Presentation: advice to students, from students

This presentation is given at the start of the second day of class, after discussion of the course syllabus and policies at the end of the previous first day of class. These student comments are taken from advice from students at the end of a previous semester (here, Fall 2009), to subsequent semesters of introductory astronomy students at Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA.



The first comment is reasonably innocuous and bland.



A more pointed piece of advice.



Words of warning to the "free riders" during group work.



More words of warning to students who just mimic other students' responses, without understanding why/how their answers are correct.



Students should not leave anything unanswered/unresolved before leaving class, if they can help it.



An important resource not to be overlooked.



The last comment always gets a chortle out of many students. Following this last student comment is when the instructor tells the class that the intent of showing these comments is to respond to and expand upon them one-by-one, in order make several points regarding what is expected of students in this class.



Starting over from the first slide, each is addressed point-by-point in more detail:

• "Not a cake class, but it's fun."
  This is relatively straightforward--students already "get this."


• "Get all points you can (online reading assignments!)."
  The first online reading assignment link (hosted by SurveyMonkey.com) is shown, where students answer multiple-choice questions and open-ended response questions regarding concepts previously covered in class, and on material from the textbook to be covered in the next upcoming class. Credit is given primarily for serious completion.


• "Don't let teammates do all the work in the activities."
  Students are assigned into groups of 3-4 each, to work on in-class activities (i.e, "lecture-tutorials"). Students will get as much out of these activities as they put into it.


• "Genuinely try to get the right answers on flashcard questions."
  Test and quiz questions are pointedly adapted from think-pair-share (i.e., "peer-instruction") questions used in class, where students need to be able to explain their reasoning to another student, or at the very least listen to, and critically evaluate the merit of an explanation from a peer.


• "ASK QUESTIONS. Make sure you understand before you leave."
  Students need to make an effort to get intervention and clarification during class.


• "Study old tests and you'll be golden."
  Quizzes and exams from past semesters are posted online (without answers) to be accessible to all students, and not just those with acquaintances that took this course in a previous semester.


• "Upgrade weapons and save often."
  Good advice in nearly any situation, for this generation of students.

The last slide is the generic "time for questions" prompt.



Previous posts:

• Online reading assignment question: interesting, confusing, and advice de-brief (Spring Semester 2010)
• Online reading assignment question: interesting, confusing, and advice de-brief (Fall Semester 2009)
• Presentation: moderating course expectations with negative student reviews (no longer used).

Astronomy current events question: icy extremophiles

Astronomy 210L, Fall Semester 2010
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

Students are assigned to read online articles on current astronomy events, and take a short current events quiz during the first 10 minutes of lab. (This motivates students to show up promptly to lab, as the time cut-off for the quiz is strictly enforced!)

Astronomy.com editors, "Looking for the Coolest Forms of Life on Earth," August 9, 2010
http://www.astronomy.com/asy/default.aspx?c=a&id=10112

United Kingdom researchers recently investigated Earth life living __________, which may be similar to conditions for life elsewhere in the solar system.
(A) on top of glaciers.
(B) in thermal geysers.
(C) on oil slicks.
(D) under just-cooled lava flows.
(E) in deep underwater caves.

Correct answer: (A)

Student responses
Sections 70178, 70186, 70200
(A) : 49 students
(B) : 9 students
(C) : 0 students
(D) : 4 students
(E) : 8 students

Astronomy current events question: Googling a meteor crater

Astronomy 210L, Fall Semester 2010
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

Students are assigned to read online articles on current astronomy events, and take a short current events quiz during the first 10 minutes of lab. (This motivates students to show up promptly to lab, as the time cut-off for the quiz is strictly enforced!)

Kelly Beatty, "New Trove of Iron Meteorites," July 23, 2010
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news/99103414.html

How did Italian and Egyptian researchers discover a meteor impact crater in the East Uweinat desert of Egypt?
(A) From coordinates given in tomb hieroglyphs.
(B) Revealed after a lake completely evaporated.
(C) Accidentally driving into it while lost in the desert.
(D) Led to it by a stray goat.
(E) Using Google mapping software.

Correct answer: (E)

Student responses
Sections 70178, 70186, 70200
(A) : 2 students
(B) : 21 students
(C) : 6 students
(D) : 2 students
(E) : 40 students

Astronomy current events question: Mars Exploration Rover Spirit incommunicado

Astronomy 210L, Fall Semester 2010
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

Students are assigned to read online articles on current astronomy events, and take a short current events quiz during the first 10 minutes of lab. (This motivates students to show up promptly to lab, as the time cut-off for the quiz is strictly enforced!)

