DOCSLIB.ORG

Astronomy in the United States: Workforce Development and Public Engagement

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Astronomy in the United States: Workforce Development and Public Engagement Organizations, People and Strategies in Astronomy I (OPSA I), 77-91 Ed. A. Heck, © 2012 Venngeist. ASTRONOMY IN THE UNITED STATES: WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT CHRIS IMPEY University of Arizona Steward Observatory 933 N. Cherry Avenue Tucson AZ 85721, U.S.A. [email protected] Abstract. Astronomy workforce development and public engagement in the United States are described. The number of professional astronomers has grown by about a third in the past 25 years, to about 4000. Only one in four are faculty in an academic setting; the rest work in a wide range of public and private research institutes. PhD production has remained steady at about 200 per year. Women account for roughly half of BSc degrees and a third of PhD degrees, but their participation declines to about 10% at the level of full professor. Minorities are underrepresented by a substantial fac- tor at all levels of the profession. In terms of public engagement, astronomy has unique advantages associated with its visual appeal and the large and active amateur astronomy community. The are 1400 public planetaria in the U.S., with another 110 in schools and universities. Astronomers have made good use of new media such as blogs and podcasts and social networks, but the biggest impact has been in the area of citizen science, where people with no technical background contribute directly to a research project by, for example, classifying galaxies. The International Year of Astronomy and the remarkable success of the Galileoscope have inspired large numbers of people to appreciate astronomy, contributing indirectly to the professional vitality of the field. 1. Introduction Astronomy has a singular status among all sciences in the awareness of the general public. Throughout its long history it has been twined with culture 78 CHRIS IMPEY through stories told about stars and planets, and it has been embedded in daily life through its importance for navigation and time-keeping. From the time of the Copernican Revolution, astronomy has shaped our sense of our place in a vast and ancient universe. In the modern age, astronomy is one of the most vital sciences, with discoveries spurred by sophisticated space observatories and large new ground-based telescopes. Part of its popularity is its instant visual appeal; images from the Hubble Space Telescope have attained iconic status around the world. Astronomy is simultaneously big and small sciencecutting edge facilities cost billions of dollars, but CCDs are cheap enough that a legion of amateur astronomers participates, and they can generate publishable research. The public feels ownership over the subject in a way that benefits the profession and its practitioners. This article will give an overview of the development of an astronomical workforce and the modes by which astronomers engage with the public. Space is too limited for details, which can be pursued through references at the end. The focus is the United States, but professional astronomy is a highly collaborative “village” of 10,000 people, with projects and meetings drawing from many countries. The same is true of public engagement. The ubiquity and reach of the Internet, and the rise of English as the dominant second language, mean that astronomy outreach can be truly international. The US community goes through an important process every ten years called the Decadal Survey (National Research Council 2010). Sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences, each decadal survey harnesses a broad swathe of the community in preparing a report that summarizes the state of the profession and sets funding priorities for the succeeding ten years. This type of high-stakes consensual exercise is rare in any scientific field. 2. Workforce Development The world does not have, and probably does not need, a large number of astronomers. The economic benefits of astronomy are largely indirect and the “currency” of the field is primarily intellectual. In challenging economic times, it can be difficult to defend investment in work that is motivated by expanding the understanding of the universe we live in. Yet it is a pursuit that exemplifies our capacity for abstract thought and separates us from all other species on the planet. At its best, astronomy is both inspirational and humbling. 