Connecting Classroom and Sky: Helping Students Observe the Sky in Ways that are Meaningful, Modern, and Scientific
Abstract
Introductory undergraduate astronomy courses have long aimed to familiarize students with the night sky. Through observations of objects such as globular clusters, the moons of Jupiter, the phases of Venus, students connect what they learn in class with observational evidence. At BYU, students complete several "Observing Projects" over the course of the semester. These projects have long centered on worksheets which included some form of observation to be made, data to be gathered (frequently through a hand-drawn picture) and follow-up questions for analysis. Although these projects were useful in allowing students guided opportunities to look through telescopes, they were badly outdated, and many students viewed them as busy-work instead of useful learning opportunities. We have updated and expanded the Observing Projects to facilitate greater understanding of astronomy and the scientific method in the modern world. We have removed mentions of floppy disks and have instead added opportunities to participate in online citizen science, use cell phone apps to make quantitative measurements, use CCD data (taken in three different filters) to create a combined RGB image, and understand galaxy classifications using archival data from SDSS. Students still have extensive access to telescopes for the duration of this course, but the Observing Projects now introduce them to resources that they will have after this course as well. We have given students increased flexibility when choosing which projects they will do. Students are more engaged in the scientific process, with the addition of a formal-write up that further encourages students to analyze their data, draw meaningful conclusions, and communicate their results. The new Observing Projects boast flexibility, modernity, and greater potential for analysis and learning, and they represent a significant improvement over the former observing projects.
- Publication:
-
American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #233
- Pub Date:
- January 2019
- Bibcode:
- 2019AAS...23325701S