Guy Webster, "NASA's Hibernating Mars Rover May Not Call Home," July 30, 2010
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mer/news/mer20100730.html

Why might the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit no longer be able to contact NASA mission controllers?
(A) A software problem.
(B) Not enough solar power.
(C) A massive dust storm.
(D) Covered with dry ice snow.
(E) A massive solar flare.

Correct answer: (B)

Student responses
Sections 70178, 70186, 70200
(A) : 7 students
(B) : 39 students
(C) : 13 students
(D) : 9 students
(E) : 5 students

Astronomy in-class activity: first-day student expectations, questions

Astronomy 210 In-class activity 1, fall semester 2010
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

100819-interestingwordle
http://www.flickr.com/photos/waiferx/4908751639/
Originally uploaded by Waifer X

Wordle.net tag cloud for potentially interesting astronomy topics, generated by students on the first day of class (http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/2311645/Untitled).


100819-confusingwordle
http://www.flickr.com/photos/waiferx/4909357152/
Originally uploaded by Waifer X

Wordle.net tag cloud for potentially confusing astronomy topics, generated by students on the first day of class (http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/2311662/Untitled).


On the first day of class, students find their assigned groups of three to four students, and work cooperatively on an in-class activity worksheet to discuss concepts that will potentially be interesting or confusing to them later in the semester. Students are also encouraged to write down a comment or a question for the instructor to go over during the whole-class discussion, after the in-class activity worksheets are turned in.

[Responses have been edited to consolidate common related subjects.]

Discuss in your group astronomy-related concepts you expect to be interesting or confusing later in this course. Use one word or short phrases (e.g., "Pluto," "black holes," "beginning of time") for each concept.

List at least three astronomy-related concepts you expect to be interesting.

Student responses
Sections 70158, 70160

constellations, Pluto, starwheel
2012, whitedwarfs, blackholes
bigbang, tides, constellations
space, distance, time, infinity, motion, blackness
constellations, galaxies, history
space-time, constellations, blackholes
blackholes, moonphases, eclipses
starwheel, Pluto, blackholes
stars, blackholes, galaxies
blackholes, dwarfstars, supernovae, location
solarflares, supernovae, blackholes, bigbang
galaxies, blackholes, shootingstars
bigbang, supernovae, lightspeed, solarsystems
blackholes, lightspeed, shootingstars, supernovae
galaxies, deathsofstars, startemperatures
planetalignment, planetlocations, eclipses
galaxies, starformation, deathsofstars, lifeonthemoon
stringtheory, ET, apocalypse
Venus, constellations, solarrings
gravity, supernovae, gasgiants, browndwarfs
blackhole, supernovae, Titan
constellations, blackholes, galaxies
constellations, shootingstars, blackholes
sunmovement, timechanges, lunarpositions
blackholes, solarsystem, galaxies
blackholes, darkmatter, supernovae
blackholes, exoplanets, stellarevolution
meteorshowers, stars, constellations
OrionsBelt, northernlights, MilkyWay

List at least three astronomy-related concepts you expect to be confusing.

Student responses
Sections 70158, 70160

bigbang, blackholes, starwheel
timetravel, math, bigbang
blackholes, whitedwarfs, bigbang
SAO, math, formulas, graphs
starformation, lightyear, lookbacktime
spacetime, locationdetermination, validationofknowledge
lookbacktime, tides, Pluto
planetformation, time, planetology
nebulae, wormholes, starformation
wormholes, bigbang, gravity, spacetime
gravity, orbits, stardeath, Pluto
spacetime, constellationnames, galaxynames, gravity, thematerialofspace
starlocations, gravity, math, physics
ET, UFOs, distance, size, math
AU, distance, laws
math, findingstars, planetcomposition, starcomposition
eclipses, blackholes, densitywavetheory
starnames, galaxynames, dwarfs, giants, physics
math, memorizing, mappingoutthesky
wormholes, 2012, expandinguniverse, ET
neutrinos, redshifts, blueshifts
calculations, starmapping, variouscientificconcepts
math, lightyears, Pluto
blackholes, galaxies, starnames, memorizing
math, constellations, tests
bigbang, expandinguniverse, blackholes
light, blackholes, planetnames, starnames, solarsystemnames
constellations, blackholes, elements, planets
blackholes, tests, locatingstars

Each week after class you will receive credit for asking a question, or making a comment that the instructor might respond to at the start of the following class (while your identity is kept anonymous). Ask at least one question, or make a comment that you would like the instructor to respond to at the end of this in-class activity.

