Liam, I have found that the topics that "grab" students are often those that are hyped in the media. For example, there is a big rush now on the search for...
3409
Louis Rubbo
l.rubbo
Oct 1, 2010 5:46 pm
I've wrestled with the problem of choosing an astro 101 textbook for a number of years now. When I started as an assistant professor back in 2007 I chose...
3410
David Wittman
dwittman@...
Oct 1, 2010 8:03 pm
Hi Louis, I think you need to write yet another textbook :) More seriously, it's clear that you've put a lot of thought into it, and if "no textbook" is your...
3411
Nick Strobel
strobelnick
Oct 2, 2010 12:39 am
There will NEVER be a textbook that fills everyone's needs, that hits all of the right points with the right emphasis. As we've found out at past Cosmos in the...
3412
David Wittman
dwittman@...
Oct 2, 2010 12:39 am
Dear astrolrners, Does anyone have a killer inverse square law demo? Every year, it seems that my demo with light fails to ignite the students. Is it...
3413
David Wittman
dwittman@...
Oct 2, 2010 12:39 am
OK, I partially answered my own question. This is a nice video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JW3tT0L2gpc but I'd still like to see other ideas! (And where...
3414
waiferx
Oct 2, 2010 12:47 am
Dear Astrolrner readers, Just a periodic reminder if your e-mail inbox is being bombarded every time someone posts to the listserv (which was 148 times this...
3415
Lauren Monowar-Jones
lmonowar
Oct 2, 2010 1:54 am
Try scotch tape. The attraction happens if the two pieces of tape are charged oppositely by sticking each piece of tape to a desk top and pulling each off...
3416
Sparks, Laura
lsparks@...
Oct 2, 2010 4:38 am
David, I tried a new Inverse Square Law demo that worked pretty well this semester. I got a hemispherical bowl that was 14cm across and lined it with black-out...
3417
Karen Lewis
ktlewis_astro
Oct 2, 2010 6:35 am
Hi, Â Â Â I too have found anonymous surveys to be really enlightening for understanding the motives behind students behavior. I've always been a little...
3418
Kelle Cruz
kelle_lin
Oct 2, 2010 5:11 pm
Hey All, Think-Pair-Share is going great in my classroom of ~200 but I'm having one problem: When I say, "Good, and the answer is..., " the back of my...
3419
Joann Eisberg
joann.eisberg
Oct 2, 2010 5:20 pm
Teach them "Alpha," Bravo," "Charlie, "Delta......" As an added benefit, they they will be able to broadcast radio call letters if the need ever arises....
3420
Pendzick
pendzira
Oct 2, 2010 6:29 pm
Kelle 1) don't give the answer 2) have your vote card be a 8x10 for vote option and hold up the one the students say the most, not saying its the right answer,...
3421
Stanford, Darryl
zetapuppi
Oct 2, 2010 8:22 pm
Hi Dan, I predominantly teach at a community college and also teach 1 class at a state college. I use Mastering Astronomy for my all homework assignments. I...
3422
Edward Prather
eeprather
Oct 2, 2010 10:08 pm
If the class is mostly right, after they say the correct answer out loud (emphasis on "loud"), I just say "nice work, those of you that were right answered...
3423
Byrne, Robin L
rlbyrne2
Oct 3, 2010 12:36 am
I used to collect weekly homework, but even with classes capped at 24, it was a huge time suck. When we started using WebCt, and now D2L, for online delivery,...
3424
k_j_shan
Oct 3, 2010 1:44 pm
I have used Mastering Astronomy in the past, but I don't think I will use it in the spring when I teach astronomy again. It is a big cost to the students, in...
3425
Vakil, David
davidvakil
Oct 4, 2010 8:16 pm
But even in addition to that, I've found that students have a lot of trouble figuring it out--I've had significant numbers of students get the wrong version...
3426
Doug Duncan
valentinozip...
Oct 4, 2010 8:18 pm
I have to take issue with the idea that Mastering Astronomy is expensive. It is easy to put something inexpensive on the internet. It is much more expensive...
3427
waiferx
Oct 4, 2010 9:42 pm
Hello there, fellow Astrolrner readers! What is your policy (if any) regarding students that do not have clickers (whether forgotten, lost, or late/never...
3428
Alexander L. Rudolph
reindeer91
Oct 5, 2010 1:59 pm
I allow one day missing a clicker by dropping the lowest clicker score from the participation grade. After that, it is their responsibility to remember. This...
3429
Pauline Barmby
pbarmby@...
Oct 5, 2010 1:59 pm
To deal with lost/forgotten clickers, we just require students to answer only 85% of the questions over the course to get full marks. This scales, of course, ...
3430
Noella D'Cruz
noelladcruz
Oct 5, 2010 2:00 pm
Hi, My class size is 42, and I often have 4 sections that are this size each semester. Clicker questions are 10% of their grade. Because I have larger classes,...
3431
powellastro
Oct 5, 2010 2:56 pm
Hi all, I have been following the discussion and thought I would throw my 2 cents worth in to the fray. I have used Mastering Astronomy for a while. I am...
3432
Seth Hornstein
astrohokie
Oct 5, 2010 3:13 pm
Regarding troubling access to MasteringAstronomy: We've had a bit of trouble now that they've gone to book specific access codes (the reason for this, slightly...
3433
Jeff Bennett
jefflisa97
Oct 5, 2010 5:39 pm
Hi All, This is my first time actually posting to this forum, though I've responded to some of you individually in the past. In light of recent discussions, I...
3434
Matthew Craig
mhdastro
Oct 5, 2010 10:31 pm
In our 120 student sections of astro we build in a very generous fraction of lectures they can miss/not participate without penalty; they get full credit if...
3435
Denise Stephens
denstephz
Oct 7, 2010 8:56 pm
I only count x-number of daily quizzes towards their final score. That way, it they forget their clicker or delay buying the clicker, the zero they receive...
3436
waiferx
Oct 9, 2010 12:14 am
Dear fellow educators, With the first batch of midterms graded, here are sample student responses (rubrics and grading distributions as well) to a new batch of...
3437
waiferx
Oct 9, 2010 6:50 pm
As a part of an online reading assignment before their first midterm, students listed three topics they found interesting (and explaiedn why they found those...