2.1. DEMOGRAPHICS OF ASTRONOMERS The best gauge of the number of professional astronomers in the US is the count of full members of the American Astronomical Society. This has risen from just under 3000 in 1984 to 4000 in 2009 (Fig. 1). There are © 2012 Venngeist ASTRONOMY IN THE UNITED STATES 79 Figure 1. Membership of the American Astronomical Society from 1984 to 2009, in- cluding members inside and outside the United States. Growth was 33% during a period when the US population increased by 25%. (Courtesy Kevin Marvel and the AAS) also 1000 junior members, typically astronomy students, and 2500 “other” members, consisting of an assortment of teachers, professionals in related fields, and amateur astronomers (American Astronomical Society 2005). This total probably grows to 9000 if others who do not necessarily self- identify as astronomers, such as relativists, cosmologists and astro-particle physicists, are included. Globally, the International Astronomical Union has a membership of 10,000, roughly a quarter of who are from the US. Most astronomers work in academic settings and their jobs involve a mix of teaching and research (Fig. 2). Then come research institutes associated with universities and observatories (e.g. CARMA, Carnegie, CSO, LBT, Kavli, Keck, SAO). About one in six astronomers either works for the gov- ernment (NSF, NASA, NRL, USNO) or in federally-funded research and development centers operated by NASA (e.g. Ames, Goddard, Kennedy, JPL, Marshall) or the NSF (Gemini, NAIC, NSO, NOAO, NRAO, NSO). The non-profit category includes old and illustrious planetaria (Adler, Grif- fith, Hayden), and there is a smattering of astronomers in industry and the military. Among the large cohort of academic astronomers, many are on soft money or have adjunct faculty status so have little job security. Aca- demic astronomy suffers from the constrained resources that hamper public universities all over the US. © 2012 Venngeist 80 CHRIS IMPEY Figure 2. Employment in astronomy and closely related fields, from a random sam- ple of 705 member of the American Institute of Physics and affiliated societies. UARI’s are University-affiliated research institutes like NASA centers and National Observato- ries. FFR&DCs are Federally-funded research and development centers like JPL and Los Alamos Laboratory. (Courtesy Rachel Ivie and the AIP Statistical Research Center) 2.2. THE TRAINING OF ASTRONOMERS Astronomy is a relatively small academic field. Between 1997 and 2006 the number of astronomy BSc degrees doubled from 170 while PhD degrees were steady at about 200 per year (Fig. 3). By way of comparison, the 350 BSc and 200 PhD degrees in astronomy awarded in 2006 is far less than the 16,000 BSc degrees and 3700 PhD degrees in other physical sciences or the 90,000 BSc degrees and 7700 PhD degrees in life and agricultural sciences (National Science Foundation 2011). Astronomy has close ties to physics so these numbers are underestimates, since students can pursue physics degrees with a specialization in astronomy. About 3/4 of these graduates are US citizens or permanent residents and 90% stay in the US after graduation (Ivie 2010). The next part of the standard career path has benefited from government investment in major research facilities over the past twenty years. After the PhD, most astronomers look for a postdoctoral fellowship or a fixed-term © 2012 Venngeist ASTRONOMY IN THE UNITED STATES 81 Figure 3. Astronomy degrees earned in the United States from 1997 to 2006. Masters degrees include those earned en route to a PhD The rise in Bachelors degrees was caused by physics departments adding the option of a double major. (Sources are the NSF for the PhD, the National Center for Education Statistics for the MSc, and the AIP for the BSc) research position. Using the metric of positions advertised in the AAS Job Register, the number of such positions has doubled in the past ten years 2 and /3 of all PhD recipients take such a position (Fig. 4). Eight years after PhD, 85% of astronomers have long-term or permanent jobs, half in research and half in administration or teaching. In the US there are 1700 faculty positions, with 35% in astronomy departments and 65% in physics departments. Assuming no growth in that sector and replacement after 35 years, that implies there will only be academic employment in the future for 1/4 of astronomy PhD recipients (Ivie 2010). On the other hand, the unemployment rate for people with degrees in astronomy and astrophysics is very low, about 1% (American Astronomical Society 2005). 2.3. DIVERSITY AND DIVERSIFICATION Astronomers are still mostly male, white, and relatively old, although there are trends making the profession more diverse. There has been slow and steady success in attracting women into astronomy, with a rise from 10% to 30% in the percentage of women receiving BSc degrees from 1966 to 2001 and a rise from 5% to 22% of women receiving PhD degrees over the same period (Fig. 5). Gender parity is much better than in physics but markedly worse than in biology. The American Institute of Physics workforce surveys show the diminishing fraction of women through the ranks of astronomy, from 45% with MSc degrees and 28% with PhD degrees © 2012 Venngeist 82 CHRIS IMPEY Figure 4. Data from the American Astronomical Society Job Register, showing the number of postdoctoral (red), faculty (green/yellow), and research (blue/cyan) positions advertised from 1992 to 2008. After 2002 the shaded regions of the histograms show the portion of the jobs that were in the US Faculty positions are divided into tenure track (green) and non-tenure track (yellow) and research positions are divided into research (blue) and support (cyan).
