Bridging the Gap in Astronomy:
K-12 to College
William J. Straits & R. Russell Wilke
The University of Texas at Austin
Notes:
The Discovery Learning Project is especially interested in bringing discovery or active learning into introductory college science and math classes. Both Mike Zeilik (the next speaker) and Grace Deming of University of Maryland have visited TX to talk about their work to members of the Discovery Learning team.
This class did not replicate either class, but combined attributes of cooperative learning with classroom activities. Some of the U Md techniques, such as 'Running Paper', were used.
In addition, some activities from my project for K-12 teachers, AASTRA, were incorporated into the class.
The class met for 1 hr 15 minutes twice a week for 15 weeks. My collaborator for the class was Harriet Dinerstein. The roles of Russell Wilke and Bill Straits will be described later. We also had the services of a teaching assistant for 10 hours per week; Michael Yuan attended class, graded homework, held office hours and one help session per week.
Comments on "Bridging the Gap" in the title concerns the
differences between instruction in K-12 and introductory college courses:
- structure of the course is usually different
- expectations of the students may be different
- implementing the K-12 science reform as articulated by the NSES will change the preparations of college students