Project CLEA: Contemporary Laboratory Experiences in Astronomy

该项目继续为入门天文学实验室开发练习。通过使用真实数据和计算机模拟的计算机模拟，这些模块解决了现代化的迫切需要。到目前为止，天文学实验室很难提供所需的实践经验，因为天文物体很模糊，许多现象的时间尺度不方便，天气多变。在这个项目之前，天文学教师的大多数练习都依赖于对照片或罐装数据的分析，并举例说明了越来越过时的技术。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。每个模块由软件、学生指南、教师手册和技术文档组成。这些材料便于分发和携带，已被天文学教师广泛接受。CLEA软件目前在美国和其他40个国家使用，每年至少有10,000名学生。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12项练习，这些练习将成为未来十年天文实验室的资源。一名外部评价人员已经开始对这些材料的有效性进行广泛的评估，评估工作将继续进行。目前正在制作CD-ROM、统一手册和其他数据资源，以便最终向教育用户分发第三方资料。

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instructors relied on analysis of photographs or canned data, and exemplified techniques that were increasingly out-of-date.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.