Student responses
Sections 70158, 70160

"Why don't the zodiac constellations show up during their corresponding time of year?"

"Any out of class work?"

"How much of our homework is going to have to be done at night?"

"Does motion exist or is it an illusion in regards to points and distances. Infinity and what is it really?"

"How many constellations are there in our galaxy?"

"Do you think the magnetic polarity of the Earth will switch over time or in one fell swoop?"

"What is your astrological sign, and do you think it makes a difference?"

"Will we have projects? How often will we be stargazing?"

"What's the average temperature of the universe?"

"Do you believe wormhole travel is possible?"

"hat made you change from Physics to Astronomy?"

"When do we get to look through telescopes?"

"Describe what you believe will happen when the planets align in 2012."

"What school was more enjoyable to attend--[UC] Davis or [Washington University in] St. Louis?"

"Are most measures/calculations the same when used for a moving object on Earth as to a moving object in space?"

"How far is the sun away from the Earth?"

"How prepared are we to protect the Earth from incoming objects?"

"Do you believe in aliens? Where does the universe end? Can you rap? Show us. :)"

"Which constellation is your favorite?"

"What happens to a star when it is sucked into a black hole?"

"Can you read the Mayan calendar?"

"How much math will be in this class?"

"What is your favorite planet?"

"When is the next meteor shower?"

"Do you think that Pluto should be classified as a planet?"

"Why is Pluto no longer a planet?"

"Have any planets been found in other solar systems that are though to be possibly inhabited by other forms of life?"

"Is there a lot of math in astronomy?"

"How to use the [Edmund Scientific] Star and Planet Finder? What's up with the 'Ventura Project?'"

Previous posts:

• Online reading assignment question: interesting, confusing instructor topics (CAE@astrolrner readers, August 2010)
• Presentation: "Old Ideas, New Technologies--Harnessing the Power of Web 2.0 Resources for the Weary Instructor" (Cosmos in the Classroom 2010)
• Online reading assignment question: interesting Midterm 2 astronomy topics (Cuesta College, Spring Semester 2010)
• Online reading assignment question: confusing Midterm 2 astronomy topics (Cuesta College, Spring Semester 2010)

Astronomy in-class activity: astronomy in the marketplace tags

Astronomy 210 In-class activity 1, Fall Semester 2010
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

100819-carwordle
http://www.flickr.com/photos/waiferx/4908645999/
Originally uploaded by Waifer X

Wordle.net tag cloud for astronomy-related car brand names, generated by responses from Astronomy 210 students at Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA (http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/2311476/Untitled).



100819-foodwordle
http://www.flickr.com/photos/waiferx/4908668973/
Originally uploaded by Waifer X

Wordle.net tag cloud for astronomy-related food brand names available in a supermarket, generated by responses from Astronomy 210 students at Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA (http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/2311510/Untitled).


100819-nonfoodwordle
http://www.flickr.com/photos/waiferx/4908703091/
Originally uploaded by Waifer X

Wordle.net tag cloud for astronomy-related non-food brand names available in a supermarket, generated by responses from Astronomy 210 students at Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA (http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/2311571/Untitled).


Students find their assigned groups of three to four students, and work cooperatively on an in-class activity worksheet to discuss car brand names, and food and non-food brand names found in supermarkets (adapted from D. Schatz, "Why Should We Care About Exploding Stars?" Universe in the Classroom, no. 8, Spring 1987 (http://www.astrosociety.org/education/publications/tnl/08/stars2.html).

There are many astronomy-related brand names. Consider car brand names (old and new); and brand names for food and non-food items that are typically found in the supermarket. Do not consider titles of TV shows, movies, or books.

List at least three astronomy-related car brand names.

