Members of the Center for Astronomy Education (CAE) and the Conceptual Astronomy and Physics Education Research (CAPER) Team at the University of Arizona have conducted a systematic investigation into the use of wireless, electronic personal response systems (PRS), more commonly known as “clickers,” to gather research data in the large enrollment introductory astronomy course for nonscience majors (Astro 101). We describe a study and data, which support the assertion that clickers can be used as a data gathering tool for conducting “real-time” research on student learning in the classroom setting. We also present data suggesting that students believe the use of clickers (1) is beneficial to their understanding of course concepts; (2) contributes to improving their exam grades; and (3) increases their interest in course topics even when the clickers are being used solely as research data gathering tools rather than the more traditional application in which clickers are used as an instructional device to gather student votes as part of Think-Pair-Share (TPS) or Peer Instruction (PI). Additionally, we offer a description of our classroom observations, which suggests that the use of color-coded A, B, C, D, E voting cards for gathering student answers in class may hold greater pedagogical value and provide a greater potential to gather accurate research results than do the use of clickers or Scantron^TM forms.

For our study that lead to the publication A National Study Assessing the Teaching and Learning of Introductory Astronomy. Part I. The Effect of Interactive Instruction, we create the Interactivity Assessment Instrument to allow us to estimate the fraction of classroom time each of the instructors in our study spent on learner-centered, active-engagement instruction.

We encourage you to download it, and take it yourself. We’ll add directions soon on how you can calculate your own score.

We present the results of a national study on the teaching and learning of astronomy as taught in general education, non-science-major, introductory astronomy courses. Nearly 4000 students enrolled in 69 sections of courses taught by 36 different instructors at 31 institutions completed (pre- and post-instruction) the Light and Spectroscopy Concept Inventory (LSCI) from Fall 2006 to Fall 2007. The classes varied in size and were from all types of institutions, including 2- and 4-year colleges and universities. Normalized gain scores for each class were calculated. Pre-instruction LSCI scores were clustered around ~25 percent, independent of class size and institution type, and normalized gain scores varied from about -0.07 to 0.50. To estimate the fraction of classroom time spent on learner-centered, active-engagement instruction we developed and administered an Interactivity Assessment Instrument (IAI). Our results suggest that the differences in gains were due to instruction in the classroom, not the type of class or institution. We also found that higher interactivity classes had the highest gains, confirming that interactive learning strategies are capable of increasing student conceptual understanding. However, the wide range of gain scores seen for both lower and higher interactivity classes suggests that the use of interactive learning strategies is not sufficient by itself to achieve high student gain.

Over the past ten years, astronomy education researchers have made significant gains in their understanding of how students learn astronomy. Much of this work has intentionally followed the successful path blazed over the previous two decades by physics education researchers. Physics education research (PER) has shown that interactive learning strategies significantly improve student conceptual understanding of physics. Astronomy education research (AER) has begun to confirm that carefully adapted versions of these innovative learning strategies can achieve large gains in the Astro 101 classroom as well. To determine the effectiveness that new and innovative teaching strategies are having on the understanding of Astro 101 students around the country—and by extension better understand how well we are improving our nations science literacy and preparing our future teachers—we conducted a national study involving almost 4000 students at 31 colleges and universities.

Professional development for astronomy instructors largely focuses on enhancing their understanding of the limitations of professor-centered lectures while also increasing awareness and better implementation of learning strategies that promote a learner-centered classroom environment. Given how difficult it is to get instructors to implement well-developed and innovative teaching ideas, even when these instructors are supplied with significant and compelling education research data, one must wonder what is missing from the most commonly used professional development experiences. This article proposes a learner-centered approach to professional development for college instructors, which we call situated apprenticeship. This novel approach purposely goes beyond simple awareness building and conventional modeling, challenging instructors to actively engage themselves in practicing teaching strategies in an environment of peer review in which participants offer suggestions and critiques of each other's implementation. Through this learner-centered teaching and evaluation experience, instructors' preexisting conceptual and pedagogical understandings of a particular instructional strategy are brought forth and examined in an effort to promote a real change of practice that positively impacts both their core pedagogical content knowledge and their skills in successfully implementing these teaching strategies. We believe that the adoption of our situated apprenticeship approach for professional development will increase the frequency and success of college instructors' implementation of research-validated instructional strategies for interactive learning.

