Aids to the Teaching of Nautical Astronomy and its History from 1600

• Autores: Alston Kennerley, Percy Seymour
• Localización: Paedagogica Historica: International journal of the history of education, ISSN 0030-9230, Vol. 36, Nº. 1, 2000 (Ejemplar dedicado a: The challenge of the visual in the history of education), págs. 151-175
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • A knowledge of nautical astronomy became essential to navigators of ships with the development of oceanic navigation in the sixteenth century. As an advanced subject it was not only at the forefront of applied scientific research for three centuries, but also became one of the earliest vocational subjects to be developed and taught as a school subject. This paper addresses some of the problems faced by the mathematicians, astronomers, instrument makers and teachers in making the subject accessible to sea-going navigators, and in particular the development of teaching aids to assist the interchangeable conceptualisation of geocentricity and heliocentricity. The authors argue that these concepts are essentially unchanging and that the teachers� problem in conveying an understanding is the same now as at 1600. But although mechanical teaching aids, diagrams and descriptions also remain valid, modem electronic visual devices make a significant contribution to the process of conceptualisation. Contexts are set through discussions of mathematics, navigational practice, instruments, data sources, etc., and of theoretical universe models and the related instruments. The paper then discusses the development of navigation schools, teaching equipment, text books and teaching methods over the same period