Student responses
Sections 70158, 70160

Mercury, Saturn, Nova
Saturn, Mercury, Solstice
Mercury, Saturn, Eclipse
Astro, Mercury, Saturn
Saturn, Mercury, Satellite, Comet, Vega, Astro
Saturn, Mercury, Corvette, Galaxy, Nova, Comet
Mercury, Saturn, Taurus
Saturn, Mercury
Mercury, Saturn, Infiniti
Saturn, Mercury, Nova, Galaxy
Mercury, Saturn, Nova, Stratus, Eclipse, Comet
Mercury, Saturn, Satellite, CivicdelSol
Saturn, Mercury, Eclipse
Saturn, Mercury, Eclipse
Saturn, Mercury, Eclipse, Equinox, Polaris
Eclipse, Saturn, Mercury, Nova
Mercury, Comet, AstroVan, Galaxy
Mercury, Saturn, Taurus
Saturn, Mercury, Nova
Saturn, Mercury, Subaru
Nova, Fusion, Saturn, AstroVan
Saturn, Mercury, Nova, Eclipse
Mercury, Saturn, Eclipse
Saturn, Mercury, Eclipse
Saturn, Mercury, Galaxy
Saturn, Nova, Eclipse
Subaru, Mercury, Saturn
Saturn, Mercury, Eclipse
Solara, Mercuryinsurance, Saturn, Eclipse

List at least three astronomy-related food brand names typically found in the supermarket.

Student responses
Sections 70158, 70160

MilkyWay, MoonPie, MarsBars
LunaBars, Sunkist, SunnyDelight, BlueMoon, SunChips, Orbit
MilkyWay, MarsBars, Starburst, MoonPie
BlueMoon, DarkStarCellars, MilkyWay
MilkyWay, MarsBars, SunnyDelight, MoonPie, Starburst, Astroscereal
Marsbrandcandy, Saturnpeaches, AstroPops
SunnyDelight, Orionchocolate, MilkyWay
MilkyWay, Orbit
Orbit, MilkyWay, Starburst
MoonPie, MarsBars, MilkyWay
AstroFlakes, Starburst, MoonPies
MilkyWay, Starburst, MoonPies
BlueMoon, SunnyDelight, MarsBars, StarBurst
BlueMoon, Starburst, Sunshine
MilkyWay, Eclipse, StellaArtois, BlueMoon
MilkyWay, Starburst, Orbit
Chicken&Stars, Starburst, MilkyWay, BlueMoon, Orbit
Sunkist, CapriSun, MilkyWay, Orbit, Eclipse, BlueMoon, MarsBars
BlueMoon, LunaBars, MilkyWay
Starburst, MarsBars, Nova, LunaBars
MilkyWay, MarsBars, Sunkist, Starburst, BlueMoon
MilkyWay, Corona, Mars
BlueMoon, Starkist, Astropops
MarsBars, SunChips, SunKissedraisins, SunnyDelight
MarsBars, MoonPies, MilkyWay, SunChips
RockStar, MilkyWay, MoonPies
SunChips, MarsBars, BlueMoon
Sunkist, MarsBars, Starburst
SunChips, Sunkist, CarlsJrChickenStars

List at least three astronomy-related non-food brand names typically found in the supermarket.

Student responses
Sections 70158, 70160

Comet, Venusrazors, Sundetergent
Moonsand, Venusrazors
Comet, Orbit, FiveStarnotebooks
Comet, P-dogstie, SamsungGalaxy
Comet, BigBangfireworks, Venusrazors, Moonshine
Comet, Tide, Skyyvodka
Comet, Orbitgum, Eclipsegum
Comet, Venusrazors
Comet, SegaSaturn, Venusrazors
Cosmo, Comet
Comet, Venusrazors
Venusrazors, Cosmo, Comet
Comet, Dawn, Orbitgum
Orbitgum, Dawn, Comet
Zenith, Comet, Orbit, UVVodka, Venusrazors
BlueMoon, Comet, Sundetergent
Comet, Tide, Starmagazine
Comet, Venurazors
Venus, Comet, StarBrite
Comet, Dawn, Venusrazors
Orbit, Starmagazine
Dawn, Tide, Comet, Venusrazors
Sundetergent, Venusrazors, Cosmo
Eclipse, BlueMoon, Venusrazors
Comet, Moonboots, BlueMoon
Eclipse, Starmagazine, Venusrazors
Venusrazors
Comet, Sundetergent
Osiris, AlienWorkshop

Previous post:

• Astronomy in-class activity: astronomy in the marketplace tags (Cuesta College, Spring Semester 2010).

Overheard: first-day surveys

Astronomy 210, Fall Semester 2010
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

(Overheard at the start of the first introductory astronomy lecture of the semester, just before administering the Survey of Attitudes Towards Astronomy.)

Instructor: "Okay, everyone. Welcome to astronomy!"

