Re: New astronomy class?

[Leigh Palmer <palmer@SFU.CA>]

> At 8:07 AM -0400 12/1/00, Tim O'Donnell wrote:
> > We are considering offering an Astronomy class at my high school.
> > Since many physics teachers teach astronomy as well I am posting
> > this request.  Would anyone be willing to share their curriculum,
> > books used, programs used etc.?
> > Thank you.
> > Tim O'Donnell
>
> We added our first astronomy class about 6-7 years ago.  We started with a
> fairly easy-but-good text (Discovering the Universe, Comins & Kaufmann) but
> the class had a reputation for being easy, so we stiffened it up, add a
> little more math, and switched to Universe (Kaufmann & Freedman).  That
> book is too much to get through in one semester, so we don't do it all, but
> we really like it.  Another reason we switched books was to get Starry
> Night bundled with it for the students.  What a great piece of software!  I
> also recommend the Project STAR kits for the students to build
> spectrometers, telescopes, celestial spheres, etc.
>
> Larry Smith
> Snow College

While "Universe" is a fine book for an introductory college course
(I've used it and others), it is not suitable for a high school
course. Teaching astronomy at the high school level should only be
undertaken if there is an astronomy enthusiast on the faculty who
wants to teach it, and she should have some release time to put
together such a course for the clientele in question here. The
reason an enthusiast is needed is that in this scientific field,
more than even in biology and medicine, new developments are seen
in the news every week, and a teacher must be able to answer the
students' questions with some knowledge to make the course truly
represent the state of this rapidly evolving body of knowledge.

One thing I will mention. I share Larry Smith's enthusiasm for
"Starry Night". If he owns the top of the line version (Starry
Night Pro) he will find hours of entertainment and learning in
playing with it, an experience which should entice many students
to do the same. Starry Night (Backyard or Pro version) is cheap
at its price. It is the best self-motivating tool I can think of*
as an adjunct to an astronomy course in high school, but it should
be purchased in these much more appropriate forms. The textbook
version is a teaser designed to encourage purchase of the other
versions.

Leigh

* Of course for a minority of schools located in rural areas there
is a much better adjunct - the dark sky itself!