Teaching, learning, and organising in an informal, urban astronomy movement: Describing a nonhierarchical, democratic #popscope pedagogy and practice

This article theorises a #popscope pedagogy and practice that describes the teaching, learning, and organising that occur in an informal, urban sidewalk astronomy movement. This approach may be seen as a “best practice” that may guide similar urban astronomy outreach initiatives. #popscope is a completely volunteer-run urban astronomy group founded in 2014 that has hosted over 500 events and served more than 20,000 guests in North America and around the world. By democratising astronomical knowledge, strengthening social connectedness, and using public spaces, #popscope shares goals and activities with other sidewalk astronomy events such as “star parties” but with an additional, intentional focus on overlooked urban communities and the creation of non-hierarchical learning spaces. So theorised, #popscope pedagogy and practice comprise many characteristics of informal or free-choice learning, hybrid in-person and online learning, joy-centred learning and teaching, and affinity spaces. “Affinity spaces” (e.g., Gee, 2004), a description of informal, non-hierarchical learning spaces outside of traditional schooling, offer a useful frame for bringing elements of a #popscope pedagogy together. The manuscript relies on the author’s reflections on #popscope activities, as well as analysis of #popscope organisational media and literature. In addition, the article presents counterpoints, such as the limits of equitable astronomy outreach, the risk of science misinformation in informal spaces, and the role of informal learning in the classroom.