Chabot College Astronomy & Physics Department
2009 Program Review for Astronomy & Geology
Scott Hildreth
April 2009
Overview
The Astronomy Program at Chabot includes two introductory 3-unit, no-prerequisite lecture classes and one introductory 1-unit lab. Typically (6) lecture sections, and (2) evening lab sections, are offered each term and an additional 1-3 lecture sections offered over the summer. Each of the full-time faculty in Astronomy and Physics usually teaches two astronomy lecture sections and one of the labs; two other lecture sections are routinely taught by emeritus/adjunct colleagues. Two of the lecture sections are offered online.
The Geology Program at Chabot does not exist, other than the occasional
offering of perhaps one lecture section of Geology 10 during the year taught in
the past by one particular adjunct colleague.
This situation will be discussed in greater detail with the program
review report.
Section A – Basic Discipline Data Review
I. Basic Success: Astronomy & Geology Classes
We asked a number of questions in our preliminary review of available data from
Fall 2005 through Spring 2008, supplied by our
Institutional Research team. Their
timely help was absolutely crucial to our efforts. Our questions, and what we learned from the
data, included:
1)
What are the enrollment and success rates of Astro and
Geology students compared with overall enrollment and success for all of
Chabot’s student populations?
Over the time span studied, Astro 10 success was 58%, non-success was 18%, and
withdrawal was 24%; Astro 20 success was 53%, non-success 18%, and withdrawal
29%. For the lecture classes as a
whole, we averaged 56% success. We show
approximately a 10% lower success rate, and higher non-success and withdrawal
rates, for Astronomy than for the College as a whole averaged from 2005-2007.[1]
Students taking the astronomy classes during summers did show a better success
rate than during the semesters, likely reflecting a higher percentage of
university-bound or already at university students attempting to fulfill a last
requirement before graduation. There did not seem to be an obvious trend in
these data over the last 3 years, either increasing or decreasing in any
category. (Appendix I.1.Success)
Success rates for Geology 10 are a bit lower over the last two years (averaging
47% successful), with slightly higher non-success results (averaging 35%) and
lower withdrawal rates 17%. Given that
both Astro and Geo courses are taken by students looking to satisfy the same degree/transfer
requirement, and both courses have no pre-requisites, the 10% difference in
lower success and lower withdrawal rates in Geology, and higher non-success
rates, more than likely reflects instructor differences, as we have only had
one adjunct faculty teaching geology for the past 5 years. (Appendix I.1.Geology)
The lower overall success rate for Astronomy did raise a flag for us. Are students doing worse in Astronomy because
it is a challenging science class, that includes
concepts most students have not seen before?
Is Chabot’s astronomy program more difficult than others? As part of the program review process, we
also surveyed other community colleges in the Bay Area, requesting student
success information about similar astronomy courses taught. Data from this effort is slowly trickling in,
with colleagues from Evergreen/San Jose
City Colleges having responded, and data from
Data from
Although
there certainly is quite a bit of variability in the data, it does appear that
our success in Astronomy 10/20 is lower than that obtained in comparable
classes at some other colleges in the area.
How much of this is related to how we are teaching, and how much might
be due to a different demographic, is an area for further study.
Success in the Astronomy 30 Lab class is traditionally much higher than the
lecture course. We are looking forward
to additional data from the Institutional Research Team to investigate this
class, and how it might rank relative to other lab offerings in science. Since Chabot offers the lab class separate
from the lecture, while some other physical science classes include lab as a
component, success for the lab alone will be harder to quantify.
2)
How does the success rate in Astro 10/20 or Geology 10
compare with the success rates in that same mix of alternatives available? Can we draw any conclusions about how Astro or Geo are
doing as a discipline relative to others areas on campus offering the same
transfer/degree completion opportunity?
Over the three-year span of data, Astronomy students are not succeeding quite
as much as students in Bio 10 or Geography 1. (Average success ~56% for Astro,
vs. 72% for Bio 10, and 63% for Geography 1).
(Appendix I.5.Success)
If we assume the students are similarly prepared, the differences in these data
could reflect:
- Difficulty of the material, as students
coming to Astronomy have less familiarity with the subject matter (given that only 1 of 5 or 6 high-school students
take physics, but all take biology);
- Expectations of Instructors,
including the fact that both full-time instructors require students to
participate fully in the classes and take advantage of online teaching tools to
enhance learning and student success – for those students willing to make the
time to use them.
