological surveys, about a third of Russians should get a “Pocket Scientist” phone. About 30% of citizens, according to VTsIOM, are not sure that in February 2013 a meteorite was in the sky over Chelyabinsk, while 1% attribute the incident to a UFO. In 2007, 28% of respondents agreed with the statement that the Sun revolves around the Earth, and in 2011 this figure was already 32%.

“I don’t believe that the issue here is only about the quality of the school curriculum. In particular, the same people who in the sixties studied in Soviet schools using very high-quality programs, then in the late 80s charged cans of water in front of the TV,” says Sergey Bogachev.

In addition, Sergei Popov recalls that such basic questions as the “relationship” of the Sun and the Earth have never been the main subject of the study of astronomy as a separate subject - claims, in his opinion, should be sent to another address.

“People have this illusion, they say, “yeah, that means there is no astronomy at school, and therefore children don’t know why it’s warm in summer and cold in winter.” This is complete stupidity, because this is not taught in the astronomy course 11 class and never studied, this is natural history, and this knowledge should have been given to children anyway,” says the scientist.

In general, astronomy, notes Anatoly Zasov, is not “a cure for all diseases, but a window to the world”: it will not be possible to force the level of astronomical literacy of all schoolchildren without exception, but it is quite possible to instill a basic culture.

Let them teach me

True, for this you still need to find “gardeners”. The already mentioned vicious circle - the optionality of astronomy leads to a shortage of teachers, which, in turn, does not allow making the subject compulsory - requires either a radical reform of the personnel training system, or an agreement that “astronomical” responsibility will fall on other teachers profiles, primarily physicists.

According to the same Levitan and Rumyantsev, until 1978, only the Gorky Pedagogical Institute trained astronomy teachers. Then there were 11 “astronomical” pedagogical universities, and by 1985 they together accepted 600 people annually for this specialization. By 1990, astronomy was taught in 166 institutes of the USSR, and teachers in the specialty “physics and astronomy” were trained in 14 pedagogical institutes. Now, notes Anatoly Zasov, the training of teachers in pedagogical universities is carried out in such a way that they “do not aim at teaching astronomy,” so the teachers themselves do not know it well.

SAI periodically conducts two-week courses in astronomy for teachers, based on the results of which it issues MSU certificates. According to Zasov, these certificates are valued in schools, but “since there is no such subject there, they (teachers) are rather reluctantly sent to these courses from schools.” The participation of Moscow teachers is supported by the city department of education, and non-resident students have to pay for courses - in 2013 it cost 12 thousand rubles.

From the point of view of personnel issues, the option of astronomy “distributed” among other courses may seem more realistic: for example, Oleg Malkov is confident that it can be implemented without fundamental changes in the teacher training system.

“Current teachers, if they do not blindly believe in astrology, will do this easily; the basic, initial things that I propose to include in a primary school physics textbook, any physics teacher knows about astronomy,” says the scientist.

“A physics teacher, a biology teacher - if they are at all cultured people, they really follow astronomy. They are interested in what planets have conditions for life - this is for a biologist, how planets move - this is interesting and understandable for a physicist,” supports this Surdin's point of view.

But teachers alone are not enough - they need appropriate educational and methodological literature. If astronomy is not “evicted” into a separate discipline, then, according to Surdin, expanding its presence in the school curriculum can be achieved through a simple modernization of existing textbooks on geography, physics and other natural science subjects. They already contain astronomical information today, but it is almost certainly outdated, the scientist emphasizes.

“They just need to be given to astronomers to look at, these textbooks, not to transfer the same outdated sections from one textbook to subsequent editions, but each time to be edited by current scientists so that they correspond to the level. Otherwise, a person watches Discovery on TV - they tell one thing, but the information is in a school textbook from 20-30 years ago. Children also notice this," says Surdin.

In the case of popular science literature, even very well published ones, you can count on some guarantee of the quality of the book if its author is a famous astronomer (for example, the same Vladimir Surdin), says Leonid Elenin. In mass editions, he said, what can only be called a “catastrophe” is often published.

