Download the Pdf version of the full program (284 KB)

Thursday, July 15

Reception for all meeting participants at the Remis Sculpture Court (15 South Campus Road, part of the Aidekman Arts complex) at Tufts University

Friday, July 16

Welcomes, introductions (in Cohen Auditorium)

Overview of the Meeting -- Andrew Fraknoi (Foothill College, ASP)

Plenary Talk: Are You Really Teaching If No One Is Learning? (What Research Is Telling Us About How Our Students Learn) -- Tim Slater (U of Arizona)

Panel: Applying the Results of Educational Research in the Real Classroom -- Mary Kay Hemenway (U of Texas), moderator; Ed Prather (U of Arizona), Lauren Jones (Gettysburg Coll), Tom Foster (S. Illinois U)

Break

One-minute Oral Summaries of Poster Papers -- Michael Bennett (ASP), moderator

Lunch, poster papers, share-a-thon, discussions

NOTE: The afternoon workshops are in Eaton and Barnum Halls, upcampus past the Library

A1. On-line Astronomy: Teaching Strategies and Tools -- Matthew Bobrowsky (Space Telescope Science Institute) and Mary Radnofsky (U of Maryland & Socrates Inst) = Barnum 104 [repeated Sess B]

A2. Setting Your Course Goals for Astronomy 101 -- Timothy Slater and Ed Prather (U of Arizona) = Eaton 201

A3. The Astronomy Diagnostic Test: Getting to Know Your Astronomy 101 Students -- Beth Hufnagel (Anne Arundel Comm Coll) = Eaton 202

A4. Archaeoastronomy in the Undergraduate Curriculum -- Bryan Penprase (Pomona College) = Eaton 333

A5. Panel: Using a Campus Observatory for Effective Teaching; facilitators: Bill Waller and Esther Zirbel (Tufts U) = Barnum 114

B1. On-line Astronomy: Teaching Strategies and Tools -- Matthew Bobrowsky (Space Telescope Science Institute) & Mary Radnofsky (U of Maryland & Socrates Inst) = Barnum 104

B2. Strategies to Engage Your Students During Lecture -- Timothy Slater and Ed Prather (U of Arizona) = Eaton 201

B3. Implemening Peer Instruction for Astronomy -- Paul Green (Harvard U) = Eaton 202

B4. The Pain and Pleasure of Unlearning Astronomy Misconceptions in the Classroom -- Neil Comins (U of Maine) = Eaton 333

B5. Astronomy for Students with Special Needs: Resources and Strategies -- Noreen Grice (You Can Do Astronomy & Boston Museum of Science) = Barnum 114

Break

C1. SkyServer: Education and Outreach with Sloan Digital Sky Data -- Jordan Raddick (Johns Hopkins) & Beth Hufnagel (Anne Arundel Community College) = Eaton 208

C2. Teaching Astronomy 101 with Lecture Tutorials -- Timothy Slater and Ed Prather (U of Arizona) = Eaton 201

C3. How to Create An Inquiry-Based Seminar Course For Non Majors -- George Greenstein (Amherst Coll) = Eaton 202

C4. Student Misconceptions and How Knowing Them Should Change Your Teaching -- Rebecca Lindell and Tom Foster (Southern Illinois U) = Eaton 333

C5. The Astronomy of Middle-Earth -- Kristine Larsen (Central Connecticut State) = Barnum 114

Afternoon Sessions end

Trip to Boston Museum of Science with special planetarium show (bus departure times and locations to be announced)

Saturday, July 17

Plenary Talk: Teaching with Electrons and Waves: Technology in Astronomy Education -- Chris Impey (University of Arizona) (in Cohen Auditorium)

Panel: Using Technology in Astronomy Education: What Actually Works -- Kevin Lee (U of Nebraska), moderator; Larry Marschall (Gettysburg Coll), Dick McCray (U of Colorado), Kenneth Brecher (Boston U)

Break

Panel: Engaging in Diversity in the Astronomy 101 Classroom -- Charles H. McGruder (Western Kentucky University), moderator; Apriel Hodari (CNA Corporation), Beth Hufnagel (Anne Arundel Community College), Rebecca Lindell (Southern Illinois University)

Plenary Talk: A Blunder Undone: The Accelerating Universe -- Robert Kirshner (Harvard Smithsonian Ctr for Astrophys)

Lunch, poster papers, share-a-thon, and discussions

D1. Project CLEA: Bringing the Universe into the Laboratory -- Larry Marschall & Dick Cooper (Gettysburg Coll) = Eaton 208

D2. Alternative Assessment Ideas in Astronomy -- Timothy Slater and Ed Prather (U of Arizona) = Eaton 201

D3. Dealing with Disbelieving Students on Issues of Evolutionary Processes and Long Time Scales -- Matthew Bobrowsky (Space Telescope Science Institute) = Eaton 202

D4. Inquiry Based, In-class Activities with Hands-on Equipment -- Rebecca Lindell and Tom Foster (Southern Illinois U) = Eaton 333

