Optics Education in the International Year of Astronomy

Walker, Constance E.; Sparks, Robert T.; Pompea, S. M.

doi:10.1364/etop.2007.esd4

Cited by 9 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 3 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…It has also created a citizen science program called Globe at Night on light pollution and illumination engineering 12 , a specialized yearlong program to engage the public in optics 13 , and instructional kits for the International Year of Light 2015.…”

Section: New Strategies For Advancing Optics Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teaching optics concepts through an approach that emphasizes the colors of nature

Pompea

Conner

2015

SPIE Proceedings

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A wide variety of optics concepts can be taught using the overall perspective of "colors of nature" as a guiding and unifying theme. This approach is attractive and interesting with a wide appeal to children, nature enthusiasts, photographers, and artists. This approach also encourages a deep understanding of the natural world and the role of coloration in biology, remote sensing, the aurora, mineralogy, meteorology, in human-made objects, and astronomy, to name a few. Third, using this theme promotes a close look at optical phenomena at all size scales-from the microscopic (e.g. silica spheres in opals) to the mid-scale (the aurora), to the largest scale (astronomical phenomena such as gaseous emission nebula). Fourth, the natural and human-constructed world provides accessible and beautiful examples of complex phenomena such as interference, diffraction, atomic and molecular emissions, Rayleigh and Mie scattering, illumination engineering, and fluorescence. These areas can be explored successfully in the context of "colors of nature". Finally, using the "colors of nature" also promotes an understanding of technology, from flashlights to streetlights, from telescopes and binoculars, to spectrometers and digital cameras. For examples something as simple as how to set the white balance on a digital camera to get a realistic looking photograph can lead to a lengthy exploration of spectrally selective surfaces and their reflectance, the nature of different illumination sources, the meaning of color temperature, and role of calibration in a digital image.We have used this approach of teaching using the colors of nature as an organizing theme in our NSF-funded project "Project STEAM: Integrating Art with Science to Build Science Identities Among Girls" (colorsofnature.org).

show abstract

Section: New Strategies For Advancing Optics Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teaching optics concepts through an approach that emphasizes the colors of nature

Pompea

Conner

2015

SPIE Proceedings

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…An educational collaborative of SPIE, OSA, and NOAO 4 developed Terrific Telescopes to teach the optics of telescopes. [4][5][6] It was originally designed for use in science centers around the world. It has been used in a range of informal and formal education settings, training 178 teachers and reaching upward of 30,000 people.…”

Section: Instruction and Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…4 While other projects have reported on similar teacher preparation or curriculum implementation projects related to HOO, TEBS took the further step of measuring student outcomes and collecting teacher feedback after the curriculum was taught. 5,6 The results of TEBS add to our understanding of how to effectively teach optics, specifically basic geometric optics, to precollege students.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teaching and learning geometric optics in middle school through the Turning Eyes to the Big Sky project

Leonard¹,

Hannahoe²,

Nollmeyer³

et al. 2013

Opt. Eng

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. The Turning Eyes to the Big Sky project offered schools in southwestern Montana a unique opportunity to strengthen science instruction. The project implemented, in a formal setting, a nationally established informal science curriculum on light and optics, the Hands-on Optics Terrific Telescopes curriculum. Terrific Telescopes was implemented in eight middle-school classrooms and reached 166 students during the 2010 to 2011 school year. As part of the project, we conducted a teacher workshop and assessed student learning outcomes and teachers' experiences with the curriculum. The goals of our assessments were to improve our understanding of how students learn key optics-related principles, provide evidence of the learning outcomes of Terrific Telescopes, and find out how teachers adapt the curriculum for use in formal settings. Our research established that students in every classroom learned optics concepts, uncovered student ideas about telescope optics, and identified ways to support and supplement the curriculum for use in classrooms. © The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Distribution or reproduction of this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of the original publication, including its DOI.

show abstract

“…Opportunities to learn concepts in illumination engineering are typically introduced at the college level [1] , with topics such as photopic and scotopic vision, nighttime visibility, color rendering, reflectance and scattering models, Lambertian surfaces, uniform ground illumination, different sources of illumination, and exterior lighting design. [2,3,4] To plant the seed at an earlier age [5,6,7] , the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), in collaboration with the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA), has developed teaching resources for students in grades 3-12. The IDA estimates that one-third of outdoor lighting escapes unused into space, causing light pollution.…”

Section: Light Pollution As a Tool To Teach About Illumination Enginementioning

confidence: 99%

<title>Teaching illumination engineering using light pollution education kits</title>

et al. 2010

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

One-third of outdoor lighting escapes unused into space, causing light pollution. Light pollution is a growing concern on many fronts: energy conservation, cost, safety, health, effects on wildlife, and our ability to view the stars. How we use illumination engineering to optimize where, when, and how light is used is of significant importance. We will discuss how NOAO's light pollution education kits are used to teach illumination engineering. In particular we will address topics associated with achieving sufficient ground coverage, color rendition, types of outdoor lighting, glare and sky glow, assessment of city lights, and task-oriented lighting.

show abstract

Optics Education in the International Year of Astronomy

Cited by 9 publications

References 3 publications

Teaching optics concepts through an approach that emphasizes the colors of nature

Teaching optics concepts through an approach that emphasizes the colors of nature

Teaching and learning geometric optics in middle school through the Turning Eyes to the Big Sky project

<title>Teaching illumination engineering using light pollution education kits</title>

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About