The universe is a huge subject! Its size is almost unimaginable, and it is populated by objects that are almost beyond belief. In this course we introduce the many of the denizens of the cosmos and we explore how a scientific approach can reveal many of the properties of these fantastic objects. We apply scientific understanding from many different scientific disciplines to build a more complete picture of what we observe.

It is our hope that by the end of this course students will have a solid grasp of how we know "where'' and "when'' we are in the universe, the ways in which we are able to explore remote objects, and how to convey these ideas to students through projects and activities. We will explore how peoples throughout history, from different historical and cultural settings, have made sense of the sky and how people today, from diverse backgrounds, think about and interact with celestial phenomenon. We will examine the many ways in which astronomy relates to the world of work in order to enable elementary and middle school teachers to help their students think about their knowledge of the universe in relation to careers.

We focus on the Astronomy-related aspects of the middle-school Earth & Space Science frameworks, but the study of astronomy also ties into many of the Physics and Chemistry frameworks, and to a lesser degree some of the Life Science frameworks. We will also:

• Undertake inquiry-based projects to understand how learning can be enhanced through personal discovery of astronomical phenomena.
• Apply scientific and mathematical reasoning to interpret phenomena we observe.
• Work collaboratively in teams to apply critical thinking and the scientific method to solve problems.
• Learn to adapt advanced scientific topics for use in the middle-school classroom.

Instructors

Stephen E. Schneider, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Astronomy
University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
http://www.astro.umass.edu/~schneide/
schneider@astro.umass.edu

Kathleen Davis, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Science Education
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
http://people.umass.edu/kdavis/
kdavis@educ.umass.edu

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