Geoscience education researchers have considerable need for criterion-referenced, easy-to-administer, easy-to-score, conceptual surveys for undergraduates taking introductory science survey courses in order for faculty to monitor the learning impacts of innovative teaching. In response, this study establishes the reliability and validity of a…

As discipline-based astronomy education researchers become more interested in experimentally testing innovative teaching strategies to enhance learning in undergraduate introductory astronomy survey courses ("ASTRO 101"), scholars are placing increased attention toward better understanding factors impacting student gain scores on the…

A Geological Perspective is a general education survey course for non-science majors at a large southwestern research extensive university. The class has traditionally served 600 students per semester in four 150-student lectures taught by faculty, and accompanied by optional weekly study groups run by graduate teaching assistants. We radically…

This study (Note 1) investigated the beliefs about stars that students hold when they enter an undergraduate introductory astronomy course for nonscience majors. Students' preinstructional ideas were investigated through the use of several student-supplied-response (SSR) surveys, which asked students to describe their ideas about topics such as…

This project explores the effectiveness of learner-centered education (LCE) principles and practices on student learning and attitudes in an online interactive introductory astronomy course for non-science majors by comparing a high-quality Internet-delivered course with a high-quality on-campus course, both of which are based on the principles of…