“There are simply odious examples. But there are an order of magnitude more books on astrology, and, yes, many do not understand the difference between astronomy and astrology. Sometimes they ask me about the horoscope<…>When I say that I don’t do this, interest in me disappears,” laughs Elenin, the discoverer of two comets and a two-time winner of the prestigious Edgar Wilson Prize in astronomy.

“Astronomy is such a thing, it’s not chemistry, we look at the sky every day and since childhood. If a person has liked the view of the starry sky since childhood, then - again, I’m talking about myself - he will quite quickly decide to study astronomy. Into chemistry people fall in love later, after all. It’s easier to fall in love with astronomy, it’s a vibrant science,” says Malkov.

As you might expect, the absence of an astronomy lesson on the schedule does not prevent some schoolchildren from falling in love with this vibrant science. Thus, in the fall of 2013, Russian children took first place in the team competition at the International Astronomy Olympiad.

"(This is done) not thanks to, but in spite of, of course, there are simply enthusiastic children, there are nugget teachers, and it is in such centers, sometimes even unofficial, that such talents arise. Simply due to great interest and talent<…>But again, at the expense of the “top,” and the overall statistics of astronomical training, even among participants in the All-Russian Olympiad, is low,” says Ugolnikov, deputy chairman of the Methodological Commission of the All-Russian Astronomy Olympiad.

Surdin, on the contrary, believes that most schoolchildren, “despite the absence of this formally imposed subject on them, are quite familiar with astronomy.”

Schoolchildren, in general, do not pay attention, they are taught, they are not taught - if they are interested, they themselves find literature and delve into this subject,” the astronomer believes.

Over the years of debate around astronomy in schools, the situation, by general assessment, has improved somewhat: for example, more planetariums have appeared in the country, and the argument in favor of funding their construction was almost always the absence of astronomy in the school curriculum. In addition, according to Anatoly Zasov, interest in science has increased “compared to what it was, say, ten years ago.”

“Last year I was in four or five schools, talked with teachers, students and I see that there is interest, questions are asked. But the level of astronomical literacy, with some exceptions, which are everywhere, is very low,” says Zasov.

According to Popov, the issue of supporting astronomy “on the ground,” that is, in schools, can be successfully resolved at the regional and city level. Traditionally strong regions with good astronomical departments, such as, for example, St. Petersburg, Irkutsk, Novosibirsk and Karachay-Cherkessia, where the largest observatory in the country is located, can “organize themselves.”

“Astronomy can be used as a good motivator. Why don’t you tell children that they actually work here nearby, not somewhere far away in Moscow, but good scientists work nearby with good instruments? And this can be done quite cheaply, as a rule, because scientists are ready to do something for a moderate formal remuneration, to do some courses at the local level, to prepare teaching aids aimed directly at the activities of the people who work there,” says the astrophysicist.

Popov names astronomy at school unique opportunity, which is very difficult to use and even more so to formalize - in his opinion, “it’s difficult to take the average graduate of a teacher training university and say, ‘Here you go, teach the subject.’” But if you have a good teacher who is passionate about the subject, studying astronomy becomes a “terribly rewarding” endeavor.

“I would urge all school directors, parent committees, boards of trustees, if they know that there is a person who can do this, they should do it, because this is a terribly rewarding task, a unique combination of good natural science, real, with a very stormy modern development and very bright material,” says the scientist.

I order:

Approve the attached ones, which are included in the federal component of state educational standards of primary general, basic general and secondary (complete) general education, approved by order of the Ministry of Education Russian Federation dated March 5, 2004 N 1089, as amended by orders of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation dated June 3, 2008 N 164, dated August 31, 2009 N 320, dated October 19, 2009 N 427, dated November 10 2011 N 2643, dated January 24, 2012 N 39 and dated January 31, 2012 N 69 and dated June 23, 2015 N 609.