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.

This research concerns the development and assessment of a program of introductory astronomy conceptual exercises called ranking tasks. These exercises were designed based on results from science education research, learning theory, and classroom pilot studies. The investigation involved a single-group repeated measures experiment across eight key introductory astronomy topics with 253 students at the University of Arizona. Student understanding of these astronomy topics was assessed before and after traditional instruction in an introductory astronomy course. Collaborative ranking tasks were introduced after traditional instruction on each topic, and student understanding was evaluated again. Results showed that average scores on multiple-choice tests across the eight astronomy topics increased from 32 percent before instruction, to 61 percent after traditional instruction, to 77 percent after the ranking-task exercises. A Likert scale attitude survey found that 83 percent of the students participating in the 16-week study thought that the ranking-task exercises helped their understanding of core astronomy concepts. Based on these results, we assert that supplementing traditional lecture-based instruction with collaborative ranking-task exercises can significantly improve student understanding of core astronomy topics.

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.

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, postlecture, and post-Lecture-Tutorial instrument, along with focus group interviews, respectively. Collectively, the evaluation data illustrate that conventional lectures alone helped students make statistically significant—yet unsatisfactory—gains in understanding (with students scoring at only the 50 percent level postlecture). Further, the data illustrate that the use of Lecture-Tutorials helped students achieve statistically significant gains beyond those attained after lecture (with students scoring at the 70 percent level post-Lecture-Tutorial). Quantitative evaluation of student attitudes showed no significant gains over the semester, but students reported that they considered the Lecture-Tutorials to be one of the most valuable components of the course.

To explore the frequency and range of student ideas regarding the Big Bang, nearly 1,000 students from middle school, secondary school, and college were surveyed and asked if they had heard of the Big Bang and, if so, to describe it. In analyzing their responses, we uncovered an unexpected result that more than half of the students who stated that they had heard of the Big Bang also provided responses that suggest they believe that the Big Bang was a phenomenon that organized pre-existing matter. To further examine this result, a second group of college students was asked specifically to describe what existed or occurred before, during, and after the Big Bang. Nearly 70 percent gave responses clearly stating that matter existed prior to the Big Bang. These results are interpreted as strongly suggesting that most students are answering these questions by employing an internally consistent element of knowledge or reasoning (often referred to as a phenomenological primitive, or p-prim), consistent with the idea that “you can't make something from nothing.” These results inform the debate about the extent to which college students have pre-existing notions that are poised to interfere with instructional efforts about contemporary physics and astronomy topics.

The purpose of this study is to identify and document student beliefs and reasoning difficulties concerning topics related to astrobiology. This was accomplished by surveying over two thousand middle school, high school, and college (science and non-science majors) students. Students were surveyed utilizing student-supplied response questions focused on the definition of life and its limitations. Careful, inductive analysis of student responses revealed that the majority of students correctly identify that liquid water is necessary for life and that life forms can exist without sunlight. However, many students incorrectly state that life cannot survive without oxygen. Furthermore, when students are asked to reason about life in extreme environments, they most often cite complex organisms (such as plants, animals, and humans) rather than the more ubiquitous microorganisms. Results of this study were used to inform the development of astrobiology curriculum materials.

What is assessment? Why do it? Why do it in a particular way? This document addresses these important questions and provides a practical “how-to” guide for doing assessment. Assessment drives student learning; it is thus imperative that instructors conduct assessment in a manner that is well aligned with the instructor's goals for the course. This requires (a) that course goals be formalized, and (b) that the instructor have knowledge of various classroom assessment techniques and the kinds of course goals to which each of these assessment techniques is best suited. We briefly present several Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs) that can be used to help instructors evaluate the extent to which course goals are being achieved, to help guide students toward desired learning outcomes, and to improve student self-evaluation of understanding. In addition, we outline a practical, generalized model for course development with which we demonstrate how to do assessment. For an on-line, user-friendly guide and resource to classroom assessment in college science courses, the reader is invited to visit the Field-Tested Learning Assessment Guide (FLAG) developed by the National Institute for Science Education (http://www.wcer.wisc.edu/nise/cl1/flag).