D5. Seeing the Astronomical LITE: Light Inquiry through Experiments -- Kenneth Brecher and Erin Weeks (Boston U) = Barnum 114

E1. Astronomycenter.org: A Digital Library for Astronomy 101 -- Marc Gagne (West Chester Coll) and Susana Deustua (AAS) = Eaton 208 [repeats in session H]

E2. Improving Multiple Choice Tests for Your Course -- Timothy Slater and Ed Prather (U of Arizona) = Eaton 201

E3. How to Teach a Class of More Than 100 Students Without Lecturing Very Much, and Why It’s Worth Doing -- Richard McCray (U of Colorado) = Eaton 202

E4. Rejecting the Smog of Bias: Engaging Diversity in Your Classroom -- Apriel Hodari (C.N.A. Corp) and Charles McGruder (Western Kentucky U) = Eaton 333

E5. The Power of Exploring “What If” Questions in the Classroom -- Neil Comins (U of Maine) = Barnum 114

Break

F1. The ClassAction System: Easy-to-Use Classroom Materials for Student Discussion and Voting -- Kevin Lee (U of Nebraska) & Tim Slater (U of Arizona) = Eaton 208

F2. Panel: Using the Planetarium in Teaching an Introductory Astronomy Course; organizer: Jerry LaSalla (U of Southern Maine) = Eaton 201

F3. Activities to Help Students Develop a Sense of Scale -- Mary Urquhart (U of Texas Dallas) and Niescja Turner (Florida Inst of Technology) = Eaton 202

F4. Assessing and Improving Students’ Problem Solving Abilities – Rebecca Lindell and Tom Foster (Southern Illinois U) = Eaton 333

F5. What To Do with an Overhead Projector Besides Show Overheads -- Katy Garmany (NOAO) = Barnum 114

Afternoon Sessions end

Banquet/barbecue at the Remis Sculpture Court. After the barbecue, we will gather in Cohen Auditorium for "Girl Meets Boy", an astronomical stage entertainment from the Boston Museum of Science

Sunday, July 18

Panel: Goals for the Astro 101 Course: What Do We Teach, Why Do We Teach It? -- Michael Bennett (ASP), moderator; George Greenstein (Amherst), Jay Pasachoff (Williams Coll), Phil Sadler (Harvard-Smithsonian Ctr for Astrophys) (Cohen)

Panel: Textbooks Today and in the Future -- George (Pinky) Nelson (U. of W. Washington), moderator; Adam Black (Addison-Wesley), John Challice (Prentice Hall), Chris Hall (Brooks-Cole)

Break

Panel: The Next Step: What Do Astronomy Instructors Need from the Astronomical Community -- Andrew Fraknoi (Foothill Coll), moderator; Catharine Garmany (ASP, NOAO), Michael Greene (JPL), Richard Alvidrez (JPL), Susana Deustua (AAS)

Plenary Talk: Giant Planets: Hot News and Cool Views -- Heidi Hammel (Space Science Institute)

Lunch, poster papers, share-a-thon, and discussions

G1. Some Cool JAVA Applets for Students to Explore the Cosmos -- Richard McCray (U of Colorado) = Eaton 208

G2. Teaching Clinic: A Burning Questions and Quenching Answers Session -- Timothy Slater and Ed Prather (U of Arizona) = Eaton 201

G3. Debunking Pseudo-science: How to Address Astrology, UFO’s, and Moon Madness in Your Classroom and Live to Tell the Tale -- Andrew Fraknoi (Foothill College) & Salman Hameed (Smith College) = Eaton 202

G4. How to Conduct Astronomy Education Research -- Rebecca Lindell and Tom Foster (Southern Illinois U) = Eaton 333

G5. Pre-service Teachers in the Introductory Astronomy Classroom: Reaching Those Doing the Teaching -- Jennifer Grier and R. Bruce Ward (Harvard-Smithsonian Ctr for Astrophys) = Barnum 114

Break

H1. Astronomycenter.org: A Digital Library for Astronomy 101 -- Marc Gagne (West Chester Coll) and Susana Deustua (AAS) = Eaton 208

H2. The Learner-Centered Classroom: Lecture-Tutorials, Concept Maps, Portfolios, Minute Papers and Other Techniques -- Lauren Jones (Gettysburg Coll) = Eaton 201

H3. Bringing the Real World into the Classroom: Project-based Astronomy for Students in Two- and Four-Year Colleges -- Phil Sadler and R. Bruce Ward (Harvard-Smithsonian Ctr for Astrophys) = Eaton 202

H4. The Virtual Educational Observatory: Astronomical Laboratory Exercises for the Age of Information -- Larry Marschall & Dick Cooper (Gettysburg Coll) = Eaton 333

H5. Helping Students Assess Their Own Understanding Using Concept Maps -- Gina Brissenden (U of Arizona) = Barnum 114

Meeting formally ends (Be sure you take all your materials with you).

For those who are staying later, Tim Slater, Ed Prather, and Lauren Jones will continue their teaching clinic discussion (see G2) in Eaton 201.