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My inquiry will address the following three areas: (1) Nonscientists often describe science as not being creative, probably because their book and assignments don’t given them a chance to be very creative. I am trying to create at least a few assignments where students can use imagination and creativity, and possibly even some of their own expertise. (2) Astronomy is very visual.  I would like students to pay more attention to astronomical images and what they mean.  (3)  If students engage in teaching they may learn more

Course details:

ASTR1020 “Stars and Galaxies” is for non-science-majors.

Problem:

(1) Nonscientists often describe science as not being creative, probably because their book and assignments don’t given them a chance to be very creative. I am trying to create at least a few assignments where students can use imagination and creativity, and possibly even some of their own expertise. (2) Astronomy is very visual.  I would like students to pay more attention to astronomical images and what they mean.  (3)  If students engage in teaching they may learn more.

Solution/ Description:

Students will be assigned to explain any concept of their choosing from the course, in terms understandable to a non-science person.  (e.g. Another student; their grandparents). They will be encouraged to do this:

1. By  working in teams of 2 or 3

2. Doing the explanation in video lasting 2-3 minutes

3. If they do not want to do a video they may do an ordinary written paper

Students will work both in-class and out of class on the project over the course of 4 weeks.

As homework, due at recitation, they will write a 2-3 page script. (This obviously requires students to meet outside of class).

Project Week 1.

In recitation 3 groups will work together, reading their “scripts” out loud to each other. They will make suggestions to improve each other’s scripts. Reading out loud helps them remember that the writing must be fluid as well as accurate.  It also may correct quite a bit of their passive voice, since they will trip up while reading awkwardly constructed sentences.  LAs may show examples of videos to inspire students to work hard.

Project Week 2.

Students asked to bring laptops to recitation.  (Only one is needed for each group of 3 students).  LAs give a short tutorial on how to use iMovie or Movie Maker.  With two rooms adjacent to each other at Sommers Bausch, one can be Mac and one PC. Students practice on their computer and can ask questions.

Project Week 3.

Not in recitation. Students complete a draft of their video—about a two minute segment – and upload it where the LA can view it and send them comments.  I expect that students will  underestimate  how long it will take to get out all the technical “kinks” (aligning pictures with words or music, uploading, etc.)

Project Week 4.

Show the videos in recitation sections. Upload final versions. Choose “favorite video” from each recitation section.  Turn in a one-page reflective assignment where they describe what they have learned, as well as the rhetorical choices they made in terms of script, visuals and audio.

Professor then uses some of the best videos in class, and puts some on the class D2L page.

Many students were extremely creative. Here are some examples of their work:

Light Confusion

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuAguULZ6Po]

Space Party at Club Planet (which features and original poem)

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9bKKVp5iZA]

Black Holes

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xr78lKn4Qug]

I had never made a video myself but I took a “Teaching with Technology” faculty seminar and found out that many other departments assign videos, including departments that are less technical than APS. Support from OIT, the seminar leaders, and an SEI post doc helped out a lot to make the project a success.

The best two things about the video assignment were

1. The students really liked it. They said they spent 2-3 times as much time as they would have on a paper, but they strongly encouraged me to do the video assignment in the future.  I did allow “opt out” – students could do a written paper instead.  Roughly 15% of the class did the written paper.

2. The support from OIT was tremendous!  Dave Underwood and Tim Riggs provided tutorials and help for the students, and advice to me. (including suggestions on a grading rubric.)  This made it much easier for me as a faculty member new to video work.

What would I do differently in the future? I devoted 2 hours of recitation time to the project.  These followed one hour of lecture devoted to the project, how to do it, what I was looking for in the videos.  In the future I would only devote one hour in recitation.  This is the kind of project students mostly do outside of class.  The extra in-recitation time wasn’t really needed.

Without the seminar I would not have tried this.  Bravo for the seminar.  Now I will do this every time I teach this class. The main reason I’ll do this again is that students really invested time in it, liked it, and will remember their videos far longer than other parts of the class.