Free teacher training with the Royal Observatory Greenwich

We offer FREE training for teachers and also trainee teachers of primary and secondary science. This programme has been developed in collaboration with our Royal Observatory Greenwich Teacher Forum which is made up of teachers, trainee teachers and teacher trainers.

What do we offer?

All of our sessions are delivered by one of the Royal Observatory Greenwich astronomers. For the 2023-24 academic year, we've planned to run our sessions onsite but can also deliver sessions digitally via Zoom or Teams.

Primary teacher training

We have two different training sessions:

Identifying and correcting misconceptions

In this session, teachers will focus on some common misconceptions that arise when teaching astronomy and space science and discuss the correct science behind them. Although we welcome experienced teachers to take this session, we recommend this as an Initial Teacher Training (ITT) session to help those new to the profession build their confidence and knowledge.

Effective ways of teaching astronomy

This session will focus on how educators can most effectively teach difficult curriculum-related astronomy and space science concepts. With a strong emphasis on sharing best practice, participants will look at practical ways of demonstrating and teaching the subject. Although teachers in training can take this session, it is designed as for Continued Professional Development (CPD) making it better suited to experienced teachers looking to strengthen their teaching practice.

Secondary teacher training

We have two different training sessions:

Using astronomy as the context

In this session, teachers will use an astronomy topic to explore how curriculum science (biology, chemistry and physics) can be taught in a more engaging way. Sprinkled with some practical demonstration ideas, this session is ideal for those looking for Initial Teacher Training (ITT) or for a group of mixed science teaching specialisms.

Real science and real data

Alike to the other secondary teacher training session, participants will look at how curriculum science can be taught using the context of astronomy. However this session will focus on and include recent research showing actual data to highlight the importance of errors and the real world applications of the science. Due to the more advanced nature of this session, we recommend this as Continued Professional Development (CPD) for experienced teachers looking to take their teaching to the next level or for a group of physics teachers.

During each of our training sessions, you will:

Build and reinforce your astronomy and science knowledge to give you more confidence in teaching the topic.
Be introduced to resources that can help you tackle tricky space topics.
Have an opportunity to ask the astronomer any further questions about teaching astronomy or solidifying your space knowledge.
Be led through the observatory’s schools offer for students and teachers and find out what makes our programme so special.

How long are the sessions?

Each session lasts one hour.

How can I book a session?

If you would like to book a group session please contact ROGSchools@rmg.co.uk for more details. Remember we are often able to accommodate bookings on school training days too so there are lots of options.

I am not part of a group, can I still book a training place?

We do not take individual bookings for teacher training sessions unfortunately, so would encourage you to look within your school for other members of staff that would also like to come along, or you can team up with teachers from other schools as an alternative option. If you are unable to make up a full group, please contact us about joining our teacher forum where we can also offer you support.