- Variation in the type of class offerings,
as Astronomy continues to offer 2 fully online classes, making up one-third of
the lecture course offerings, which traditionally have a larger withdrawal rate
than comparable on-campus sections.)
We see
Geography 1 apparently having a much smaller withdrawal rate, but a larger rate
of students not passing the class. This
might be a result of approach (amount of homework, requirements for students to
use the online Mastering Astronomy tools, expectations for participation)
and/or a result of material or online delivery modes, with astronomy students
opting to withdraw earlier in the term rather than stay and risk not
passing.
We see that online versions of Astronomy have a higher withdrawal rate compared
with on-campus lecture classes. We have
investigated hybrid alternatives in the period since the last program review as
one of our previous rocks, creating a telecourse version of the class with
limited or optional on-campus meetings and less emphasis upon online
lectures. Enrollment in that section was
significantly less than that in the online sections, and all but (3) students
who apparently wanted a telecourse-only experience, with no online interaction,
withdrew from the course, leaving it effectively an online section.
From this we have learned that the age of the telecourse, with limited
on-campus meetings and passive delivery of lecture through video,
is over, at least for Astronomy. The
interactive online tools, the chance to ask and answer questions online with
discussion tools, and the opportunities to deliver lecture material even more
appropriate than canned videos, all speak to the power of the online learning
model.
3)
What are the enrollment and success rates of Astro and
Geology students in terms of English and Math courses?
For Astronomy, these data were strongly skewed towards students who had English
1A doing better in the class than students with English 101/102 level skills,
and significantly better than students with no English coursework
completed. The data shows that students
with English 1A level skills were almost twice as likely to succeed as students
with no English coursework. (Appendix
I.2.English)
There was an even larger difference in Astro 20 in the success of students with
English 1A or English 101/102, possibly reflecting that some of the concepts
are more challenging in Astro 20 (including black holes and cosmology) and that
there are typically 2-3 more chapters of reading required in that class.
For Geology, the results were similar, typically showing students with English
1A were more than twice as likely to succeed as students without English
101/102.
The 2-1 ratio for success of students with English 1A skills is not surprising,
given the reading and research required in Astronomy,
and the difficulty of terminology that non-science students are encountering
for the first time. Still, we are
reticent to suggest that English 1A be a prerequisite for Astro 10 or 20, as
that requirement is not in place at any other community college. Incorporating it into Chabot’s catalog might
significantly reduce enrollment. Given
that our student success rates in the class are similar to those in other
science classes without an English prerequisite established, it does not seem
wise to put Astronomy on a different plane.
Similarly, students who had taken at college-level Math showed that they
did much better than students with Math 65 or 105 level skills, and were almost
twice as likely to succeed as students with no Math courses. The similar
success rate improvement for students with more mathematics is also not
surprising given the many (astronomical!) numbers encountered in the
subject. Powers of ten notation is present throughout the textbook, and typically
reviewed in the first week of the course.
Again, establishing a prerequisite of Math 65 or 55 for the course seems
like it may adversely affect enrollment. (Appendix I.2.Math)
An important question to ask is, if the number of
students attending Chabot with limited English and Math skills is increasing,
then we should by these data expect a lower success rate over the next few
years in our Astronomy/Geology program. This would point to a need for
Astronomy faculty to stay abreast of and participate in Title III efforts
addressing basic skills, reading proficiency, and basic math skills.
We plan to discuss these data, and the implications for enrollment vs. improved
student success, with counseling faculty colleagues, our Dean, and the Program
Review committee.
4)
When do students take Astro during their tenure at Chabot?
Is there any way to tell whether students taking Astro 10 or 20 and
succeeding do better in subsequent science classes?
It does appear that students who take
Astronomy are taking our Astro 10/20 courses within their first two years at
Chabot. Data suggests 30% of the
students are taking the class in their first year at Chabot, and about 2/3 of
our astronomy students take it by the end of their second year. This conclusion
is in line with the lack of prerequisites for the courses, and possibly the
lack of advisories about English and/or Math skills suggested for success.
