Timothy F. Slater

A Review of Astronomy Education Research

The field of astronomy education is rapidly growing beyond merely sharing effective activities or curriculum ideas. This paper categorizes and summarizes the literature in astronomy education research and contains more than 100 references to articles, books, and Web-based materials. Research into student understanding on a variety of topics now occupies a large part of the literature. Topics include the shape of Earth and gravity, lunar phases, seasons, astrobiology, and cosmology. The effectiveness of instructional methods is now being tested systematically, taking data beyond the anecdotal with powerful research designs and statistical analyses. Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed- methods approaches have found their places in the researcher’s toolbox. In all cases, the connection between the research performed and its effect on classroom instruction is largely lacking.

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,

Development and Validation of the Light and Spectroscopy Concept Inventory.

This article describes the development and validation of the Light and Spectroscopy Concept Inventory (LSCI), a 26-item diagnostic test designed (1) to measure students’ conceptual understanding of topics related to light and spectroscopy, and (2) to evaluate the effectiveness of instructional interventions in promoting meaningful learning gains in an introductory college astronomy course. We also present the final field- tested version of the LSCI for general use by the astronomy education community.

Impact of Backwards Faded Scaffolding in an Astronomy Course for Pre-service Elementary Teachers based on Inquiry

In response to national reform movements calling for future teachers to be prepared to design and deliver science instruction using the principles of inquiry, we created and evaluated a specially designed course for pre-service elementary education undergraduates based upon an inquiry-oriented teaching approach framed by the notions of backwards faded-scaffolding as an overarching theme for instruction. Students completed both structured- and open-inquiry projects and presented the results of their investigations several times throughout the semester. Using a single-group, multiple-measures, quasi-experimental design, students demonstrated enhanced content knowledge of astronomy and inquiry as well as attitudes and self-efficacy toward teaching.

Analysis of the Astronomy Diagnostic Test

Seventy undergraduate class sections were examined from the database of Astronomy Diagnostic Test (ADT) results of Deming and Hufnagel to determine if course format correlated with ADT normalized gain scores. Normalized gains were calculated for four different classroom scenarios: lecture, lecture with discussion, lecture with lab, and lecture with both lab and discussion. Statistical analysis shows that there are no significant differences in normalized gain among the self- reported classroom formats. Prerequisites related to mathematics courses did show differences in normalized gain. Of all reported course activities, only the lecture and the readings for the course correlate significantly with the normalized gain. This analysis suggests that the ADT may not have enough sensitivity to measure differences in the effectiveness of different course formats because of the wide range of topics that the ADT addresses with few questions. Different measures of gain and their biases are discussed. We argue that the use of the normalized gain is not always warranted because of its strong bias toward high pretest scores.

Resource Letter AER-1: Astronomy education research

This Resource Letter guides the reader, whom we assume to be interested in the teaching and learning of astronomy, to the literature on astronomy education research. Journal articles and books are cited for the following topics: astronomy teaching resources; student understanding of astronomy topics, such as the nature of science in the context of astronomy, diurnal motion, seasons, lunar phases, Earth’s shape and gravity, the solar system, stars, galaxies, cosmology, and astrobiology; and the effectiveness of instructional interventions.

Development and Validation of the Star Properties Concept Inventory

Concept inventories (CIs)—typically multiple-choice instruments that focus on a single or small subset of closely related topics—have been used in science education for more than a decade. This paper describes the development and validation of a new CI for astronomy, the Star Properties Concept Inventory (SPCI). Questions cover the areas of stellar properties (focussing primarily on mass, temperature, luminosity, and lifetime), nuclear fusion, and star formation. Distracters were developed from known alternative conceptions and reasoning difficulties commonly held by students. The SPCI was tested through an iterative process where different testing formats (open-ended, multiple-choice + explain, and multiple-choice) were compared to ensure that the distracters were in fact the most common among the testing population. Content validity was established through expert reviews by 26 astronomy instructors. The SPCI Version 3 was then tested in multiple introductory undergraduate astronomy courses for non-science majors. Post-test scores (out of 23 possible) were significantly greater (M = 11.8, SD = 3.87) than the pre-test scores (M = 7.09, SD = 2.73). The low post-test score—only 51.3%—could indicate a need for changing instructional strategies on the topics of stars and star formation.

College Students' Preinstructional Ideas About Stars and Star Formation

Abstract This study Note 1 investigated the beliefs about stars that students hold when they enter an undergraduateintroductory astronomy course for nonscience majors. Students’ preinstructional ideas were investigated throughthe use of several student-supplied-response SSR surveys, which asked students to describe their ideasabout topics such as what is a star, how is starlight created, how are stars formed, are all stars the same, andmore. The results from more than 2,200 responses suggest that although students often have some initialknowledge about stars, their knowledge is often incomplete or incorrect in important ways that could negativelyimpact instructional objectives. 1. INTRODUCTION As we look into the sky during the daytime, what we see is dominated by the incredibly bright Sun. In theSun’s absence, we see points of light—virtually all of which are stars. The Sun, our closest star, plays atremendous role in the physical processes on Earth, which allow life to exist. Furthermore, the presenceand patterns of stars have played important roles in human beliefs, primarily through religions, calendars, andmythologies. A tremendous number of stars populate the universe, and the study of their nature and evolutionis a primary subdiscipline of astronomy. Given the importance of stars in our cultural and scientific history, itshould come as no surprise that stars are considered a central topic in astronomy.From a survey of U.S. college syllabi available on the Internet at that time, Slater

Dynamics of a Constructivist Astronomy Course for In-service Teachers

Constructivist instructional strategies have been shown to be effective with K-16 students. Twenty-five in-service elementary and middle-school science teachers were taught astronomy using a constructivist strategy to determine its effectiveness in teacher enhancement. The teachers were monitored for changes in affective and cognitive domains during a 15-week special astronomy course. Quantitative measurement instruments and qualitative data analysis showed that the teacher-participants, who were exposed to the constructivist instructional environment, had significantly improved attitudes toward teaching astronomy and had made significant gains in knowledge of astronomy. These observations strongly suggest that using a constructivist instructional strategy in teacher-enhancement programs can create an effective learning environment for teachers that increases subject-matter knowledge and simultaneously improves attitudes, values, and interest levels.

The Need for a Light and Spectroscopy Concept Inventory for Assessing Innovations in Introductory Astronomy Survey Courses

In this era of dramatically increased astronomy education research efforts, there is a growing need for standardized evaluation protocols and a strategy to assess both student comprehension of fundamental concepts and the success of innovative instructional interventions. Of the many topics that could be taught in an introductory astronomy course, the nature of light and the electromagnetic spectrum is by far the most universally covered topic. Yet, to the surprise and disappointment of instructors, many students struggle to understand underlying fundamental concepts related to light, such as blackbody radiation, Wien’s law, the Stefan-Boltzmann law, and the nature and causes of emission and absorption line spectra. Motivated by predecessor instruments such as the Force Concept Inventory (FCI), the Astronomy Diagnostic Test (ADT), and the Lunar Phases Concept Inventory (LPCI), we call for, and are working on, the development and validation of a Light and Spectroscopy Concept Inventory. This assessment instrument should measure students’ conceptual understanding of light and spectroscopy and gauge the effectiveness of classroom instruction in promoting student learning in the introductory astronomy survey course.