Application

APPROVED
Ministry of Education
and science of the Russian Federation
dated June 7, 2017 N 506

Changes,
which are included in the federal component of state educational standards of primary general, basic general and secondary (complete) general education, approved by order of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation dated March 5, 2004 N 1089

1. In Part II “Secondary (complete) general education”:

1.1. In the "General Provisions" section:

a) in paragraph twelve, after the word “Physics,” add the word “Astronomy,”;

b) paragraph thirteen should be stated as follows:

"The academic subjects Astronomy and Natural Science are presented only at the basic level. At the choice of the educational institution, the academic subject Natural Science can be studied instead of the basic level academic subjects Physics, Chemistry and Biology.";

c) in paragraph fourteen, after the words “Physical culture”, add the word “Astronomy”.

1.2. After the section “Standard of secondary (complete) general education in physics” add the following section:

"Standard of secondary (complete) general education in astronomy

A basic level of

The study of astronomy at the basic level of secondary (complete) general education is aimed at achieving the following goals:

awareness of the fundamental role of astronomy in the knowledge of the fundamental laws of nature and the formation of a modern natural scientific picture of the world;

acquiring knowledge about the physical nature of celestial bodies and systems, the structure and evolution of the Universe, the spatial and temporal scales of the Universe, the most important astronomical discoveries that determined the development of science and technology;

mastering the skills to explain the apparent position and movement of celestial bodies using the principles of determining location and time using astronomical objects, skills in the practical use of computer applications to determine the appearance of the starry sky at a specific point for a given time;

development of cognitive interests, intellectual and creativity in the process of acquiring knowledge in astronomy using various sources of information and modern information technologies;

using acquired knowledge and skills to solve practical problems of everyday life;

formation of a scientific worldview;

developing skills in using natural science and especially physical and mathematical knowledge for an objective analysis of the structure of the surrounding world using the example of the achievements of modern astrophysics, astronomy and cosmonautics.

Mandatory minimum content of basic educational programs

Subject of astronomy

The role of astronomy in the development of civilization. The evolution of man's views on the Universe. Geocentric and heliocentric systems. Features of methods of cognition in astronomy. Practical use astronomical research. History of the development of domestic cosmonautics. The first artificial satellite of the Earth, flight of Yu.A. Gagarin. Achievements of modern cosmonautics.

Fundamentals of practical astronomy

Celestial sphere. Special points of the celestial sphere. Celestial coordinates. Star map, constellations, use of computer applications to display the starry sky. Apparent magnitude. Daily movement of the luminaries. The relationship between the apparent location of objects in the sky and the geographic coordinates of the observer. The movement of the Earth around the Sun. Apparent movement and phases of the Moon. Solar and lunar eclipses. Time and calendar.

Laws of motion of celestial bodies

Structure and scope solar system. Configuration and visibility conditions of planets. Methods for determining distances to solar system bodies and their sizes. Celestial mechanics. Kepler's laws. Determination of the masses of celestial bodies. Movement of artificial celestial bodies.

solar system

Origin of the Solar System. The Earth - Moon system. Terrestrial planets. Giant planets. Satellites and rings of planets. Small bodies of the Solar system. Asteroid danger.

Methods of astronomical research

Electromagnetic radiation, cosmic rays and gravitational waves as a source of information about the nature and properties of celestial bodies. Ground and space telescopes, the principle of their operation. Spacecraft. Spectral analysis. Doppler effect. Wien's law of displacement. Stefan-Boltzmann law.

Stars

Stars: basic physical and chemical characteristics and their mutual relationships. A variety of stellar characteristics and their patterns. Determination of distance to stars, parallax. Double and multiple stars. Extrasolar planets. The problem of the existence of life in the Universe. Internal structure and energy sources of stars. Origin of chemical elements. Variable and flare stars. Brown dwarfs. The evolution of stars, its stages and final stages.

The structure of the Sun and the solar atmosphere. Manifestations of solar activity: spots, flares, prominences. Periodicity of solar activity. The role of magnetic fields on the Sun. Solar-terrestrial connections.

Our Galaxy - Milky Way

Composition and structure of the Galaxy. Star clusters. Interstellar gas and dust. Rotation of the Galaxy. Dark matter.

Galaxies. Structure and evolution of the Universe

Discovery of other galaxies. The variety of galaxies and their main characteristics. Supermassive black holes and galactic activity. Concept of cosmology. Redshift. Hubble's law. Evolution of the Universe. Big Bang. CMB radiation. Dark energy.