Tracking whether students subsequently take more science classes, whether they do
better in future science classes after completing Astronomy, or isolating
whether what they learned in Astro in terms of the process of science might
have helped them later, were not possible with our current data. These are questions for future study. (Appendix
I.3.Distribution)
5)
How does the number of students at Chabot taking Astro 10
or 20 or Geology 10 compare with those taking alternatives (Physics 11,
Chemistry 10, Geography 1 or 8 for area B1; Anthropology 1, Bio, Environmental
Science for area B2)
We assume the bulk of students taking our classes are doing so for the general
education physical science requirement for CSU (#101 GE, area B1) or
IGETC (#129, area 5A). This is supported
by polls and student responses to in-class biography assignments. More students at Chabot seem to take
Geography 1 than Astronomy 10/20 (~2140 vs. 1790 over the last 3 years), and
about the same number (1800) take Bio 10/50, providing a supporting data point
for the number of students looking to make progress towards a non-scientific
degree or transfer. (Appendix I.4.Count)
Research
Data indicated that Astronomy 10/20 was usually taken by about 25-35% of
transfer or degree-bound students taking science classes from the set of
Astronomy, Bio 10/50, Chem 10, Geography 1, and Physics 11. Of these options, Geography 1 was taken the
most, and then either Bio 10 or Astro 10/20. (Appendix I.4.Transfer)
6)
Is there a difference in students taking and succeeding in
Astro or Geo by gender, ethnicity, age, GPA? Whether they transfer or not?
We looked at success rates for students in Astro 10 and 20 from Fall 2005
through Spring 20008, and Geo 10 from Spring 2006 and Spring 2007, and found:
For Gender, no obvious trends were
apparent. Some semesters showed more
female than male students, but withdrawal rates and non-success rates did not
seem correlated. No obvious difference
were noted between the classes, either – in other words, gender did not seem to
play a factor in which of the two lecture classes were taken, nor in relative
success between the classes. (Appendix I.6.Gender)
For Ethnicity, no obvious trends were
apparent. While African-American,
Filipino, and Latino students did not succeed at the rates of Asian students or
Caucasian students when averaged out over the entire span of 3 years, there
were semesters where the success rates were equally high. There did not seem to be any trend in success
by ethnicity based on class (Astro 10 vs. Astro 20 vs. Geo 10). (Appendix I.6.Ethnicity)
For Age, no obvious trends were apparent. (Appendix I.6.Age)
For GPA, expected results were
supported. Students entering either
class with GPAs under 1.0 did not succeed.
Students with GPAs between 1 and 2, were
occasionally successful (perhaps ~33% of the time). Students with GPAs between 2
and 3 were successful about half the time (~50%). Students with GPAs higher than 3 either succeeded (about 90%
of the time), or withdrew. Only
occasionally would such students end up unsuccessful. (Appendix I.6.GPA)
I. Basic Success: The Planetarium
One
additional area not addressed with institutional research data is the impact of
the Astronomy program, and in particular the planetarium, on our campus and
surrounding community. Each semester through
Spring 2008, full-time faculty have hosted a very well
attended community education evening event, Evening Under the Stars, where we
offered the public a short planetarium program and then set up telescopes for
viewing of planets, the Moon, and stars.
While these events do not typically attract an
current Chabot students, we have found that many attendees went to Chabot ten,
twenty, thirty, or even more years ago, and are bringing their young children
and grandchildren.
We routinely have used the planetarium venue for local school visits and
special meetings on campus, notably hosting a book reading by a local author
and adjunct faculty colleague in Spring, some
webinars, and assorted video performances. One idea to consider for the future,
once the planetarium
is rebuilt, is whether we can find creative ways to attract
Chabot students to the facility, offering movies and shows that take advantage
of the new technology.
Compared
with planetariums at other community colleges, Chabot’s facility is much older,
and requires more work on the part of staff to develop public shows. Although
we take advantage of the room for all lecture classes, as well as for some
physics classes, we don’t have the equipment or staff to open the facility
after hours on weekends for the general public. This can change when the new
facility is built, with a new digital projector and improved seating. Taking advantage of the new facility will
still require additional funds for staff help, but following the successful
model of other community colleges offering public planetarium shows (including
Los Medanos,
II.
