Conference: Broadening Participation in an Astrosociology Curriculum

该项目旨在为国家利益服务，作为NSF IUSE的一部分，组织一次关于扩大对天体社会学课程的参与的会议，并制作一本研究结果白皮书：EDU参与的学生学习轨道，级别1。在人类准备以各种新颖的方式与宇宙互动的第二个空间探索黄金时代的黎明，空间探索在美国社会是一个快速增长的科学、技术和经济部门，创造了对各种背景的技能和知识迅速增长的劳动力的需求。这些努力的技术和天文数字挑战将令人望而生畏，但由此引发的一系列社会和道德问题也将令人望而生畏。对这些问题的认识对于未来的天文学和空间探索专业人员以及整个公民来说都是至关重要的。一方面，来自不同服务不足背景的年轻人将受益于对可能影响他们及其社区的与空间有关的问题的批判性理解。另一方面，课程的目的是促进他们进入这一劳动力部门，这可以使其变得更加多样化和包容性。此外，该课程重点帮助所有专业的学生理解社会与天文学和太空探索之间的复杂相互关系，同时磨练他们在不寻常的情况下理性思考的一般技能。这种做法的好处将超出课程范围，并将对学生的生活产生积极影响。天文学课程缺乏系统地融合人文和社会科学，这次会议为在整个高等教育中推广这一课程奠定了基础。在少数族裔优质教育网络的帮助下，这次在线会议的参与者将是来自美国高等教育版图各个角落的教育专业人员。会议将涵盖三个主要主题：(1)天体社会学和天体社会学课程简介；(2)如何为不同社区的课程注入多样性、公平性、包容性和可及性；(3)支持教师需要或希望成功采用课程。这一努力的优势是建立在哈佛大学现有的独特课程基础上，这一课程已经证明了其可行性。但是，为了在美国的高等教育机构中更广泛地实施该课程，有必要的第一步是，通过这次会议，研究该课程如何在以不同学生的经历为核心的各种机构环境中以最佳方式发挥作用，以及如何进一步修订该课程，以增加其与多个社区的相关性，特别是那些传统上在科学追求中代表性较低的社区。从长远来看，目标是在全国范围内扩大所有不同类型的高等教育机构的课程。NSF IUSE：EDU计划支持研究和开发项目，以提高所有学生STEM教育的有效性。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project aims to serve the national interest by organizing a conference on broadening participation in an astrosociology curriculum and by producing a White Book of the findings, as part of the NSF IUSE: EDU Engaged Student Learning Track, Level 1. At the dawn of a second Golden Age of space exploration in which humanity is poised to interact with the cosmos in varied and novel ways (e.g., Moon and Mars missions, space tourism, asteroid mining, satellites with enhanced capabilities), space exploration is a fast-growing scientific, technological, and economic sector in U.S. society, creating the need for a rapidly expanding skilled and knowledgeable workforce of a variety of backgrounds. The technical and astronomical challenges of these endeavors will be daunting, but so will the host of social and moral issues raised by them. Awareness of these issues is crucial for both future professionals in astronomy and space exploration and the citizenry as a whole. On the one hand, young people from diverse underserved backgrounds will benefit from developing a critical understanding of space-related issues that might affect them and their communities. On the other, the curriculum is intended to facilitate their entry into this sector of the workforce, which could enable it to become more diverse and inclusive. Moreover, the curriculum focuses on helping students of all majors understand the complex interrelationship between society and astronomy and space exploration, while honing their general skills in thinking rationally through unusual scenarios. The benefits of this practice will extend beyond the course and are intended to positively impact students’ lives. There is a dearth of astronomy courses that systematically integrate the humanities and social sciences, and this conference lays the groundwork for propagating such a curriculum throughout higher education.Recruited with the help of the Quality Education for Minorities Network, participants in this online conference will be educational professionals from all corners of the American higher education landscape. The conference will cover three major topics: (1) an introduction to astrosociology and the astrosociology curriculum; (2) how to infuse the curriculum with diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility for diverse communities; and (3) the support faculty would need or want to successfully adopt the curriculum. This endeavor has the advantage of building on an existing unique course at Harvard University, which has already demonstrated its feasibility. But to implement the curriculum more widely across American institutions of higher education, a necessary first step is to examine, through this conference, how the curriculum may optimally function in a wide variety of institutional environments when designed with diverse students’ experiences at the core, and how it might be further revised to increase its relevance to multiple communities, especially those traditionally underrepresented in science pursuits. In the long run, the goal is a national scale-up of the curriculum in all different institutional types of higher education. The NSF IUSE: EDU Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.