Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
May 2007
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2007aas...20925502m&link_type=abstract
2007 AAS/AAPT Joint Meeting, American Astronomical Society Meeting 209, #255.02; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society,
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
During the spring of 2006 new laboratory activities were developed for introductory astronomy classes at Georgia State University. The purpose of these labs was to develop hands-on astronomy activates. We first purchased Project Star refracting telescope kits and spectrometer kits, and a Meade Deep Sky Imager CCD. The new materials were tried on a single lab section of 22 students. For comparison purposes a traditional lab section from the same large lecture class was selected as a control group. The students in the experimental group constructed the telescopes and measured their telescope’s, light gathering ability and its angular resolution and compared them to the human eye, and its magnification. The students also built spectrometers and learned how to use them identify different types of light sources such as Mercury vapor lights, high and low pressure sodium lights, fluorescent lights, and other typical light sources. Each student then performed a light pollution investigation of their neighborhood using the spectroscopes they had constructed. In addition all students used these spectroscopes to observe solar Fraunhofer lines. In lab students used a small Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope and the Meade Deep Sky Imager to take photos of objects inside the lab room. After this they took telescopic pictures of the sun and moon on several occasions. The students rally enjoyed most of these activities. Student in the experimental group had slightly higher final exam scores than the students in the control group. However, the drop rate for the control group was higher then the experimental group and so the statistical significance of the result could not be determined. The authors would like to thank the Partnership for Reform in Science and Mathematics (PRISM), funded by NSF, for providing a mini-grant to support this work.
Marshall Kevin
Wilson Jeanine
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