Computer Science – Learning
Scientific paper
May 2009
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009aas...21440104n&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #214, #401.04; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 41, p.660
Computer Science
Learning
Scientific paper
Astronomy instructors, and those teaching other sciences, are slowly coming to the realization that it's not what the instructor does that matters - it's what the students do for themselves. To foster this approach to learning, the instructor's role is to provide an environment - an engaging task, a target for the students' focus and guidance - in which the students discover the concepts for themselves. With this role in mind, for a large class of undergraduate non-Science majors, we adapted the human orrery designed by the Armagh Observatory in Northern Ireland into one that can be easily built and explored by a class of 30-40 students in a 1-hour tutorial. Students actively and individually explore the scale of the Solar System and the motion of the planets. As the human orrery requires a large, open space, we staged the activity in the foyer of the University library as a public outreach event celebrating IYA2009, generating tremendous enthusiasm and support from students, faculty, library staff and University administration. This work is supported by the Carl Wieman Science Education Initiative at the University of British Columbia.
Gendre Melanie A.
Gladman Brett
Kasian Laura E.
Meger Nicole
Newbury Peter R.
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