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Table of Contents
    AAS Newsletter November/December 2012, Issue 167 - Published for the Members of the American Astronomical Society Table of Contents 2 President’s Column 23 Committee on Employment 3 From the Executive Office 24 Committee on the Status of Women in 4 On the Waterfront: AAS Returns to Long Astronomy Beach 25 Bringing Sustainability into Your Institution 5 2012 Kavli Lecturers 27 Calendar of Events 7 HAD News 28 Announcements 8 JWST Update 29 United Nations Basic Space Science Initiative 12 Candidate Statements (UNBSSI) 1991-2012 21 News from NSF Division of Astronomical Sciences (AST) Back page Washington News 22 News from the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP) A A S American Astronomical Society President's Column AAS Officers David J. Helfand, President David J. Helfand, [email protected] Debra M. Elmegreen, Past President Nicholas B. Suntzeff, Vice-President Edward B. Churchwell, Vice-President Paula Szkody, Vice-President From close-up pictures of water-sculpted pebbles on Hervey (Peter) Stockman, Treasurer G. Fritz Benedict, Secretary Mars, to the detection of galaxies at the boundary of Anne P. Cowley, Publications Board Chair the Dark Ages, discoveries in our field continue to Edward E. Prather, Education Officer advance our understanding of the Universe and to Councilors fascinate legions of the public who support our inquiry. Bruce Balick Nancy S. Brickhouse Unfortunately, we do not see similar progress in the Eileen D. Friel political sphere, even now that the consequences have Edward F. Guinan been spelled out of allowing budget sequestration to hit Todd J. Henry Steven D. Kawaler every government agency in January.
    [Show full text]
  • January 2004 Issue of the OSS Voyages Newsletter
    COMMITTEE ON THE STATUS OF MINORITIES IN ASTRONOMY J ANUARY 2004 SPECTRUM A report on underrepresented minorities in astronomy INSIDE THIS ISSUE: So… What About 1 So… What About Diversity? Diversity? by Marcel Agueros Professional Organi- 1 zations of Minorities Led by a team of graduate students, the University of in Physical Sciences Washington Astronomy Department has developed a The Accountability 4 departmental plan for more effectively engaging diver- Side of Diversity sity issues through enhanced coordination of effort and improved leveraging of available resources. What’s in a Name? 6 Marcel Agueros describes how they went about it and Astronomy Faculty 9 what they learned along the way. Diversity Survey: Preliminary Results A Small First Step 10 he meeting was over. For nearly an hour the graduate students and the graduate program ad- Ph.D. Productivity of 12 visor had intensively discussed a number of Historically Black T Colleges pressing departmental issues. We were wrapping up Marcel Agueros is a when a question was casually dropped on the table: 4th-year astronomy SASS: Cultivating the 14 “What about diversity?” graduate student at the Next Generation of University of Washing- Astronomers What seemed like a simple enough question to ask ton. His dissertation NASA Space Science 16 turned out to be a very difficult question to answer. That research is on X-ray Diversity Initiatives meeting took place about a year ago, and we are still selected stars from the working our way to a good answer. However, with the RASS and SDSS Sur- Meet Dara Norman at 17 help of some friends—the Graduate Opportunities and veys under the direc- CTIO Minority Achievement Program and ADVANCE here at tion of Scott Anderson.