(Beat.)

Instructor (Sotto voce): "This class is awesome!"

Students: (Nervous giggles.)

Instructor: "So let's start off astronomy with giving you all a 'test.'"

(Beat.)

Instructor (Sotto voce): "This class sucks!"

Students: (Nervous gasps.)

Reference:

• Zeilik, M. & Morris, V. J. 2003, "An Examination of Misconceptions in an Astronomy Course for Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Majors," Astronomy Education Review, 2(1), 101.
  Development of the SATA, a 34-question, five-point Likert scale questionnaire that measures four attitude subscales.

Previous post:

• Education research: pre-instruction survey protocol

Online reading assignment question: questions/comments (CAE@astrolrner readers, August 2010)

(Analysis of results reported in "Old Ideas, New Technologies--Harnessing the Power of Web 2.0 Resources for the Weary Instructor" workshop given at the Astronomy Society of the Pacific Cosmos in the Classroom National Symposium on Teaching Astronomy for Non-Science Majors, August 2, 2010, 3:15-4:15 PM, Session A in Eaton 1B80, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO.)

Readers of the Center for Astronomy Education: Improving Astronomy Education CAE@astrolrner listserv were asked to complete a post-workshop assignment (hosted by SurveyMonkey.com).

Ask the workshop facilitator an anonymous question, or make a comment regarding use of SurveyMonkey.com (or similar online survey sites) for online reading assignments.

CAE@astrolrner listserv reader responses (presenter responses in italics)
August 2010

I'd be interested in finding out how people use survey sites for READING assignments to learn content. Survey sites are for soliciting OPINIONS of people while reading assignments should be for presenting factual information (so information flow is in opposite direction from that of a survey site).

The use of SurveyMonkey as a reading assignment tool is to compile responses from students answering simple background questions (e.g., "Which type of star has a longer lifetime--low-mass, medium-mass, massive?") before coming to class.

I think it would be great to tell folks why you need the words clumped together. If you could teach us something there about the techniques/tools you are using.

The words are clumped together (e.g., "blackholes") such that they will appear next to each other in the resulting wordle, rather than appearing separately ("black" and "holes") in different parts of the wordle.

I haven't done that much in terms of online surveys, but this plus the conference have started me thinking about it!

This is a great tool but I can also do surveys directly in my course management system (D2L). I will try these in the fall. Thanks for introducing the idea!

I wasn't able to get to the workshop: how much work is "lightly editing" material before it goes to wordle? And is there any particular advantage to using SurveyMonkey as opposed to the course mgmt s/w we already use?

"Light editing" usually amounts to consolidating singular/plural usage ("blackhole" vs. "blackholes"), or synonyms or closely related terms ("stellarformation" vs. "starbirth") in order to maximize the incidence of that term, so it will appear larger in the wordle.

What are the top three informational content items about space that you'd like your students to take from your class and keep in mind as general information for all citizens about the large scale environment?

1. Science (in the guise of astronomy) is comprehensible, and not to be feared.
2. Our place in the universe, and how things got to be the way there are now.
3. How do we know what we know?

How does the use of SurveyMonkey compare with quiz functions in course management systems (e.g., Blackboard)

Students do not need an account to access SurveyMonkey, they only need the link that you provide to them to get to a survey (while it is still open). There is a nominal annual fee to use all of its features, but there is no fee to use basic features.

Why is it called Survey MONKEY? What with the monkey?

Because monkeys are awesome, I suppose.

Previous posts:

• Presentation: "Old Ideas, New Technologies--Harnessing the Power of Web 2.0 Resources for the Weary Instructor" (Cosmos in the Classroom 2010)

Online reading assignment question: interesting, confusing instructor topics (CAE@astrolrner readers, August 2010)

(Analysis of results reported in "Old Ideas, New Technologies--Harnessing the Power of Web 2.0 Resources for the Weary Instructor" workshop given at the Astronomy Society of the Pacific Cosmos in the Classroom National Symposium on Teaching Astronomy for Non-Science Majors, August 2, 2010, 3:15-4:15 PM, Session A in Eaton 1B80, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO.)

Readers of the Center for Astronomy Education: Improving Astronomy Education CAE@astrolrner listserv were asked to complete a post-workshop assignment (hosted by SurveyMonkey.com).

[Responses have been edited to consolidate common related subjects.]

