Project CLEA: Contemporary Laboratory Experiences in Astronomy

该项目继续开展为入门天文学实验室制定练习的工作。通过使用真实数据的计算机模拟和计算机模拟，这些模块满足了现代化的迫切需求。到目前为止，天文学实验室一直很难提供所需的实践经验，因为天文物体的模糊，许多现象的不便时间尺度，以及变化无常的天气。在这个项目之前，天文学教师可以使用的大多数练习都依赖于对照片或存储的数据的分析，并举例说明了日益过时的技术。目前的项目，当代天文学实验室经验(CLEA)，已经开发了8个Windows和6个Mac练习。每个模块都包括软件、学生指南、教师手册和技术文档。这种材料易于分发和携带，已被天文教员广泛接受。Clea软件目前在全美和40个外国使用，每年至少有1万名学生使用。四个Clea练习获得了1994年计算机物理教育软件奖。在接下来的两年里，该项目将完成一套12项练习，作为进入下一个十年的天文实验室的资源。一名外部评估员已开始对材料的有效性进行广泛评估，评估工作将继续进行。目前正在制作光盘、统一手册和其他数据资源，供第三方最终分发给教育用户。

The project continues work to develop exercises for the introductory astronomy laboratory. Through computer simulations using real data and computer simulations, the modules address a pressing need for modernization. Heretofore, laboratories in astronomy have had difficulty providing needed hands-on experience because of the faintness of astronomical objects, the inconvenient time scale of many phenomena, and the fickleness of weather. Until this project, most exercises available to astronomy instructors relied on analysis of photographs or canned data, and exemplified techniques that were increasingly out-of-date. The current project, Contemporary Laboratory Experiences in Astronomy (CLEA), has developed 8 Windows and 6 Mac exercises. Each module consists of software, student guides, teachers' manuals, and technical documentation. The material, designed for easy distribution and portability, has been widely accepted by astronomy instructors. CLEA software is currently at use throughout all the United States and 40 foreign countries, reaching at least 10,000 students per year. Four CLEA exercises won the 1994 COMPUTERS IN PHYSICS educational software prize. In the next two years the project will complete the set of 12 exercises which will serve as a resource for astronomy laboratories into the next decade. An external evaluator has begun an extensive assessment of the effectiveness of the materials, and the assesment will continue. A CD-ROM, a unified manual, and additional data resources for eventual third-party distribution to educational users are being produced.