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version
by Andrew Fraknoi (Foothill College & ASP)
Version
3.0; October 2004
©
copyright 2004 by Andrew Fraknoi. All rights reserved. Reproduction
in any form without written permission from the author is expressly
forbidden. Contact the author at: fraknoiandrew {at} fhda.edu
Table
of Contents
1.
Guides for Instructors, TA's, and Students
2. Collections of Course Syllabi and Descriptions
3. Suggestions for New Teaching Approaches
4. Demonstrations and Activities for the Classroom
5. Introductory Textbook Sites
6. Laboratory and Observing Exercises
7. Applets, Shareware, and Other Web-based
Exercises
8. Interdisciplinary Approaches to
Astronomy Teaching
9. Organizations that Offer Resources
for Instructors
10. Miscellaneous Sites of Interest
This
guide is designed to assist instructors who teach introductory astronomy
classes for non-science majors. It is not a comprehensive list,
but rather highlights a number of sites that experienced teachers
around the country have found useful. Suggestions for sites of general
interest to add are welcome. Note however, that we do not list subject-specific
or instrument-specific sites here, but only those which come in
handy for figuring out HOW to teach (rather than WHAT to teach.)
1.
Guides for Instructors, TA's, and Students
Astronomy
Center
This new web site will feature listings and reviews of sites and
on-line materials for astronomy instructors, including applets,
labs, image banks, curricula, etc. (A project of the American
Astronomical Society.)
Astronomy
Education Review
An on-line journal/magazine on astronomy education, with research
papers, articles on educational innovation, resource guides, opinion
pieces, reviews, and news items. Good place to check for additions
to this list.
Conceptual
Astronomy & Physics Education Research Team (at the University
of Arizona)
This is a leading group in astronomy education and their web pages
have information about college teaching workshops, studies, and
resources.
Field
Tested Learning Assessment Guide
How to evaluate your students besides multiple-choice tests (and
how to do those multiple-choice questions better too.) From the
Nat'l Inst of Sci Ed group at U. of Wisconsin.
Goals
for Astronomy 101
Workshops on the teaching of introductory astronomy were held in 2001
for astronomy department chairs and other leaders at selected major
research universities to discuss the goals for "Astro 101" courses.
The full report authored by Bruce Partridge and George Greenstein has
been published in the Astronomy Education Review, volume 2, Issue 2,
2003.
Hints
on How to Succeed in College Classes
Jeff Bennett (U. of Colorado) gives study hints for beginning
astronomy students.
JPL
Center for Astronomy Education
JPL, in cooperation with the University of Arizona CAPER Team,
has begun a web site to serve as an on-line center for community
college instructors and others who teach introductory astronomy,
with teaching tips and discussion groups.
Review
of Astronomy Education Research
Janelle Bailey and Timothy Slater give a nice overview of what
we can learn from research on the teaching of astronomy.
Tips
for Astronomy TA's
From faculty and students at the U. of Washington astronomy department
here are some hints for beginning TA's that can help instructors
as well.
Virginia
Tech Study Skills Self-Help for Students
A nice summary of things students should be thinking about to
succeed in college courses.
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of contents
2.
Collections of Course Syllabi and Descriptions
College-Level
Astronomy Courses
Reggie Hudson (Eckerd Coll.) has compiled web links to over 100
astronomy courses around the country whose instructors have posted
a syllabus and other course information on the Web.
World
Lecture Hall: Astronomy
An older, shorter listing of web-based astronomy courses.
Learning
History of Physics
A short collection for history of science courses.
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of contents
3.
Suggestions for New Teaching Approaches
Collaborative
Learning Page
The National Institute for Science Education at the U. of Wisconsin
has a useful introduction to the techniques, resources, and practical
tricks of small collaborative learning groups.
Peer
Instruction
Harvard’s Paul Green introduces the idea of students teaching
each other, gives resources, and printable flash cards.
Role-Playing
Exercises for Teaching Astronomy & Physics
Paul Francis & Aidan Byrne of the Australian National U. suggest
collaborative group activity where students play roles in a scientific
team.
Weekly
Challenge in Introductory Astronomy
Doug Duncan discusses how
to use a weekly challenge in large lecture classes to get out
of lecture mode.
The
Astronomy Diagnostic Test
A multiple-choice exam that tests student astronomy knowledge
and pre-conceptions before an introductory course. You can print
out the test here and add your scores to the national database.