    [Show full text]
  • Making a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) About Astrobiology: Why? for Whom? How?
    EPJ Web of Conferences 200, 01019 (2019) https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/201920001019 ISE2A 2017 Making a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) about Astrobiology: Why? For Whom? How? Charles H. Lineweaver1,* 1Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics and the Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia Abstract. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are becoming the textbooks of the 21st century. I describe what a MOOC is, and try to answer the questions: Why make a MOOC? Who are MOOCs for? and How to make a MOOC? Anxiety about MOOCs replacing teachers is largely misplaced. I describe my on-going experience of putting together an astrobiology MOOC for the Australian National University. 1 What is a MOOC? 1.1 History: from tutoring, to lecturing, to MOOCing Socrates, Plato and Aristotle participated in private tutoring and small group discussions (Fig. 1). They did not give lectures to hundreds of students. Lectures seem to have been invented by the first European universities in the 13th or 14th centuries (Fig. 2). N.B. this was before the 1440 invention of the printing press by Gutenberg. At our meeting, the International Symposium on Education in Astronomy and Astrobiology, Karen Meech recounted some of her experiences organizing workshops, schools and fieldtrips. The most rewarding permanent learning and bonding was done with “long small meaningful discussions” in the context of a community of learners in some kind of isolation from the world. She seemed agnostic about the type of isolation: Hawaiian military barracks, island monasteries, ivory towers, Walden ponds, even deserts would do.
    [Show full text]
  • 2024 Solar Eclipse: Totality Over Texas
    2024 Solar Eclipse: Totality Over Texas April 6-9, 2024 $2,295 PER PERSON, DOUBLE OCCUPANCY, $3,895, SINGLE OCCUPANCY, PLUS AIRFARE Join MSU Professor and astronomer *Dr. Megan Donahue and experience an incredible natural phenomenon of a total eclipse. On April 8, 2024, the moon will pass between the earth and the sun and be replaced by pink flames and silver streamers that stretch across the sky. Come see the eclipse from the beautiful Lake District north of Austin, Texas. Along with Dr. Donahue, enjoy outstanding expert speakers including Dr. Doug Duncan, Dr. Steve Hawley, Chris Impey, Erica Ellingson, Nick Schneider and Dr. Emily Levesque. Accommodations are at the Hyatt Regency Austin, close to downtown Austin and where guest lectures will occur or the Horseshoe Bay Resort, in the countryside Lake District, near the centerline of where the eclipse will be viewed. A total eclipse is like Tour Inclusions: no other and one of the best viewing spots for the • 3 night’s accommodations at either the Hyatt eclipse will be on this trip. Don’t miss this chance of a Regency Austin or *Horseshoe Bay Resort. lifetime, the next total eclipse visible in the U.S. will not • Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily occur until 2045. • Internationally know guest speakers • Eclipse viewing Star Party • Night viewing with telescopes from Horseshoe Bay MSU Faculty Host which is a Dark Sky Reserve Dr. Megan Donahue is a University Distinguished Professor of • Transportation to and from the Austin International Physics and Astronomy at Michigan State University. She was Airport, as well as to and from all scheduled eclipse the President of the American sessions at the Horseshoe Bay Resort and Hyatt Astronomical Society from 2018-2020, and has been very ac- Regency Austin tive in national and international • Pair of special glasses to view the eclipse scientific advisory groups for the last 30 years.