Course Sequence
Neither Astronomy nor Geology offer course sequences that must be
followed. We did ask for data about
student success when taking the lab class simultaneously with the lecture
class, and when students take both lecture courses:
1)
How do students do in Astro 10 or 20 when they take the lab
class, Astro 30, simultaneously, compared to students who do not take the lab? (Students can take
Astro 30 concurrently, or subsequently, but not before.)
Data from three semesters out of four strongly reinforced that students who
take the Astro 30 lab concurrently with the lecture class succeed in that
lecture class at a higher rate, typically averaging 15% higher. We can use this result in our marketing of
the lab class, and reinforce with our counseling colleagues that students
should be encouraged to consider taking the lab at the same time that they take
the lecture. While we currently do not have
the FTEF to offer additional lab sections of Astro 30, requesting additional
FTEF for a third lab section might be warranted. We would need to find an additional adjunct
colleague willing to teach that class, though, as it is only offered in the
evening, and both full-time faculty already teach at least one evening section
of Astronomy, as well as offer additional evening viewing for the public. (Appendix II.1.Lab)
An online lab section, however, would appear to be extremely desirable, and
continued development of such a section, possibly utilizing robotic telescope
access, is one of our curricular goals.
2)
How do students succeed in Astro 10 or 20 when they have
already taken the other lecture course?
(What percentage of students take both?)
Data suggest less than 10% of the astronomy students take both Astro 10 and
Astro 20. We are considering a curriculum change to reduce the number of units
for students taking the second class in the sequence from 3 semester units to
2, given that some of the material is repeated.
(Appendix II.2.Both)
III. Course Review
Astronomy
Astronomy 10, 20, and 30 have current course outlines
(10/2006), and all are taught each semester.
Astronomy 1 (Introduction to Astrophysics) and Astronomy
50 (Constellations and the Night Sky) are both still in our catalog. Neither has been offered in at least 10
years; the most recent course outline for Astro 1 is from 1993,
and for Astro 50 from 1999.
Because students need more math to take Astronomy
1, few experienced students remain at Chabot to take the class by they time
they have the skills to succeed. Few
community colleges offer a comparable course now, reflective of the less
advanced incoming mathematics skills of our student population.
Astronomy 50 was designed to
capitalize on academic schedules that offered inter-sessions and other flexible
time offerings. Once Chabot’s
planetarium is rebuilt, and its new digital planetarium projector is installed
and integrated into the program, it might make sense to revisit this course.
Both courses can be moved to the suspended list, and removed from the catalog.
Geology
Geology 10 is taught perhaps once a year, sometimes in summer. The most recent course outline for that class is from 1994, and this needs to be updated immediately. We’ll work on this for the next curriculum cycle.
Geology 1A, 1B, 1C, 10L, and 21
are also in the
Geology is not offered at Chabot on a routine basis because of many factors:
1) Our
subdivision CAH allocation for Astronomy, Geology, and Physics limits how many
classes we can offer. Because some
physics classes are crucial in the calculus sequence, yet at best service
perhaps 20 students (or sometimes less), we believe is important to generate as
much WSCH from astronomy as possible.
2) We
can and do fill almost every astronomy class offered, and can take advantage of
our wonderful multi-media planetarium theater that is a tremendous asset for
our astronomy programs.
3) Neither of the two full-time faculty are geologists. We have only one known adjunct faculty colleague who has taught Astronomy for us. Chabot’s only other full-time faculty member with experience teaching Geology now only teaches mathematics.
IV. Budget Summary
Astronomy has received
approximately $1,000/year of supply money for the past 3 years, used to support
the lab program, largely used for equipment like gas emission tubes, eyepieces,
batteries, laser pointers, telescope parts, and software. This amount is insufficient to pay for
maintenance on broken equipment.
We have funded acquisition of new telescopes in 2008 through Measure B Bond
funds, which have infused the program with about $50,000 of new equipment to be
used alongside the new planetarium. This
equipment will be put into use for the first time in 2009-2011.
Overall, Astronomy/Geology/Physics does not have the budget for a laboratory
assistant who can help with lab setup, telescope maintenance, or lab storage
organization.
The Chabot College Planetarium received an annual maintenance allowance of
$3,500 through 2007, but in expectation of the Measure B Bond construction for
building 1900, that expense item was suspended in 2008, and will again not be
needed in 2009. However, when the new
planetarium projector is installed and begins operation, Chabot will once again
need to budget for and fund a maintenance agreement for whatever system is
chosen, typically costing $2,500 – 4,000 a year (depending upon parts and
service calls.)
