1) The document summarizes discussions and progress from the GHOU Conference in August 2015. It highlights successes in getting students interested in astronomy through using GHOU materials globally, with over 10,000 teachers trained and 500,000 students reached annually. 2) It outlines hopes for strengthening collaboration between GHOU partners and moving effectively into the future. Key factors that bind the collaboration are the educational power of astronomy and evidence that students learn science well with GHOU. 3) Examples of successes include GHOU being added to national curricula in France and regional curricula in Bavaria. Studies show GHOU improves test scores for English learners and lower-SES students in California and Chile.

1. GHOU: Steady Progress and
and With Some Effort, Good
futures!
Carl Pennypacker
President, GHOU Permanent Council
GHOU Conference, August 4 , 2015

2. Thanks to:
1) Ms. Bonnie Thurber
Northwestern University and
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
2) Ms. Mary Anne Kadooka
Hawaii
3) Roy Gal, Institute for Astronomy
4) Institute for Astronomy Directorate,
Staff and colleauges

3. Five Stories:
• Billy and Chris in Atherton, Queensland Australia want to study Black Holes. Carl
finds them Cyg X-1 papers, and also gets them time on LCOGT network, with kind
help of Edward Gomez. They will probably get some of the better charaterizations
of Cyg X-1 to date.
• Matthew Casey’s students in San Francisco learning GHOU, and using
Suzanne et Michel Fayes Black Holes units!
• We have many eager workshop presenters at this conference – schedulers had to
give less time to workshops than presenters wanted
• Some of us just came from a “Revive US HOU Meeting.” Revival now in process!!
• At dinner last night, I asked Sergio if we could get ALMA images and units. He said
“Of course – that is the plan….”
• Rosa Doran trained 300 new teachers and had micro-workshops with 500 teachers

4. My Hopes for the
Structure of Meeting:
1) Learning how we can communicate and
be a lot more cohesive as a
collaboration!
2) How to move together more effectively
and with greater power into the Future!

5. What Binds Us Together?
• Faith in Astronomy as a Transformative Education Tool!
• Our personal experience and growing evidence
That kids learn science ,math, and technology really well
With GHOU!
• Faith that Teachers want and need us
• Effectiveness and amazing things many of us have done
• Our own wonder and amazement at our system, how we positively
affect students and teachers, and the great road behind and ahead.

6. Reflections on Some Heritage
• Students and Teachers need GHOU
Because just about every time we test or evaluate, we find:
- Students are more excited about science and math
compared to normal science courses
- Students are learning more (generally)
• Most Administrators, scientists and Government people
don’t understand this YET, but we must gently and slowly
covert them, and more will appreciate GHOU-- resistance is
futile!
• But we need to make an overwhelming case, and still do
things without money.

7. Look at What We Can Do!
HOU US Teacher Glenn Reagan, Silicon II filter images
(C-14 GHOU Telescope in Perth, Australia)

8. Some Startling Successes:
• Started in United States, and Spread to
Sweden, Japan, France, Germany, and other
Early-adopter nations. With Rosa, got GTTP Landslide:
• We have run out of nations, but still need to understand
how to make GHOU stronger now in all of our nations.
• Ideas: Build base of evidence, then market GHOU!!

9. We have positively impacted
millions of children and 10’s of
thousands of teachers
• And:
~ 10,000- 20,000 teachers around the world
trained and using GHOU materials -> > 500,000
students a year using GHOU. (French connection
still underway – will be huge!!….)
- Developed a world leading use of technology,
data bases, teacher training, inspiration, etc.
- We are still all here in GHOU, voting with our
hearts and minds

10. Some Succeses:
• GHOU is part of French National Curriculum, Teacher
training exit exams and student exit exams
• GHOU is part of Bavarian State Science Curriculum text
book
• We have developed a world leading use of technology,
data bases, teacher training, inspiration, etc
• We were using “Big Data” before Sergey Brin was out of
kindergarden, almost…. (Google Co-founder)
• We are still all here in GHOU, voting with our hearts and
minds

11. Some Examples
8 Evidence of test score improvement amongst English-
Language Learners in California:

12. Some Examples
8 Evidence of test score improvement Chilean Lower SES
students:

13. Some Examples
Legacy Attitude Shifts/Improvements Compared to Other
Sciences:

14. Reflections on What We Got:
• Amazing resources – Salsa J, Stellarium, Telescope
networks, activities, teacher training workshops systems,
telecommunications and collaboration building tools, etc.
• The most amazing data in the
Universe – the Universe!
• Fantastic people dedicated to making
GHOU work in their nations and around
the world
• Support of IAU and other organizations

15. Some Examples
From Rockman Report on US HOU:
Students would tend consider careers in Science and
Technology after HOU, when before HOU they would not.

16. Fund Raising
• Help pay for meetings and workshops in many nations
• Give some coordination and management
• Some private foundations in US support this kind of work!

17. Action: What We Might Do:
• Every six weeks or so, a GHOU leadership Zoom or Skype Meeting
• Recruit young teachers!!
∞ Try to hold workshops without anyone’s support
• Try to get some funding for workshops to build core materials
• Continually grow evidence that we are succeeding!! Student and teacher
testimonials, test scored, interviews with students, press reports…
• Pay your GHOU dues and make GHOU stronger!