Two astronomy professors, using the Decoding the Disciplines process, help their students use abstract theories to analyze light and to visualize the enormous scale of astronomical concepts. (Contains 5 figures.)

It is argued that a positive response to lifelong learning policies involves the use of imaginative curriculum design in order to attract learners from disadvantaged backgrounds who are otherwise alienated from higher education. In this article a case study is presented based on the popularity of science fiction within popular culture, beginning…

The increased availability of computational modeling software has created opportunities for students to engage in scientific inquiry through constructing computer-based models of scientific phenomena. However, despite the growing trend of integrating technology into science curricula, educators need to understand what aspects of these technologies…

Estimates are that approximately 100,000 to 125,000 students take introductory astronomy classes each year at colleges and universities that do not grant bachelor's or higher degrees in physics or astronomy. This represents roughly 40% to 50% of the total number of students taking intro astronomy in the United States. Such nonresearch institutions…

The American Astronomical Society has recently developed an ambitious set of goals for introductory astronomy courses. How well does an introductory astronomy course based firmly on these goals actually do? In this article, an education student enrolled in such a class and the professor who taught it present an unvarnished analysis of one course…

A teacher's scientific understanding has a dramatic impact on students' ability to learn science. This article describes the results of administering the Astronomy Diagnostic Test to 142 science teachers in Wisconsin. The results show that these teachers are lacking a deep, coherent understanding of astronomy concepts. Implications for these…

Teaching university physics through the internet is not new, but a new course providing the same service for secondary school students is the first of its kind in Hong Kong. Taking advantage of the fast and affordable broadband internet in the region, some university courses have been converted to a cyber curriculum suitable for secondary school…

The SunWise Program is designed to help meteorologists raise sun safety awareness by addressing the science of the sun, the risk of overexposure to its ultraviolet (UV) radiation, and what students and their families can do to protect themselves from overexposure. This Tool Kit has been designed for use all over the United States and its…

NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) Engineers at Marshall Space Flight Center along with their partners at other NASA centers, and in private industry, are designing and beginning to develop the next generation of spacecraft to transport cargo, equipment, and human explorers to space. These vehicles are part of the Constellation…

A qualitative study was conducted of the way faculty perceived the effects of national rankings on two departments in a large public research university. The department of physics and astronomy and the school of business of the university were both ranked in the top 20 nationally, but both were ranked lower than the administration and faculty…

A glossary of 50 astronimical terms is presented. Among terms included are: Asteroid; Big Bang; Binary Star; Black Hole; Comet; Constellation; Eclipse; Equinox; Galaxy; Globular Cluster; Local Group; Magellanic Clouds; Nebula; Neutron Star; Nova; Parsec; Quasar; Radio Astronomy; Red Giant; Red Shift; S.E.T.I.; Solstice; Supernova; and White Dwarf.…

A study of the communication skill needs of the foreign teaching associate (TA) in American universities focused on two questions: (1) What does a foreign TA do to communicate information in an American classroom in terms of comunication strategies and devices for cohesion and coherence of discourse? and (2) How does this compare with the way an…

Doing science in the Shuttle and Spacelab is a different experience than having an instrument on a satellite; science becomes more "personal." Interaction between scientists on the ground and the onboard crew in conducting experiments adds a new dimension to a science mission. It transforms the mission from a focus on machines,…

The modern scientific enterprise often appears so complex and sophisticated that it may seem unapproachable. This view of science is questioned in this booklet, which looks at science as a human endeavor, one which is within the grasp of all people. This document highlights the personal stories of four young scientists in an effort to provide…

This study addressed problems of context organization and learning mediators in planetarium classrooms by testing a hypothesis that advance organizers and clustering singly and in combination would be more effective learning mediators than traditional planetarium instruction lacking these mediators. Subjects (N=832) received one of four treatments…