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Learner-Centered College Astronomy Teaching
Astronomy provides a unique environment for teaching the excitement of scientific inquiry to students. At the same time, high quality astronomy teaching presents an ardent challenge because students who most often elect to take astronomy courses are frequently apprehensive of science and mathematics courses in general. Sponsored by the NASA JPL Navigator and SIRTF EPO Programs and the National Science Foundation, these two- and three-day, interactive teaching excellence workshops focus on dilemmas astronomy teachers face and develop practical solutions for the troubling issues in curriculum, instruction, and assessment. In the workshops, after reviewing the latest research about how students learn, participants define and set measurable student learning goals and objectives for students in their astronomy courses. To improve instruction, participants learn how to create productive learning environments by using interactive lectures, peer instruction, engaging demonstrations, collaborative groups, and tutorials. Participants also learn how to write more effective multiple-choice tests and implement authentic assessment strategies including portfolio assessment, performance tasks, and concept maps with the goal of constructing a syllabus and assignments that improve student achievement. Materials presented include resources from: (i) Learner-Centered Astronomy Teaching, Slater & Adams, Prentice Hall, 2002; (ii) Great Ideas for Teaching Astronomy, Pompea, Brooks Cole, 2000; (iii) Lecture-Tutorials for Introductory Astronomy, Adams, Prather, & Slater, Prentice Hall, 2002; and (iv) Insights into the Universe, Slater & Zeilik, AAPT Press, 2003. PRESENTERS: The presenters Ed Prather and Tim Slater are astronomers in the Conceptual Astronomy and Physics Education Research (CAPER) Team at University of Arizona's Steward Observatory where their scholarship focuses on the teaching and learning of astronomy. The workshop leaders have published numerous articles and books on active learning in astronomy and have coordinated curriculum development and professional development projects for professional societies, NASA, and the National Science Foundation. Additional presenters will also participate. COSTS: Participants are responsible for their own travel and lodging expenses. The majority of costs are being borne by the participating professional societies, the NASA JPL Navigator and SIRTF EPO Programs, and the National Science Foundation. You do not need to be a member of a professional society to attend the workshops. PREREGISTRATION & REGISTRATION: Pre-registration varies by location. You should email your name, institutional contact information, and email address to: caper@as.arizona.edu and the specific workshop dates and locations you wish to attend. It is strongly recommended that you attend ALL days of the workshop. Please visit the Center for Astronomy Education website for Registration & Accomodations information: http://astronomy101.jpl.nasa.gov/workshops/ INFORMATION UPDATES: Information updates are posted to URL http://caperteam.as.arizona.edu/workshops.html as they become available. If you have additional questions, please contact Tim Slater at tslater@as.arizona.edu or telephone 520-621-7096.
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