In August 2007, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific and Pomona College hosted “Cosmos in the Classroom 2007,” a 3-day conference on the most effective ways of teaching the introductory astronomy course for non-science majors.
This 265-page, loose-leaf format volume includes 73 contributions by over a hundred experienced instructors, divided into the following categories:
1. Astronomy Education Research
2. Teaching Techniques
3. Laboratory Exercises, Demonstrations, and Observing Activities
4. On-line Teaching and Telescopes
5. Interdisciplinary Approaches
6. Debunking Pseudo-science
7. Resources for Teaching and Learning
8. Other Educational Topics.
Designed for university, college, and high-school faculty who teach a first astronomy course, the volume is full of practical advice, reviews of instructional tools, curriculum guides, and class activities you can put to direct use. Both instructors just starting out in their teaching and veteran instructors seeking to update or revitalize their course will find things of interest in among the many different papers and guides to additional resources in this handy notebook.
A special feature is the inclusion of meeting discussion summaries on such topics as:
- Should you have a separate lab course
- What do we need from textbooks
- What topics to drop from a one-semester course
- Special challenges of being a part-time instructor
- Running an on-campus planetarium
View the full Table of Contents (pdf)