The
Lunar Phases Concept Inventory
Developed by Rebecca Lindell, this multiple-choice test allows
you to assess how well your students understand lunar phases.
Note:
New teaching approaches are often discussed in the articles in
Astronomy Education
Review (see section 1.)
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4.
Demonstrations and Activities for the Classroom
Activities
Clearinghouse from the University of Washington Astronomy Department
Solar system walk, edible comets, Kirchoff's Laws with tennis
balls, and more.
In-class
Activities at Michigan State University
Beth Hufnagel & Bob Stein's series of interesting collaborative
group activities for large lecture classes. Some require images
not yet on the site, but most can be seen and used in their entirety.
Physics
Demonstrations on Line
Keith Warren's (N. Carolina State) collection of sites with demonstrations
for physics classes, with some astronomy. See his 7500-entry bibliography
of written demonstrations on the same site.
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of contents
5.
Introductory Textbook Sites
Please
note: Almost all textbooks now come in various versions, including
shorter editions devoted either to the solar system or to the stars,
or simplified editions covering most of astronomy. In the list below
we give only the title of the main text; in general you can find
the other versions at the same web site. While some parts of these
sites are restricted to those who adopt the text, many are open
to all users and contain useful teaching aids.
Arny: Explorations:
An Introduction to Astronomy
Bennett, Donahue, Schneider, Voit: The
Cosmic Perspective
Bennett,
Shostak, Jakosky: Life
in the Universe
Chaisson,
McMillan: Astronomy
Today
Comins,
Kaufmann: Discovering
the Universe
Fix:
Astronomy:
Journey to the Cosmic Frontier
Fraknoi,
Morrison, Wolff:
Voyages Through the Universe
Freedman,
Kaufmann: Universe
Goldsmith,
Owen: The
Search for Life in the Universe
Hartmann,
Impey: Astronomy:
The Cosmic Journey
Hester,
Burstein, Blumenthal, Greely, Smith, Voss, Wegner: 21st
Century Astronomy
Impey,
Hartmann: Universe
Revealed
Kaler:
Astronomy:
A Brief Edition
Kuhn,
Koupelis: In
Quest of the Universe
Morrison,
Owen: The
Planetary System
Pasachoff:
Astronomy: From the Earth to the Universe
(Also see http://www.williams.edu/Astronomy/jay
for additional materials.)
Pasachoff,
Filippenko: The
Cosmos: Astronomy in the New Millenium
(Also see http://www.williams.edu/Astronomy/jay
for additional materials.)
Seeds:
Foundations
of Astronomy
Shawl,
Ashman, and Hufnagel: Discovering
Astronomy 5th edition
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6.
Laboratory and Observing Exercises
Active
Astronomy
Tim Slater's interesting curriculum of 21 hands-on activities,
many of which take interesting approaches. Note, however, that
some are missing crucial elements, like charts or images, in the
web version.
Astronomy
On-Line: The Experiments Shop
In 1996, ESO astronomers organized a series of astronomy and observing
exercises at many levels. They vary widely in approach and style;
but you can browse and find some gems.
Binary
Stars
Suite of computer-based activities on binary star astronomy, by
Claud Lacy of the U. of Arkansas.
CLEA
Software Overview
Larry Marschall's Contemporary Lab Experiences in Astronomy project
has produced some terrific and sophisticated computer-based lab
exercises, which can be explored and downloaded.
Determining
the Extragalactic Distance Scale
Diane Dutkevich of Northwestern has put a sophisticated series
of activities on the web that begin with a Cepheid hunt in M100
and finish with estimating the Hubble time.
Introductory
Astronomy Galactic Laboratory
Esther Zirbel at Tufts University has provided 17 lab exercises
with pdf files and notes for the instructor. Includes topics from
angles to the Hubble Deep Field.
Lab
Archive of the University of Washington Astronomy Dept.
A collection of labs and exercises by U. of Washington faculty
and grad students, including Bruce Balick's clever "Suntanning"
lab and a number of good exercises on the distance scale.
Villanova
University Astronomy Experiments
This is a series of lab experiments using Distant Suns
and Dance of the Planets software, developed by Frank Maloney
& David Steelman, retrievable in WordPerfect 5.1 format.
Subject
Index of Astronomy Activities (K-12) on the Web
A listing of some web-based K-12 astronomy activities; many
can be adapted to college labs or assignments. Organized by topic,
with capsule reviews and recommended grade levels for each.
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