V. Enrollment Data
Enrollment in Astro 10/20 lecture courses remains very strong; both online sections fill immediately upon opening, and the daytime sections usually have 55+ students wanting to join classes limited by the planetarium seating at 44. To reach evening students, we’ve traditionally scheduled a one-night-per-week Astro class, usually taught by adjunct/emeritus faculty. Enrollment in that section is usually a bit lower – approximately 35-40 students. As shared earlier, an attempt in Spring 2008 to appeal to students who wanted a traditional telecourse experience, with limited meetings, was not successful, and we feel the online mode is a much better fit to the rich available material.
It is important to note that in the past we were able to offer up to 7 lecture classes, on-campus, in Astronomy, filling the key popular time slots of 9-10:15 and 10:30 – 11:45 on both Monday/Wednesday and Tuesday/Thursday. Over the past two years, we’ve had to cut back and typically leave one or two of these popular time slots unfilled. With limited CAH allocation to the subdivision, and our commitment to support Chabot’s mission and our students by offering a complete physics sequence for engineering and science majors who transfer, we have had to reduce the number of astronomy lecture classes offered. Even if the college is currently “over cap” and not in need of additional students, it is important to recognize that the Astronomy program provides a highly attractive, and very efficient, option for generating FTES – if we had a larger CAH allocation.
Enrollment in the Astro 30 lab
class remains fair – we offer two evening classes each term, and both typically
reach about 80% of capacity. We know
that students want additional lab opportunities, but they do not seem to want
to attend in the evening. In
researching alternatives, we note that our colleague, Eric Harpell
at Las Positas College, developed a hybrid lab, with
online computer activities and limited on-campus observation sessions.
While the flexibility of this approach may appeal tremendously to students, it
will be important to ensure that an online experience for the lab will work with
Chabot’s students.
Enrollment in Geology 10, when offered, has been almost as strong, with class
sizes of at least 35-40 at the start of the term. However, only one Geology class is typically
scheduled each year, given the constraints of the overall CAH allocation for
the entire subdivision of Astronomy/Geology/Physics. While we could offer more Geology classes,
it would be at the expense of offering astronomy classes, which would
underutilize the planetarium, or at the expense of physics classes which are
critical to meet the needs of engineering and biological science students.
If we had a larger CAH allocation that could support at least one lecture and
lab class each term of Geology 10/10L, and one lecture class a summer (totaling
13.5 CAH/year, or about 0.45 FTEF, we could at least offer a semblance of a
program to Chabot students and the community.
It would seem that there could be demand for at least one more physical
science lecture class offered, as in the past Chabot offered 7 astronomy
lecture sections each term and filled them all.
If additional CAH was made available, we would need to find additional capable
adjunct faculty to teach these classes.
VI. SLOs and Assessment
We identified one SLO for each astronomy lecture course in Autumn, tied to critical thinking and the ability of students to identify the process of science. We carried out an assessment of that SLO in two sections (online and on-campus), and shared the results campus-wide in recent flex-day presentations. We identified one SLO for the astronomy lab class, and will carry out that assessment this term. We have not created SLOs for Geology.
We want to add SLOs
for all courses, and have asked colleagues from around the Bay Area about the
outcomes they have begun to build and assess.
We’ll add to our set of SLOs over this next
review cycle
VII. Summary
Regarding our Astronomy/Geology curriculum in general, we
need to:
Regarding the Geology Program in particular, we need to:
VIII. Planning for
the Future
Astronomy
The largest issues facing the Astronomy
program relate to facilities. Both
full-time faculty, as well as Dr. Billy Smith, Faculty
Emeritus for our program, continue to participate actively in the
Building 1900 construction project. In
addition, we have worked on plans for Building 1700 (housing the astronomy and
physics labs) and Building 1600 (submitting design requirements and plans for a
small roof-top observatory.
In the near term, significant oversight will be required during construction of
the new planetarium during 2009-2010.
Starting this year, we will see the beginning of the construction on
building 1900. We need to establish
storage space for some of the equipment to be kept, and to participate actively
with the contractor as the planetarium is gutted, and the ceiling panels are
removed and cleaned.
