Margaret Mazzolini

Assessment techniques in an online astronomy course

Teaching an astronomy course online involves many challenges. One major challenge is the design of appropriate, practical and challenging forms of assessment which focus both on the astronomy content of the course and on the particular astronomy interests of the enrollees. This paper will discuss the assessment approaches we have chosen for our introductory-level subjects, the outcomes obtained and the reactions of the course participants. In particular, some of the wide variety of project work undertaken by the participants will be described.

Astro Concepts : Learning Underlying Physics Principles in Conceptual Astronomy

Astro Concepts is a project within Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne developing browser-based software modules on Optical Telescopes, Nebulae and Binary Stars. The modules are designed to enhance students’ understanding of basic physics concepts, which underlie introductory-level conceptual astronomy courses. When complete, the Astro Concepts modules will be available for use in university courses in introductory astronomy, introductory physics teaching, secondary teaching and online astronomy education. The strategy outlined here is to obtain a reasonable level of understanding of the necessary physics concepts by presenting them embedded in relevant and interesting astronomy contexts, and by the use of an engaging educational approach requiring active learning by the student.