Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA
Students have a weekly online reading assignment (hosted by SurveyMonkey.com), where they answer questions based on reading their textbook, material covered in previous lectures, opinion questions, and/or asking (anonymous) questions or making (anonymous) comments. Full credit is given for completing the online reading assignment before next week's lecture, regardless if whether their answers are correct/incorrect. Selected results/questions/comments are addressed by the instructor at the start of the following lecture.
The following questions were asked on reading textbook chapters and previewing presentations on Earth's rotation/precession/revolution/tilt, the moon's motions and cycles, and on reading advice from previous semester Astr 210 students.
Selected/edited responses are given below.
Describe something you found interesting from the assigned textbook reading or presentation preview, and explain why this was personally interesting for you.
"The celestial sphere. I had never really thought about how the rotation of the earth affected what we see in the night sky, or that the sky I see at this time of year might look totally different in a few months."
"The precession of Earth astounds me that it lasts 26,000 years. I've never heard about this factor of theEarth like most of the things already discussed in the chapter."
"The phases of the moon, and how the sun illuminates light to it. The moon is visible as a half circle two times during the eight phases."
"I've always had some interest in zodiac signs so it was interesting to note that they represent where the earth is in its orbit around the sun. I always knew they had certain dates but I never knew the reasoning for it."
"I really enjoyed learning about the earth rotation and its effect on the celestial sphere. I never knew that the zodiac signs had a connection with the months. I've never really understand how all the zodiac sign stuff worked and I kind of got a hint of it, so that was groovy. Also just learning about the proper moon vocabulary was interesting."
Describe something you found confusing from the assigned textbook reading or presentation preview, and explain why this was personally confusing for you.
"The starwheel was confusing because I still don't know how to read it and I can't find all the constellations."
"Generally, my issue would be remembering some vocabulary as well as needing some refreshers on some methods of starwheel use."
"The concept of the 'wobbling poles'. I was under the impression that the poles were sort of fixed, and that's why they can be used for navigational purposes. I'm looking forward to a more in-depth explanation in class."
"The waxing and waning moon phases because I don't quite understand how to identify either or."
"How the moon goes through its phases and where exactly is earth's and the sun's placement in creating each phase. I've read the book and the presentation I felt was more helpful but for some reason it doesn't seem to be clicking."
"The Earth-moon-sun diagrams, I really tried to understand it, but I was struggling with the slides. I couldn't really understand what it was trying to convey. If you could please go over this the next time we meet in class that would great."
The constellation Virgo is just above the east horizon, as seen by an observer at 11 PM in San Luis Obispo, CA. What date is this? (Ignore daylight saving time.)
February 20. ********** [10] April 25. [0] July 4. [0] August 20. * [1] (Unsure/guessing/lost/help!) ******** [8]
Match these cycles with their approximate duration.
(Only correct responses shown.)
Earth's rotation: 24 hours [100%]I believe astrology is able to make accurate predictions about my future. (This is just an opinion question, there are no right answers.)
Earth's revolution: one year [63%]
Earth's precession: 26,000 years [100%]
The moon's revolution: one month [63%]
Strongly disagree. * [1] Disagree. **** [4] Neutral. ******** [8] Agree. ***** [5] Strongly agree. * [1]
Briefly explain your answer regarding your belief/disbelief in astrology. (This is just an opinion question, there are no right answers.)
"I'm neutral because I'll be in my room reading my zodiac thing, and bam next thing I know the predictions come true and I find like 20 bucks on the floor."
"I do believe in a spiritual sense that zodiac signs are accurate to some degree just based off of when you were born and the character traits you hold , but I do think people take them too far when they try to tell people their futures."
"I never really believed in astrology having to do anything with our future. I also haven't put much though into it. I just find it difficult to believe that stars can predict our future, but I may be wrong."
"My answer is neutral because I find it rather hard to believe that based on astrology one can determine their own future. That I know of there is no scientific evidence that guarantees what exactly can happen. Also the future itself is very unpredictable I don't believe there is any way one can truly know what will happen."
"I chose neutral because I believe that although it could predict our futures we can choose to change what is expected on this Earth and in our future. We can change anything we have the power of doing."
"Never had much faith in anything, so I guess it's just because astrology has never been in my life much."
"Astrology is a load of garbage. The idea that the positions of the stars could in any way predict or portend the future is ridiculous, and it makes me angry when people bring it up."