    [Show full text]
  • Frontiers of Astrobiology Edited by Chris Impey, Jonathan Lunine and José Funes Frontmatter More Information
    Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-00641-6 - Frontiers of Astrobiology Edited by Chris Impey, Jonathan Lunine and José Funes Frontmatter More information Frontiers of Astrobiology Astrobiology is an exciting interdisciplinary field that seeks to answer one of the most important and profound questions: Are we alone? In this volume, leading international experts explore the frontiers of astrobiology, investigating the latest research questions that will fascinate a wide interdisciplinary audience at all levels. What is the earliest evidence for life on Earth? Where are the most likely sites for life in the Solar System? Could life have evolved elsewhere in the Galaxy? What are the best strategies for detecting intelligent extraterrestrial life? How many habitable or Earth-like exoplanets are there? Progress in astrobiology over the past decade has been rapid and, with evidence accumulating that Mars once hosted standing bodies of liquid water, the discovery of over 700 exoplanets, and new insights into how life began on Earth, the scientific search for our origins and place in the cosmos continues. The book is based on a meeting at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, which gathered leading researchers to present state-of-the-art reviews on their research and address topics at the forefront of astrobiology. CHRIS IMPEY is a University Distinguished Professor and Deputy Head of the Depart- ment of Astronomy at the University of Arizona, Tucson. His research interests are observational cosmology, gravitational lensing, and the evolution and structure of galaxies. He is a past Vice President of the American Astronomical Society, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and has been NSF Distinguished Teaching Scholar, Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar, and the Carnegie Council on Teaching’s Arizona Professor of the Year.
    [Show full text]
  • Unique Education & Workforce Development for NASA Engineers
    Unique Education & Workforce Development for NASA Engineers Roger C. Forsgren, Lauren L. Miller NASA Academy of Program/Project & Engineering Leadership (APPEL) NASA Headquarters Office of the Chief Engineer, Washington, D.C. [email protected], [email protected] Abstract NASA engineers are some of the world’s best-educated graduates, responsible for technically complex, highly significant scientific programs. Even though these professionals are highly proficient in traditional analytical competencies, there is a unique opportunity to offer continuing education that further enhances their overall scientific minds. With a goal of maintaining the Agency’s passionate, “best in class” engineering workforce, the NASA Academy of Program/Project & Engineering Leadership (APPEL) provides educational resources encouraging foundational learning, professional development, and knowledge sharing. NASA APPEL is currently partnering with the scientific community’s most respected subject matter experts to expand its engineering curriculum beyond the analytics and specialized subsystems in the areas of: understanding NASA’s overall vision and its fundamental basis, and the Agency initiatives supporting them; sharing NASA’s vast reservoir of engineering experience, wisdom, and lessons learned; and innovatively designing hardware for manufacturability, assembly, and servicing. It takes collaboration and innovation to educate an organization that possesses such a rich and important history—and a future that is of great global interest. NASA APPEL strives to intellectually nurture the Agency’s technical professionals, build its capacity for future performance, and exemplify its core values—all to better enable NASA to meet its strategic vision—and beyond. NASA Engineering Education Responsible for technically complex, highly significant scientific programs, it is only fitting that NASA employs some of the best and brightest engineers in the world.
    [Show full text]
  • Curriculum Vitae Jonathan R. Trump
