This workshop was attended by 16 folks and it was a lively exchange of information. Presentation handouts can be found here: Presentation Handouts
CETL Interim Coordinator Cindy Miller led a two-hour Faculty Focus Workshop that examines case-study use as a teaching format. Entitled , the workshop will present practical tips on case study teaching in the context of research from King and Kirchener’s models of reflective judgement to Chickering and Gamson seven best practices of undergraduate education, and more. It will include practical ways to implement case-studies in your classroom and examples of student work.
I was so excited about the ideas I got from this workshop, the next morning I thought up the case studies below to use for my class. At first I thought this isn’t something I can do in my class because I teach Astronomy and there aren’t lots of cases of stars getting sick to pick from. After thinking about it, though, I realized I could come up with case studies that would be interesting. I’m going to start off simple with case studies that can be done in the class room in a short period of time. Let me know what you think of what I came up with if you get a chance.
Case Studies for Elements of Astronomy
1. It’s day time and there is not a cloud in the sky. The moon is new, so it’s up but you can’t see it. You notice a large shadow moving towards you extremely quickly. You can’t see what is casting the shadow. What’s happening? What is casting the shadow?
2. It’s 9 PM. The moon is in third quarter phase. You go outside to observe the moon to complete an Astronomy assignment. (This really happened to one of my students.) You look all over the sky, but don’t see the moon. You move to several different locations in case there is a building or trees blocking the moon. You still can’t find the moon. Why not?
3. You are an astronaut on the surface of the moon. The Earth is high overhead. The Earth is in third quarter phase. Suddenly there is a bright object on your eastern horizon. What is happening? What is the bright object?
4. It is 300 years ago before light pollution and it is clear. You’re a ten year old child who left the gate open so the family goat escaped. At twilight you go in search of the goat. You find the goat in a meadow that is due south of your home. By the time you find the goat it is well past dark so you are having trouble recognizing landmarks to find your way home. How can you make sure you are walking in a north direction to find your way home?
5. It is an hour before sunrise and the moon rose at 3 AM. You are at an observatory after observing all night. A man calls you and says it looks like the Russians have cut the moon in half and flipped it over. (This really happened.) Why does the moon look cut in half and ‘flipped over’ to him? Assume he is used to seeing the moon in the evening after sunset.
6. You wake up after being in a coma for years. You have no idea what the date is and there isn’t a calendar available and you can’t get on the internet. A clock in the room says it is 8:00 PM. You go outside and see Orion on the meridian. What month is it?
7. It is 3 PM and you are driving around the beltway. You look up and see an astronomical object in the sky that appears to be the same size as the sun. (It has the same angular diameter as the sun.) It is not the sun, though. (This really happened to one of my students, but I don’t recommend looking up at the sky while driving around the beltway.) What is the object?
The National Center for Case Studies in Science has some case studies written for astronomy: http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/cs/index.asp . Search under astronomy.