"I'm not sure why I believe in astrology. I do find it very ironic that many events in life do match up to the explanations of astrology. So much so, that over my adult years, it is hard to deny the link between astrology and logical/realistic thinking. I do know that my life's outcome does not solely rely on astrology."
"I don't believe that your life is decided by the stars, but it's fun to follow and compare with other people."
"Astrology is a pseudoscience and therefore not factual."
"I am neutral because I think they are capable on making accurate predictions, but they also can fail to predict it correctly."
"I feel, at least for me, seasons and sky positions can greatly affect my mood therefore altering how I behave and progress or degrees."
"Astrology seems to be accurate at times. Although I don't believe it determines everything in life, I do believe it plays a small part in who we are."
"I don't really have an opinion on this because I don't see any ways in which it can predict my future, however, if I were to be shown the different ways, than I could possibly have a different opinion."
"Astrology has been around for thousands of years and they have not disappointed. With the invention of telescopes we were able to see when comets were going to pass by or if there was to be a solar eclipse in the next year of so."
"I chose neutral because I like to believe in logical answers yet there's always a part of me that hopes supernatural stuff like this actually occurs. "
"When I was in high school, I would use some apps that would tell me my horoscope. I wouldn't look at the daily ones until the day was over so I wouldn't have an altered mindset throughout the day. Almost all of the horoscopes were accurate, though others that weren't accurate didn't really factor in the attribute of interacting with other people of different zodiac signs. Same would go for weekly (which I wouldn't check until the weekends (those had larger margins of error, however)), and the monthly I would check on the 25th day of every month (also larger error margin)."
Place these moon phases in chronological order in their cycle (starting with new moon).
(Only correct responses shown, in unscrambled order.)
New moon: first [84%]Pick one piece of student advice from the previous semester, and discuss why you agree (or disagree) with it.
Waxing crescent: second [89%]
First quarter: third [89%]
Waxing gibbous: fourth [79%]
Full moon: fifth [84%]
Waning gibbous: sixth [79%]
Third quarter: seventh [84%]
Waning crescent: eighth [84%]
"'You learn everything in class, so study your notes and your quizzes.' I agree with this advice because you cant really learn what's being learned in class if you aren't in class. taking notes is something everyone should do so that you can study it and do good in the class."
"'Do all the things early!' I can agree with the student who wrote this. Staying on top of your work is key. I have a big problem with procrastination and tend to leave everything to the last minute. I hope this semester to get ahead of my work and take this advice serious."
"'Just show up to class, do the reading, and don't be afraid to ask questions.' this advice is something I agree with because I lack on the reading at times and I would like to change that."
"'Take your time doing the reading! Make time for online reading assignments and study continuously.' I agree with this piece of advice because I like to have a steady pace while I learn. If I don't take my time I will not learn anything."
"'To be successful in this course you need to understand the online reading assignments and be an active listener during lectures.' I agree with this because understanding the online assignments will help me succeed in astrology and being an active listener is important because failing to pay attention to what the teacher is saying in any class is just going to make your work more difficult to do."
"'Just keep swimming' was probably my favorite out of all of them. (A) Nostalgia. (B) It's very true. Since this won't be a conventional subject that you would learn as a GE in high school, I know it's going to be a challenge for me. Knowing this, I'm determined to get through this semester (right now anyway) and face these challenges head on with the support of P-dog and my peers/colleagues."
Ask the instructor an anonymous question, or make a comment. Selected questions/comments may be discussed in class.
"Please help distinguish the terms from each other."
"Although I procrastinated this week, I look forward to a great semester. The class seems very interesting and honestly I have hardly any education or recall about anything that has to do with astronomy. As of right now I don't really have questions but I'm sure a few weeks into the semester I will have many. I also haven't purchased my starwheel so I was unable to complete that question."
"I am having a hard time understanding what is due, when is it due, and where do I access everthing. I feel that there are several different places to access asignments and I just need better direction so that I can gain assurance."
"Will we be given a study guide for quizzes and exams? And are we going to go over the moon phases in class?" (Yes, and yes.)
"Do we go over all the material we just read in the book and in the presentations in class?" (Yes, and yes, but selectively in-depth, depending on your responses to the online reading assignments.)
"So when you hear a thing referred to as a 'blood moon' what is that and how often does that occur?" (Many lunar eclipses are dark brown, but some are orange or reddish, and those would be called "blood moons." More on that phenomena next week, after you take the first quiz.)
"How long have you taught astronomy? You said you majored in physics and were approached to teach astronomy, but you never said how long ago that was." (I taught my first class in astronomy nearly twenty years ago.)
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