    Curriculum Vitae Jonathan R. Trump Dept of Physics (860) 486-6310 (office) University of Connecticut (520) 260-4633 (cell) 2152 Hillside Rd, U-3046 (860) 486-3346 (FAX) Storrs, CT 06269 [email protected] http://phys.uconn.edu/∼jtrump/ Professional Appointments 8/2016-current Assistant Professor, Dept of Physics, University of Connecticut 9/2013-8/2016 Hubble Fellow, Penn State University 9/2010-8/2013 DEEP Postdoctoral Scholar, UC Santa Cruz 7/2004-8/2010 Graduate Researcher, University of Arizona 6/2008-8/2008 NSF/JSPS Summer Research Fellow, Ehime University 1/2002-6/2004 Undergraduate Researcher, Penn State University Education 2010 Ph.D University of Arizona, Astronomy, Thesis: Supermassive Black Hole Ac- tivity in the Cosmic Evolution Survey (advisor: Chris Impey) 2004 B.S. Penn State University, Astronomy, summa cum laude, Honors Thesis: Broad Absorption Line Quasars in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey 2004 B.S. Penn State University, Physics, summa cum laude Successful Grants and Proposals (selected) 2017 PI, HST proposal: Ultraviolet Echoes of Quasar Accretion Disks, 32 orbits, $160k 2015 co-PI, NSF AAG: The First Multi-Object Reverberation Mapping Survey: Trans- forming Our Knowledge of Distant Black Hole Demographics, $340k 2015 co-I, HST proposal: The CANDELS Lyman-alpha Emission At Reionization (CLEAR) Experiment, 130 orbits, $12k (as co-I) 2012 PI, HST archive proposal: Do Typical Galaxies in Adolescence Already Host Growing Black Holes?, $91k 2009 PI, NSF Doctoral Dissertation Enhancement Grant, $35k 2008 PI, NSF/JSPS East
    [Show full text]
  • Enigmas of the Universe Syllabus.Pdf
    Enigmas of the Universe Chris Impey, Associate Dean and University Distinguished Professor Overview: Astronomy has seen tremendous progress in the past century. Large telescopes on the ground and in space now give us views of the universe across the electromagnetic spectrum. Powerful computers can handle exponentially increasing volumes of data and they allow simulations of remote objects and extreme astrophysics. We know how stars work, how many galaxies there are, and how to find exoplanets. Yet there is much we don’t know, and areas where our physical understanding is weak. This course is a report from the frontiers of astronomy and physics research on five aspects of the universe where profound questions remain unanswered. Meetings: Typical structure is a 50 minute lecture, then a 10 minute break, a 40 minute lecture, then 20 minutes for questions and discussion. Short descriptions of the five topics follow. The Big Bang. How did the universe begin? There’s ample observational support for the idea that the universe expanded from a hot, dense state billions of years ago. But the nature of dark matter and dark energy are unknown and the situation just after the big bang is shrouded in mystery. Black Holes. What happens in extreme regions of space-time? Nature can make black holes ranging from ten to ten billion times the Sun’s mass and the recent detection of gravitational waves confirms that black holes exist. However, gravity theory is challenged in trying to explain black holes. The God Particle. Where does mass come from? The detection of the Higgs particle filled in the missing piece of the Standard Model of particle physics.
    [Show full text]
  • A Cosmic End: from the Earth to the Universe
    06_FUNES_PP_121-129.QXD_Layout 1 15/12/15 10:24 Pagina 121 Complexity and Analogy in Science Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Acta 22, Vatican City 2014 www.pas.va/content/dam/accademia/pdf/acta22/acta22-funes.pdf A Cosmic End: From the Earth to the Universe JOSÉ G. FUNES, S.J. “Human curiosity is the driving force for scientific development, in which belief systems and philosophy still have their valid place”.1 “To the scientist, and especially to the Christian scientist, corresponds the at- titude to examine the future of humanity and the Earth”.2 Attracted by curiosity about the end of the universe, and encouraged by the words of Pope Francis about the the importance of examing the future, I have tried to consider the cosmic end at different scales. There is a painting by Paul Gauguin with the title: Where are we? Where did we come from? Where are we going?3 These are the big questions which cut across human culture. The question of the end of the universe is one of those big questions. To address these questions the scientific method is not the only approach but certainly an important one. Scientific knowledge seeks the explanation of the observed phenomena based on natural causes. It should be able to explain the observed data postulating a new model to predict results that 1 Preface of the booklet the Plenary Session of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences on Evolving Concepts of Nature, 24-28 October 2014. 2 Address of Pope Francis to the Plenary Session of the Pontifical Academy of Sci- ences on the occasion of the inauguration of the bust in honor of Pope Benedict XVI, 27 October 2014.
