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Astronomy Education Review / Volume 9 / Issue 1 / RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS

2010, AER, 9 (1), 010107, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.3847/AER0009068

A National Study Assessing the Teaching and Learning of Introductory Astronomy Part II: The Connection between Student Demographics and Learning

Published 19 April 2010

Alexander L. Rudolph and Vicente Gonzaga

Department of Physics, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, California, 91768

Edward E. Prather and Gina Brissenden

Department of Astronomy and Center for Astronomy Education, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, 85719

David Consiglio

Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, 19010

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This is the second in a series of reports on a national study of the teaching and learning of astronomy in general education, nonscience major, introductory college astronomy courses (hereafter referred to as Astro 101). The analysis reported here was conducted using data from nearly 2000 students enrolled in 69 Astro 101 classes taught across the country. These students completed a 15-question demographic survey, in addition to completing the 26-question Light and Spectroscopy Concept Inventory (LSCI) pre- and post-instruction. The LSCI was used to determine students’ learning via a normalized gain calculated for each student. A multivariate regression analysis was conducted to determine how ascribed characteristics (personal demographic and family characteristics), achieved characteristics (academic achievement and student major), and the use of interactive learning strategies are related to student learning in these classes. The results show dramatic improvement in student learning with increased use of interactive learning strategies even after controlling for individual characteristics. In addition, we find that the positive effects of interactive learning strategies apply equally to men and women, across ethnicities, for students with all levels of prior mathematical preparation and physical science course experience, independent of GPA, and regardless of primary language. These results powerfully illustrate that all categories of students can benefit from the effective implementation of interactive learning strategies.

© 2010 The American Astronomical Society

KEYWORDS and PACS

Keywords

astronomy, educational courses, physics education, teaching, astronomy, research into teaching/learning, college nonmajors, teaching approaches, 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 09 November 2009
Accepted 03 February 2010
Published online 19 April 2010
Digital Object Identifier
http://dx.doi.org/10.3847/AER0009068

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Figures (2) Tables (2)

Figures (click on thumbnails to view enlargements)

FIG.1
Pie charts showing a comparison of three demographic variables: gender, ethnicity, and parents’ income between our national data set of students enrolled in Astro 101 classes (top row) and the national CIRP survey of college freshmen (bottom row).

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

FIG.2
Graph of multivariate model results showing predicted gain by major (after controlling for all other variables) as a function of IAS for various students enrolled in Astro 101: all students (dashed black line); those who chose “Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences” as their major/area of interest (blue line); and those who chose any other major/area of interest: “Science, Engineering, and Architecture,” “Business or Professional,” “Education,” or “Other” (red line).

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

Tables

Table II. Model 0

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Table III. Models 1–4

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