Write down three words or short phrases (separated by commas) that you think students consider interesting in the sun-stars-galaxies-cosmology portion of an introductory astronomy course.

CAE@astrolrner listserv reader responses
August 2010

age, distance, lookbacktime
blackholes, supernovae, bigbang
aliens, blackholes, planets
blackholes, darkmatter, supernovae
blackholes, supernovae, bigbang
HRdiagram, solarwind, supernovae
bigbang, blackholes, merginggalaxies
universeage, sunsfuture, blackholes
bigbang, darkmatter, starformation
blackholes, exoplanets, spaceweather
fateofEarth, sizeofuniverse, life
blackholes, bigbang, life
moon, blackholes, supernovae
life, hubblepictures, originoftheuniverse

Write down three words or short phrases (separated by commas) that you think students consider confusing in the sun-stars-galaxies-cosmology portion of an introductory astronomy course.

CAE@astrolrner listserv reader responses
August 2010

lookbacktime, cosmicmicrowavebackground, darkenergy
HRdiagrams, darkenergy, neutrinos
stellarlifetimes, size, distance
HRdiagrams, curvedspace, atmospheres
whybigbang, spacetime, lookbacktime
Cepheidvariables, neutronstars, spectralclasses
blackholes, gravity, bigbang
darkenergy, lookbacktime, redgiants
beforebigbang, whybigbang, darkenergy,
HRdiagram, inversesquarelaw, celestialcoordinates
sun, stars, starsburn, solarsystemgalaxy
HRdiagram, spectroscopy, galaxyevolution
stellarevolution, spectroscopy, quantummechanics
bigbang, hubbleslaw

100809 Astrolrner@CAE interesting
http://www.flickr.com/photos/waiferx/4899175076/
Originally uploaded by Waifer X

Wordle.net tag cloud for interesting sun-stars-galaxies-cosmology topics, generated by responses from CAE@astrolnrner listserv readers (http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/2299017/Untitled).


100809 Astrolrner@CAE confusing
http://www.flickr.com/photos/waiferx/4898603115/
Originally uploaded by Waifer X

Wordle.net tag cloud fpr confusing sun-stars-galaxies-cosmology topics, generated by responses from CAE@astrolnrner listserv readers (http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/2299044/Untitled).


Previous posts:

• Presentation: "Old Ideas, New Technologies--Harnessing the Power of Web 2.0 Resources for the Weary Instructor" (Cosmos in the Classroom 2010)
• Online reading assignment question: interesting Midterm 2 astronomy topics (Cuesta College, Spring Semester 2010)
• Online reading assignment question: confusing Midterm 2 astronomy topics (Cuesta College, Spring Semester 2010)

Found physics: University of Colorado, Boulder campus

Found physics items at the Astronomy Society of the Pacific Cosmos in the Classroom National Symposium on Teaching Astronomy for Non-Science Majors, August 2-4, 2010, University Memorial Center (UMC) Ballroom, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO.

20100803686
http://www.flickr.com/photos/waiferx/4882713512/
Originally uploaded by Waifer X

The Colorado Creed, formulated in 2004.


20100803689
http://www.flickr.com/photos/waiferx/4882107619/
Originally uploaded by Waifer X

Staircases on east side of Old Main.


20100803690
http://www.flickr.com/photos/waiferx/4882716282/
Originally uploaded by Waifer X

Southeast corner of Old Main.


20100803691
http://www.flickr.com/photos/waiferx/4882718210/
Originally uploaded by Waifer X

Sculpture in front of Guggenhiem Geography.


20100803696
http://www.flickr.com/photos/waiferx/4882114563/
Originally uploaded by Waifer X

Telescope port in scale model of the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy modified Boeing 747 aircraft.


20100804711
http://www.flickr.com/photos/waiferx/4882115671/
Originally uploaded by Waifer X

Norlin Library.

"Who knows only his generation remains always a child."
--George Norlin

Compare with:

"Nescire autem quid ante quam natus sis acciderit, id est semper esse puerum (To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child)."
--Marcus Tullius Cicero, De Oratore

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
--George Santayana

20100804714
http://www.flickr.com/photos/waiferx/4882120423/
Originally uploaded by Waifer X

Sculpture northeast of Norlin Library.

