Development and Evaluation of a Multimedia Instructional Package for Astronomy

天文学(11)该项目正在开发一个原型并评估互动天文学，这是一个广泛教授的本科科学课程的多媒体教学包：非科学专业的天文学入门。这门课程服务于大量的大学生，包括许多未来的教师，并具有提高他们的科学技能和影响他们对科学的理解和欣赏的巨大潜力。多媒体包中的软件包含两个创新元素：信息技术对教学的革命性改进，以及新兴的探究式学习模式。利用计算机带来的高度互动性，学生被引导自己发现事物，而不是被动地学习。利用计算机实现的动态模拟，学生们可以生活在科学世界中，对其通常抽象的世界产生生动的体验。该方案的两个重要组成部分是引导性发现，这是广泛的、高度互动的教学练习，设计时仔细关注教学问题；智能导师，根据对学生学习需求的评估，定制他们的教学策略。其中七个发现的设计已经完成。在本项目中，三个项目被全面实施，然后对它们对学生学习的影响进行了概念验证测试。这种形成性评估(将于秋季在Greenfield社区学院和Amherst学院进行，并在春季在马萨诸塞大学进行)与进一步的软件开发并行并与之互动。

Astronomy (11) The project is developing a prototype and evaluating Interactive Astronomy, a multimedia instructional package for a widely taught undergraduate science course: Introductory Astronomy for Non-Science Majors. This course serves a great number of college students, including many future teachers, and has great potential for improving their science skills and influencing their understanding of and appreciation for science. The multimedia package includes software which incorporates two innovative elements: the revolutionary improvements in instruction offered by information technology, and the emerging paradigm of inquiry-based learning. Utilizing the high degree of interactivity which computers make possible, students are led to discover things for themselves, as opposed to learning them passively. Utilizing the dynamical simulations which computers make possible, students can live in the world of science, yielding a vivid experience of its normally abstract world. Two important elements of the package are Guided Discoveries, which are extensive, highly interactive instructional exercises, designed with careful attention to pedagogical issues; and Intelligent Tutors, which customize their instructional strategies, based on an assessment of the student's learning needs. Design of seven of the Discoveries has already been completed. In this project, three are beingfully implemented, and then a proof of concept test is conducted of their effect on student learning. This formative evaluation (to be conducted in the Fall at Greenfield Community College and Amherst College, and in the Spring at the University of Massachusetts) runs parallel to, and be interactive with, further software development.