A traditional introductory college astronomy course was restructured along constructivist lines to better foster a key component of science literacy: critical thinking about problems in science. The restructured course was lecture-free, problem-centered, and collaborative in structure. The Reflective Judgment Framework was used to better…

This guide is aimed at helping students arrive at a clear understanding of seasons as they investigate the connections between the sun and the earth. Activities include: (1) "Name the Season"; (2) "Sun-Earth Survey"; (3) "Trip to the Sun"; (4) "What Shape is Earth's Orbit?"; (5) "Temperatures around the…

A description of the moon's total eclipse indicating the path, traveling speed and duration, followed by a concise description of how a total eclipse happens and what scientists actually study with relations to an eclipse. (EB)

Describes a high school astronomy course oriented around activities and designed to be fun-centered.'' The course is presented in packet form in order to keep the units of study short and comprehensible. Modular scheduling systems and field work are utilized to stress the activities approach. (JR)

Discusses various ways established by the Task Group on Education in Astronomy, including publication of teaching resources and lists of speakers for teachers' meetings at all levels and of writers of articles for teachers' journals. (CC)

Presents a quiz on Copernicus' life, work, and impact on human thought for the purpose of sharpening some of the prevalent ideas about Copernicus. Includes the answers with detailed discussions. (CC)

Discusses the use of a horoscope-casting laboratory exercise in the astronomy course. Indicates that students can fulfill three objectives: (1) summarize the planetary motions in the geometric universe, (2) be familiar with sidereal and solar time, and (3) be acquainted with the uses ephemerides. (CC)

Ten hypothetical problems are described which should enable students to understand fundamental concepts of the solar system. (PS)

Presents a list of 52 earth science concepts in order of their ranking by a panel of earth scientists asked to judge importance for inclusion in the school curriculum. (AL)

Describes two improvised models which can be used in classrooms to teach latitude concepts. Because of low costs involved, each student can be given the instruments involved in finding angles of elevations of different objects. (PS)

Describes an elementary school science activity related to telling time by apparent star motion. Directions are given for construction and use of a Polar Dial" to determine local sidereal time. Methods of conversion to local civil time and standard time are given. (JM)