As construction proceeds, we’ll need to help in the selection and setup of the facilities, and then with the installation and alignment of the new star projector. This is a new digital projector, with computerized controls, and will require significant training time for our faculty. If construction finishes by the end of 2009, we anticipate at least 6-12 months of development time required to install planetarium projection, sound, and video equipment.
We could start on our preparation
for the installation by attending user group meetings of the manufacturer
chosen for the work (most likely Spitz).
Alongside this work, we have to begin integrating new equipment purchased
through Measure B Bond funds into the laboratory and public viewing experiences
offered at Chabot. Establishing a
temporary site for the portable observatory, constructing that facility, and
putting it into limited operation will take significant effort.
Geology
There are no real future plans for Geology at Chabot. Unless we can fund additional CAH to explore adding Geology to the physical science course mix on a regular, consistent basis, it doesn’t make sense at this time to push for adding staff. Given our current faculty (trained as astronomers and physicists, not geologists) and the significant work required to support the planetarium, build new facilities, and add to the lab experience for our students in astronomy and physics, spending time on enhancing the geology program is not our highest priority.
Section B. “Rock” Inquiry Project Proposals
As illustrated by the institutional research data, our
Astronomy program touches more than almost 600 Chabot students each year in
both lecture and lab classes. The
overall success of our students, and our program, certainly can be associated
with the dedication of faculty, but both are also related to the facilities
Chabot offers to enhance the study of the subject. And with the construction of the new
planetarium in 1900, and possible renovation of buildings 1700 (and perhaps
1600), it is our facilities that will be the most affected over the next
program review cycle. It seems natural
to focus on our facilities in this round of program review, as we will be spend
most of our time and effort on these resources.
Our proposals include:
1) Investigating the role of the Planetarium in Astronomy Instruction
2) Investigating Improvements in Laboratory Facilities and Experiments in Astronomy
3) Investigating the costs and benefits of enhancing our Geology program
Inquiry
Project #1. Investigating the
role of the Planetarium in Astronomy Instruction
We seek to develop a better understanding of the importance and impact of Chabot’s Planetarium upon student learning, success, and attitude, by studying the following questions:
While the planetarium is out of service, we will be teaching
our classes in “normal” lecture rooms, and without the wonderful audio-visual
theater. We’ll have to suspend teaching
constellations as part of the curriculum.
However, we can use the one or two semesters to establish a baseline for
student success without use of planetarium facilities. Then, in 2010 and
beyond, as we incorporate the planetarium once more into the program, we can
see if there is indeed a demonstrable impact on student success. Additionally, we can look at the impact
to the college of re-establishing an evening planetarium program, possibly
staffed with students as part of a service learning course. This approach has been used with success at a
number of colleges and universities across the
Elements of the Planetarium
Study Project:
Assessment
We would like to work with our Institutional Research team to design questionnaires that might help us in our efforts. We also will need to research how other planetarium facilities in use at colleges around the region and country are doing, and how we can incorporate successful models at Chabot.
Inquiry Project #2. Investigating Improvements in Laboratory Facilities and Experiments in Astronomy
We seek to develop a better understanding of the importance and impact of Chabot’s astronomy laboratory program facilities upon student learning, success, and attitude, by studying the following questions:
Elements of the Lab Facilities
Project Investigation:
a)
Establishing
a Small Optical Telescope Observatory
With measure B funds, we were also able to purchase a 12” telescope, astrophotography camera, and a small observatory dome. It was originally hoped to install the dome atop building 1700 as part of the bond reconstruction, and when that proved infeasible, as part of a state-funded BCP renovation for building 1600. With changes in bond funds, and challenges in state funding, it does not appear that we will be able to site the dome on any building in the near future. We hope to establish a viable temporary site that is accessible, secure, and as away from other lights as possible, and have begun exploring the possibility of using space within one of the Building 2000 courtyards to site a small platform. It will be severely limited in the portion of the sky we can observe, but will get us started.
Once the observatory is established, we can investigate the impact of actually doing science with hands-on projects where students can acquire live data through a telescope, and of directly viewing objects rather than seeing static images taken from other facilities. And we hope to build a case for relocating the observatory to a more suitable location, either on a higher platform in the same area, or atop a building like 1700 or 1600 that is to be remodeled.
b) Establishing a Small Radio Telescope Site
Along with the optical telescope,
we have acquired a small used radio telescope system suitable for making
measurements of the radio energy emitted by the Sun and Jupiter. This also needs a secure site for installation. And as part of a project with
The Radio telescopes do not need to be attended, and once installed can collect
signals and relay their data electronically.