    [Show full text]
  • The Living Cosmos: a Fabric That Binds Art and Science
    a rt i s T s ’ a rt i c l e The Living Cosmos: A Fabric That Binds Art and Science Chris Impey a b s tr a c T and Heather Green The authors, an astronomer and an artist, have collaborated on a series of seven mixed- media constructions and prose pieces that follow the flow and themes of Impey’s book on astrobiology, The Living The ProjecT In the first art piece, from the Cosmos. The book summarizes viewer’s vantage point on a shore, recent research on astrobiology, After authors Chris Impey and Heather Green worked to- from the origin of life on Earth gether on a series of posters in which artist Green layered Ernst night sky shades imperceptibly into and its environmental range on Haeckel’s illustrations of diatoms with imagery of computer noctilucent sea (Fig. 1). Familiar this planet to the search for life circuitry and dark matter, Chris Impey approached Green with surfaces—a glassy sea, the hemi- in the solar system and beyond. spheric vault of the sky—seem The artist’s work encapsulates the idea of creating seven pieces that would capture the es- these ideas with its use of mate- sence of each of the chapters in his popular book on astrobiol- proximate but each contains vast rial objects, textures, images ogy, The Living Cosmos [1]. depths and each might host un- and metaphors that mirror Over several meetings in Green’s studio, the two discussed known and unseen creatures. The the elements of the scientific approach to astrobiology.
    [Show full text]
  • Online Astronomy for Formal and Informal Learners
    EPJ Web of Conferences 200, 01001 (2019) https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/201920001001 ISE2A 2017 Online Astronomy for Formal and Informal Learners Chris Impey1,*, and Matthew Wenger1 1Department of Astronomy, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, United States Abstract. An increasing amount of formal and informal education is being delivered online. A majority of college students in the U.S. are now taking one or more courses online or flipped (video lectures online, hands- on activities or labs in the classroom). Meanwhile, massive open online classes, or MOOCs, are transforming the landscape of informal science learning. In contrast to university classes, MOOCs have low completion rates and involve “free choice” learners who are typically adults with jobs, rather than full time students. Based on several years of experience of teaching astronomy online, lessons have been learned on how to engage students in the asynchronous and “disembodied” environment. For non- science students taking an introductory astronomy course, flipped models optimize interactions by putting the lectures online and allowing classroom time to be used entirely for labs, discussion, and small group activities. Research has shown that normalized learning gains are greatest in such learner-centered classes. We have enrolled over 110,000 learners from 150 countries in two astronomy MOOCs: a Udemy course called “Astronomy: State of the Art” and a Coursera offering called “Astronomy: Exploring Time and Space.” The core content is a set of video lectures, augmented by quizzes, activities, and peer writing assignments. We have a large amount of research data on learner demographics and motivations, and on the types of engagement that correlate with completing the courses.
    [Show full text]
  • Astronomy Education Review 2013, AER, 12(1), 010301
    A LIVELY ELECTRONIC COMPENDIUM OF RESEARCH, NEWS, RESOURCES, AND OPINION Astronomy Education Review 2013, AER, 12(1), 010301, http://dx.doi.org/10.3847/AER2012046 A New Online Astronomy Resource for Education and Outreach C. D. Impey Department of Astronomy, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721 K. K. Hardegree-Ullman Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio 43606 A. Patikkal Department of Astronomy, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721 A. Srinathan Department of Astronomy, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721 C. L. Austin Department of Astronomy, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721 N. K. Ganesan Department of Astronomy, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721 B. C. Guvenen Department of Astronomy, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721 Received: 12/19/12, Accepted: 07/1/13, Published: 07/24/13 VC 2013 The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. Abstract A new web site called Teach Astronomy (http://www.teachastronomy.com) has been created to serve astronomy instructors and their students, amateur astronomers, and members of the public interested in astronomy. The content includes an online textbook of 400 000 words and 1200 images, 40 000 articles from Wikipedia, over 1100 video clips covering all topics in astronomy, over 6300 images from Astronomy Picture of the Day and AstroPix, over 1400 podcasts from 365 Days of Astronomy, and 25–30 astronomy news stories each week from Science Daily. All these resources are navigable by a keyword search and via a unique visual interface called a Wikimap, which presents the items clustered by degree of keyword overlap and allows surfing among related items.
    [Show full text]