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Astronomy Education Review / Volume 11 / Issue 1 / INNOVATIONS

2012, AER, 11 (1), 010202, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.3847/AER2012033

Experiential Education on the Edge: SETI Activities for the College Classroom

Published 4 October 2012

Anthony Crider

Department of Physics, Elon University, Elon, North Carolina 27244

Anthony Weston

Department of Philosophy, Elon University, Elon, North Carolina 27244

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In a sophomore-level, interdisciplinary honors class, we introduced students to the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence through assigned readings, student presentations, classroom discussions, and multiple experiential activities. In this paper, we present four of these novel experiential activities. In the first, students suddenly find themselves trying to make contact with an unknown person who is simultaneously trying to contact them. The second is a course-long role-playing exercise patterned after a “first contact” simulation held annually at the CONTACT: Culture of the Imagination conferences. The third and fourth are parts of a unique final exam where students must respond as a group to two surreal encounters, one being a “2001”-style monolith that shows up, as in the film, entirely without warning or instructions. For the final, we also developed an assessment rubric appropriate for this kind of open-ended test. We conclude by discussing recommendations for implementing similar experiential education activities, both specifically and in spirit, in other classes.

© 2012 The American Astronomical Society

KEYWORDS and PACS

Keywords

astronomy, physics education, College non-majors, astrobiology/SETI, interdisciplinary, experiential education, hands-on activities, teaching approaches, cooperative group activities, tests and quizzes, assessment

PACS

PUBLICATION DATA

ISSN

1539-1515 (online)

Publisher

$abstract.society.value is a Member of CrossRef The American Astronomical Society

ARTICLE DATA

History
Received 13 August 2012
Accepted 29 August 2012
Published online 04 October 2012
Digital Object Identifier
http://dx.doi.org/10.3847/AER2012033

    References

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Figures (click on thumbnails to view enlargements)

FIG.1
Students role-playing a first contact experience between humans and aliens. These “KICK Astronauts” are in their command module remotely observing the progress of the Shuttle One team via a FaceTime video call as the team lands on the planet Aurora.

FIG.1 Download High Resolution Image (.zip file) | Export Figure to PowerPoint

FIG.2
Students role-playing a first contact experience between humans and aliens. These “Aurorans” (in the foreground) are gathered around a sacred fire in their tree dwelling as the human approaches (in the background).

FIG.2 Download High Resolution Image (.zip file) | Export Figure to PowerPoint

FIG.3
Students role-playing a first contact experience with aliens. These “KICK Astronauts” are conducting experiments on a captured “Auroran.”

FIG.3 Download High Resolution Image (.zip file) | Export Figure to PowerPoint

FIG.4
The Final Exam, Part One: Cue “Thus Spake Zarathustra”. Students entered the classroom to find it completely empty except for an 8-feet tall black monolith akin to the one in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Four cameras and microphones in each corner of the room recorded their responses.

FIG.4 Download High Resolution Image (.zip file) | Export Figure to PowerPoint

FIG.5
During the third 30 min, students used the monolith as a conference table and discussed how the monolith related to the class themes.

FIG.5 Download High Resolution Image (.zip file) | Export Figure to PowerPoint

FIG.6
The second part of the final exam, later dubbed “Part Two: Animal Planet,” took place in the backyard of Crider's home. The students entered and found three hens, a pitcher of water, a bowl of sesame seeds, assorted glassware, five cheese pizzas, and one barbeque chicken pizza.

FIG.6 Download High Resolution Image (.zip file) | Export Figure to PowerPoint



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