Requirements for the level of training of graduates

As a result of studying astronomy at a basic level, the student should:

know/understand:

the meaning of the concepts: geocentric and heliocentric system, apparent magnitude, constellation, oppositions and conjunctions of planets, comet, asteroid, meteor, meteorite, meteoroid, planet, satellite, star, Solar system, Galaxy, Universe, universal and standard time, extrasolar planet ( exoplanet), spectral classification of stars, parallax, cosmic microwave background radiation, Big Bang, black hole;

the meaning of physical quantities: parsec, light year, astronomical unit, magnitude;

the meaning of Hubble's physical law;

main stages of space exploration;

hypotheses of the origin of the solar system;

main characteristics and structure of the Sun, solar atmosphere;

the size of the Galaxy, the position and period of revolution of the Sun relative to the center of the Galaxy;

give examples: the role of astronomy in the development of civilization, the use of research methods in astronomy, various ranges of electromagnetic radiation to obtain information about the objects of the Universe, obtaining astronomical information using spacecraft and spectral analysis, the influence of solar activity on the Earth;

describe and explain: differences in calendars, conditions for the occurrence of solar and lunar eclipses, phases of the Moon, daily movements of the stars, causes of ebb and flow; the operating principle of an optical telescope, the relationship between the physical and chemical characteristics of stars using the color-luminosity diagram, physical reasons, which determine the equilibrium of stars, the source of stellar energy and the origin of chemical elements, red shift using the Doppler effect;

characterize the features of methods of knowledge of astronomy, the main elements and properties of the planets of the solar system, methods for determining the distances and linear dimensions of celestial bodies, possible paths of evolution of stars of various masses;

find the main constellations of the Northern Hemisphere in the sky, including: Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Bootes, Cygnus, Cassiopeia, Orion; the brightest stars, including: Polaris, Arcturus, Vega, Capella, Sirius, Betelgeuse;

use computer applications to determine the position of the Sun, Moon and stars on any date and time of day for a given locality;

use acquired knowledge and skills in practical activities and everyday life for:

understanding the relationship of astronomy with other sciences, which are based on knowledge of astronomy, separating it from pseudosciences;

evaluating information contained in media reports, the Internet, and popular science articles."

1.3. In the section "Standard of secondary (complete) general education in natural science" (basic level):

a) in the third paragraph of the position “Modern natural scientific knowledge about the world” of the subsection “Mandatory minimum content of basic educational programs”, the words “Evolution of the Universe (big bang, recession of galaxies, Evolution of stars and planets, Solar system)” should be deleted;

b) in the subsection “Requirements for the level of training of graduates” (basic level):

in the position “know/understand” the words “evolution of the Universe, big bang, solar system, galaxy,” exclude;

in the position “to be able to”, exclude the words “scattering of galaxies”.

2. In subsection "2. Federal component of the state standard of general education in the context of modernization Russian education" section "Explanatory Note":

a) in the twentieth paragraph after the word “Physics,” add the word “Astronomy”;

b) add a new paragraph twenty-two as follows:

"Astronomy - introduced as a separate academic subject aimed at studying the achievements of modern science and technology, forming the foundations of knowledge about the methods and results of scientific research, the fundamental laws of the nature of celestial bodies and the Universe as a whole";

c) paragraphs twenty-two - twenty-six shall be considered paragraphs twenty-third - twenty-seven, respectively.

Document overview

The standard of secondary (complete) general education in astronomy has been approved. This is due to the introduction of astronomy as a separate academic subject.

The mandatory minimum content of basic educational programs and requirements for the level of training of graduates have been determined.

Will the number of hours allocated to astronomy somehow affect the quality of teaching, why a physicist is not suitable for teaching astronomy, and how well-thought-out was the decision to return astronomy lessons to school?

Today, the Minister of Education and Science of the Russian Federation Olga Vasilyeva about the return of astronomy to high school. The item, which was removed six years ago, will appear in the program in September. However, this will take place in “economy mode”: physics teachers will teach astronomy, and no additional hours will be allocated for it.

