NSF Award
2013295
Using scientific instruments to make discoveries and solve problems in STEM classrooms enables undergraduates to experience how professional scientists actually work. Such experiences increase students’ engagement, learning, and excitement about science. In many disciplines, instructors have redesigned courses to embed authentic research experiences. For example, more that a decade ago, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill introduced the Skynet network of robotic (remote-controlled) telescopes into introductory astronomy courses. Skynet allowed the students to use real telescopes to do the science they were learning in class. Over five years, the Skynet-based laboratory curriculum (Our Place in Space!) resulted in a doubling of enrollment in the astronomy course and an approximately three-fold increase in astronomy majors and minors. The curriculum has since been adopted by a dozen other colleges and universities. A previous NSF award (DUE-1245383) funded a study across ten of those adopting institutions, and showed that the Skynet-based labs led to a statistically significant improvement in students' attitudes toward science. For context, traditional telescope labs and non-telescope labs, as well as in-class activities known to yield learning gains, did not have a similar effect on student attitudes. This project will follow up on that first study by conducting a large-scale case study that involves approximately 19,000 students at 35 institutions. This research will measure changes in students' attitudes toward science, confidence in their abilities, conceptual understanding, and career intentions in both traditional and Skynet-based introductory astronomy courses. The research will include further development and assessment of student-outcome metrics that are specific to astronomy. To support this research, the investigators will also provide professional development to help approximately 40 astronomy instructors from the participating institutions learn how to incorporate Skynet-based activities into their courses and will update the curriculum and its supporting technologies.<br/><br/>Although there have been multiple reports of positive impacts of robotic telescope networks in education at different levels, the studies have been limited in rigor and generalizability. This project aims to assess reliably the common claim that the use of research-grade robotic telescopes leads to improvements in students' STEM attitudes and self-efficacy and changes in their career aspirations. The investigators will also address key questions connected with the design of the curriculum and the technology, such as: How is the effect of using research-grade robotic telescope networks different from that of smaller, more local, telescope experiences? Does student ownership of data affect student outcomes? How does learning with archival data compare to learning with data that students collect themselves? By the third year of the project, the curriculum-development and technology-development aspects of the project are expected to impact around 5,000 introductory-level students per year, primarily non-STEM majors. The investigators will also expand the reach of the curriculum by enhancing its accessibility to students with disabilities and making it available to public audiences without cost. This collaborative project includes investigators at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Award DUE-2013300) and Associated Universities, Inc. (Award DUE-2013295). The project is funded by the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE: EHR) program, which supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools.<br/><br/>This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