Poster: "Current Events Quiz at Start of Introductory Astronomy Laboratory Promotes Student Promptness and Awareness" (Cosmos in the Classroom 2010)

Poster "Current Events Quiz at Start of Introductory Astronomy Laboratory Promotes Student Promptness and Awareness" presentation at the Astronomy Society of the Pacific Cosmos in the Classroom National Symposium on Teaching Astronomy for Non-Science Majors, August 2-4, 2010, University Memorial Center (UMC) Ballroom, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO.


100801-1180107
http://www.flickr.com/photos/waiferx/4881124671/
Originally uploaded by Waifer X

Corner of Baseline Street and Broadway Road.


20100804052
http://www.flickr.com/photos/waiferx/4882122181/
Originally uploaded by Waifer X

Poster session in the Glen Miller Ballroom, Multipurpose Room 235 University Memorial Commons.


100802-1180111
http://www.flickr.com/photos/waiferx/4882622382/
Originally uploaded by Waifer X

Cuesta College Physical Sciences instructor Dr. Patrick M. Len.

Presentation: "Old Ideas, New Technologies--Harnessing the Power of Web 2.0 Resources for the Weary Instructor" (Cosmos in the Classroom 2010)

Workshop presented at the Astronomy Society of the Pacific Cosmos in the Classroom National Symposium on Teaching Astronomy for Non-Science Majors, August 2, 2010, 3:15-4:15 PM, Session A in Eaton 1B80, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO.


Starting off with the two most important topics. First important topic: (myself).


Second important topic: this workshop is possible due to a generous travel scholarship from the Astronomical Society of the Pacific and partners (NASA Lunar Science Institute, University of Arizona's Center for Astronomy Education, Chandra Space Telescope EPO Program, Planck Mission, NASA's SOFIA Mission, Spitzer Science Center, Herschel Science Center, I>Clicker).

This workshop will demonstrate how three tried-and-true pedagogical tools can be implemented using the latest Web 2.0 resources.


Reading quizzes to prepare students before coming to lecture. SurveyMonkey.com assigns and collects reading quizzes.


Identification of student preconceptions, for example, regarding the "big bang." Wordle.net displays the frequency of student tags.


Rich visuals for presentations, without resorting to "fair use" of copyrighted material. Flickr.com is an image bank with many open-source "copylefted" images, which provided all the images for this presentation.


SurveyMonkey, Wordle, Flickr. New tools that help you do what you already do.

Let's start our first tool, SurveyMonkey.com, and see how its interface handles the pre-workshop assignment which many of you completed.


In the pre-workshop assignment, astronomy educators were asked their opinion regarding astrology making accurate predictions.




Compare this to Cuesta College students, before a lecture on starwheels and sun-sign astrology, with not as strong an unfavorable opinion.


In the pre-workshop assignment, astronomy educators were asked their opinion regarding Pluto being a planet.




Compare this to Cuesta College students, before a lecture on the 2003 IAU classification scheme, with a favorable opinion of Pluto being a planet.

Wordle is our second tool, used to generate tag clouds.


SurveyMonkey is first used to collect words and phrases associated with a certain topic (in this case, Mars).


These words/phrases are lightly edited, and then put into the Wordle interface to generate a tag cloud.

More frequently-used words are larger in Cuesta College student tags for Mars. This is used to drive discussion in-class.


Mars tag cloud for astronomy educators.

Cuesta College student tags for Venus.


Venus tag cloud for astronomy educators.


The third and last tool is using Flickr to find "open-source" images, as was done for this presentation.

Creative Commons is a non-profit "copyleft" organization facilitating "reasonable" use of copyright materials over and beyond "fair use," as long at the source is cited. Sometimes there are other restrictions such as not-for-profit, no modifications, or share-alike (meaning any work incorporating a "share-alike" work must also have a similar license).

This is a great resource to find images outside of the usual government agencies and open-source wikis. Many people post high-quality copylefted astronomy images.


Don't limit yourself to conventional astronomy images. Through unorthodox keyword searches and perseverance, for example, a range of images from fanciful to figurative can be found for presentation on the end-stages of medium-mass main sequence star.

We have time to address comments and questions from the pre-workshop assignment, and from participants present in the workshop today.


There is a follow-up post-workshop assignment online, due one week from today. The results will be posted later on my astronomy education research blog, along with this presentation.


As astronomy educators, think of concepts from the sun-stars-galaxies-cosmology portion of introductory astronomy that you think students find interesting. These are the interesting topics generated by Cuesta College students.


And confusing topics from Cuesta College students. On the post-workshop assignment, we'll be collecting astronomy educator generated tags for interesting and confusing topics.