Jeffrey P. Adams

Research on a Lecture-Tutorial Approach to Teaching Introductory Astronomy for Non-Science Majors

The Lecture-Tutorial curriculum development project produced a set of 29 learner-centered classroom instructional materials for a large- enrollment introductory astronomy survey course for non-science majors. The Lecture-Tutorials are instructional materials intended for use by collaborative student learning groups, and are designed to be integrated into existing courses with conventional lectures. These instructional materials offer classroom-ready learner-centered activities that do not require any outside equipment or drastic course revision for implementation. Each 15-minute Lecture-Tutorial poses a sequence of conceptually challenging, Socratic dialogue-driven questions, along with graphs and data tables, all designed to encourage students to reason critically about difficult concepts in astronomy. The materials are based on research into student beliefs and reasoning difficulties, and use proven instructional strategies. The Lecture-Tutorials have been field- tested for effectiveness at various institutions, which represent a wide range of student populations and instructional settings. In addition to materials development, a second effort of this project focused on the assessment of changes in students’ conceptual understanding and attitudes toward learning astronomy as a result of both lecture and the subsequent use of Lecture-Tutorials. Quantitative and qualitative assessments were completed using a precourse,

Pre-course Results from the Astronomy Diagnostic Test

We present selected results from the January 1999 semester pre-course administration of the Astronomy Diagnostic Test (ADT), a research-based, multiple-choice instrument that assesses student knowledge and understanding about selected concepts in astronomy. The ADT is valid for undergraduate non-science majors taking an introductory astronomy course. This paper briefly summarises the development and validation processes, which included pre-course administration to 1557 students in 22 classes attending 17 various post-secondary institutions across the USA in the January 1999 semester. Two interesting results of the ADT’s pre-course administration are (1) the average class score of the ADT is about the same (32%) regardless of type of post-secondary institution or class size and (2) there is a significant gender difference, with women scoring an average of 28% and men 38%, with the standard errors both less than 1%. The current version of the ADT (Version 2 dated 21 June 1999) and a comparative by-class database is available to astronomy instructors at the (USA) Association of Astronomy Educators’ and the National Institute for Science Education’s (NISE) WebPages.

What topics are taught in introductory astronomy courses

So, just what is it that people teach in ASTRO 101? Very likely the astronomy-naive physicist will have to figure that out “on the run” and perhaps alone. There are lifelines, however.

Astronomy in the National Science Education Standards

The NRC National Science Education Standards provide a framework to design curriculum for K-12 astronomy education. At grades K-4, students should be learning about the objects and motions in the sky from a geocentric perspective. At grades 5–8, students should be learning about the motions of the solar system from a heliocentric perspective. At grades 9–12, students should be learning about stellar evolution and the structure of the Universe. In support of instruction, an extensive review of the literature demonstrates that existing research on student learning addresses only a small subset of the astronomy objectives prescribed by the NSES and does not address age-appropriate conceptual development. A need exists to develop and rigorously assess a collection of age-appropriate assessment instruments based on research into student understanding of fundamental astronomical concepts. These instruments would serve to clearly define the expected cognitive levels of the specific NSES objectives and provide a means of assessing curricular materials that claim to be aligned with the NSES. Because of the complex nature of these concepts, the scientific community must be active participants in this process.

Mathematical Reasoning Over Arithmetic in Introductory Astronomy

Paper presents a rationale and strategies for including quantitative reasoning in introductory astronomy courses for nonscience majors without focusing on computations.

Gender differences with batteries and bulbs

This study explores student performance on a simple hands-on activity commonly referred to as “batteries and bulbs.” A large population of introductory calculus-based physics students formed the subject group. Special consideration was given to gender differences in success rates.

Stellar bar codes

This note describes an inquiry-based collaborative group activity that allows students to discover the connection between stellar spectra and temperatures using simulated stellar spectra.