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

Abstract

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 101͒. 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 ͑LSCI͒ 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 characteristics͒, achieved characteristics ͑academic achievement and student major͒, 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. 1 The normalized gain is calculated as g = ͑post% − pre%͒ / ͑100− pre%͒, where pre% and post% are the percent correct for each student on the LSCI before and after instruction respectively. The denominator removes bias introduced by different pre-instruction starting points for each student. 2 The LSCI used in this study came in two forms, some with only two demographic questions: "What is your gender?" and "Have you previously taken an astronomy course?" others with all 15 demographics questions listed in the Appendix.

Development and Validation of the Star Properties Concept Inventory

“…The first is that all of the data were collected at a single institution. While there is no reason to believe that the students at this institution are dramatically different from students across the USA in terms of their demographics, motivation toward general education coursework, or astronomy knowledge (Rudolph et al, 2010;Slater et al, 2001), testing this claim was beyond the scope of this study. A validation study that includes ASTRO 101 courses from multiple institutions is currently in progress.…”

“…2257-2286 of such studies are only recently impacting the introductory astronomy course for non-science majors in meaningful ways. Hereafter, we refer to this introductory course, a popular one within USA's tertiary institutions (Fraknoi, 2001;Partridge & Greenstein, 2003;Rudolph, Prather, Brissenden, Consiglio, & Gonzaga, 2010), as 'ASTRO 101'. Both traditional and action research studies in ASTRO 101, as well as their brethren in other science disciplines, are affecting how instructors design their courses to better facilitate meaningful learning.…”

Linking introductory astronomy students’ basic science knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, sources of information, and information literacy

“…Our previous work has shown that there has been little change in students' science knowledge responses over time and that students' demographic information explains a minimal amount of the variance in their knowledge scores [40,42]. However, other work has also shown that (a) introductory astronomy courses are popular among a broad range of students [1,2,21], (b) the number of college science courses has been shown to be a strong predictor of civic scientific literacy, defined as having "(1) a basic vocabulary of scientific terms and constructs; and (2) a general understanding of the nature of scientific inquiry" (p. 273) in U.S. adults [14], and (c) a positive relationship exists between interest and attitudes and individuals' understanding in science [26][27][28]. In addition, there is ongoing interest in building students' scientific literacy comprised of multiple facets, including scientific knowledge and students' ability to locate and use information (information literacy) [9,16,17].…”

“…Astronomy 101 courses are popular elective courses that attract a wide range of students and thus provide a unique opportunity to affect students from a variety of nonscience disciplines who take these courses. The students who take introductory astronomy courses as nonmajors represent a wide range of society who are well educated but may not enter a science or technical careers [21]. These courses often recruit students who are averse to math and looking to fulfill their general education science requirements.…”

Investigating undergraduate students’ ideas about the fate of the Universe

“…Prior to an introductory astronomy course, students' exposure to astronomy is typically limited to middle school science curricula and, according to the National Science Board's Science and Engineering Indicators [35], information from various media outlets such as television documentaries and movies. Additionally, most of these students will not take any further astronomy classes following the introductory astronomy course [36], and the understanding these students gain from an introductory astronomy course will serve as the foundation of their astronomy knowledge. Therefore, providing introductory astronomy courses that are based on a modern view of the Universe and a modern treatment of science, which address and build on the ideas students bring to the classroom, can contribute to the development of a more scientifically literate society.…”