The best locations would be roof-top somewhere on campus.
As with the small optical observatory, the radio telescopes provide chances to enhance curriculum as well as directly touch the student experience with hands-on science. Both projects offer a chance to provide authentic lab experiences to our students. And both projects will require extensive consultation with experts who already have integrated similar equipment into their programs.
Assessment
We can look at a number of ways to assess the impact on student learning, including:
1) How
many labs are created using the new equipment.
2) Direct
surveys of the students performing actual science vs. simulated science.
3) Using the photos and data in publicity campaigns to call attention to the opportunities offered at Chabot, and looking at enrollment growth or evidence of increased interest through phone or email inquiries.
Inquiry
Project #3. Investigating the
costs and benefits of enhancing our Geology program
We seek to develop a better understanding of the benefits and costs of adding full- or part-time faculty to teach Geology on a more regular basis. While we do not have significant time to explore this question in 2009-2011 while the planetarium is built, we can use that window of time to look at how many Geology classes are offered at nearby institutions, relative to other science classes.
Elements of the Geology
Program Project Investigation:
a) Survey
other colleges for the number of Geology classes, attendance, breadth of
offerings, faculty skills, lab facilities, and other pertinent information
regarding geology programs.
b) Discuss
with our Geography colleagues in Social Science how much geology is being
incorporated as a physical science.
c) Look
for opportunities to create Earth-Science classes that meet the demand for this
subject and perhaps would boost interest in and enrollment in follow-on geology
classes.
d) Look
at creating full-time faculty positions for creation of a Geology program.
Assessments
Project enrollment opportunities
and FTEF costs for enhancing the geology program, and decide what additional
questions must be answered before recommending additional classes or staff be
hired.
Appendix
Note out to colleagues around the Bay Area regarding input into Program Review
Dear [Colleagues]
My name is Scott Hildreth; I teach Astronomy & Physics
at
Every few years
And so with this note I’d like to ask for your help, and in return offer any help I might be able to provide if that would be of use to you, too. Specifically:
1) If possible, and if it doesn’t require a lot, might I ask you if you could share your own student success and retention data, in whatever format is conveniently available? (Chabot defines “success” as receiving grades A, B, C, or Credit; grades D, F, or No Credit are deemed non-successful.)
2) At Chabot, our introductory Astronomy courses account for perhaps 45% of students seeking transferrable physical science lecture credit (with others taking Geography, Chemistry, Geology, or Physics). Is this in line with what you see at your school?
3) One of our challenges as a department is providing an authentic, relevant astronomy lab experience suitable for our non-major students. As may be the case for some of you, light pollution severely Chabot’s limits our evening campus viewing. We haven’t yet begun to take advantage of robotic telescope opportunities for our lab students. Is this something that you or your colleagues have explored?
4) Perhaps also like some of you, we are asked to develop
student learning outcomes (SLO’s) for our
courses. We’ve begun to do so, and I’d
be interested in seeing what you might have developed, as well as be happy to
share those we are working on. (I’ve
also talked about this with Andy Fraknoi at
Even if you might not be able to help with any of the above, and are yourself already buried by paperwork and student papers, drop me a note if you can and perhaps we can connect later. For whatever help you can provide, I offer you in advance my thanks and sincere regards,
Scott Hildreth
[1] Course
Success and Withdrawal Rates by Course and Students, Fall
1995-Fall 2007.
[2] Tsai, Patty. Physics/Astronomy Unit Plan. Peralta College District. 3/12/08. Accessed 3/1/09 from www.peralta.edu/coa/library/planningdocs/Unit%20Plans/Unit%20Plans%2008-09/PhysicsAstr-UnitPlan2008-09.doc
[3] Los Medanos Program Review Data for Physical Science/Physics/Engineering. Office of Institutional Research. August 2006. Accessed 3/1/09 from http://www.losmedanos.edu/groups/research/documents/ProgRevPHYSCPhysEngin.pdf
[4]Astronomy Program Review. El Camino College. 2006. Accessed 3/1/09 from http://www.elcamino.edu/administration/vpaa/Astronomy.pdf