“Let me remind you that starting this year, an astronomy course is being introduced into the school curriculum. This is not surprising, astronomy was taught in a physics course, we have textbooks, they have always been on the federal list, physics teachers are ready for the fact that they will teach this course no longer as part of the subject “Physics”, but as part of astronomy separately . There are no hourly changes,” the minister noted.

Previously, the ministry developed amendments to the Federal State Educational Standard (FSES) for secondary general education, in which, in particular, a proposal was put forward to introduce a list of requirements for what schoolchildren should learn in astronomy lessons. So, at a basic level, according to the project, students must gain an understanding of the structure of the solar system, the evolution of stars and the Universe, and know basic astronomical terms. At an in-depth level, schoolchildren must understand the connection between physical laws discovered in terrestrial conditions and phenomena in the Universe.

the site surveyed astronomers, physics teachers and school administrators to find out what they thought about this measure.

Georgy Arabuli, physics teacher at the Second School Lyceum (Moscow):

“When astronomy classes were canceled a few years ago, it was a big tragedy. The Olympic movement remains, but the subject seems to be gone. And the children study only in clubs, and in the lessons astronomy only came up in a few physics lessons - in examples. Therefore, the news about her return is good.

But there are pitfalls here, because a physics teacher must teach. It's like MHC (global artistic culture, - approx. website) taught by a literature teacher who is not perfectly versed in MHC. Astronomy should be taught by an astronomer, not a physicist. At my school there is an astronomer, there is someone to assign and lead. But in most schools this will be a big problem.

And the idea of ​​taking a clock from physics is completely sad. In Soviet times, four lessons per week were allocated for physics, and the program was built on this basis. Now the program has remained the same, but the time has been reduced to two hours a week. There’s no time to take hours away from physics.”

Oleg Ugolnikov, senior researcher at the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, deputy chairman of the Central Subject-Methodological Commission for Astronomy of the All-Russian Olympiad for Schoolchildren:

“Unfortunately, I was not involved in any way in the process of returning astronomy to school. I'm not sure that the adopted scheme will be viable. In our opinion, astronomy should have been introduced as a separate course for a year and no later than in grades 7-8. And it is returned as an application to physics in the 11th, absolutely in the same form as in last years Soviet Union. And all the problems will repeat. Teachers will use this hour to additional classes in physics, and the children will completely agree with them, because the problems they face are completely different.”

Evgeny Yamburg, director of Education Center No. 109 (Moscow):

“Personally, I don’t see any threat or danger here, it’s a normal measure. And as for the fact that teachers consider it half-hearted, that not enough hours are allocated for astronomy... Each subject student is a tunneler, to use a metaphor. Give me three hundred hours of history! Three hundred hours of physics! I’ll tell you more: I have a whole unit - children who are being treated for oncology, with kidneys on hemodialysis. There is a very strict medical protocol, they cannot be overloaded. Nevertheless, they successfully pass the State Examination, the Unified State Exam, and enter universities. This means that it is not a matter of the number of hours, but of the teaching technology.

But at the same time, you must have a basic understanding of astronomy. Otherwise, according to our data sociological research, almost 60% believe that the Sun revolves around the Earth. But there are general cultural ideas, and there are subtleties that are needed by those who have decided to connect their fate with this specialty.”

Sergey Popov, astrophysicist, popularizer of science, leading researcher at the State Astronomical Institute named after P.K. Sternberg:

“This is too much of a cavalry attack on the question. Such a drastic measure as the introduction of a compulsory subject in school requires serious preparation. In this case, it seems to me, it was not there; the decision looks ill-conceived. Therefore, I think that in the vast majority of schools this will be profanity. And one more thing: it is still unknown in which class astronomy will be, it is difficult to comment. But if this happens in my senior year, I remain opposed to such a measure.”

Sergey Danilov, teacher of physics and astronomy (St. Petersburg):

“It’s still not very clear to me where the hours and teachers will come from. They say they will be retrained. Again the question is: who exactly? And one more important question: the textbook. Vorontsov-Velyaminov? Even in our time, more than a hundred errors were found in it.”