Development of an Earth and Space Science-Focused Education Program at Howard University

Journal of Geoscience Education, May 2006 by Misra, Prabhakar, Carruthers, George, Jenkins, Gregory S

FACILITIES

In addition to the Howard University Atmospheric Observatory (HUAO) in Beltsville, MD, described earlier, which is used for atmospheric measurements and weather-related activities, we also utilize the Howard University Astronomical Observatory located on top of Locke Hall (on the main campus). It is a telescopic observatory equipped with a 12-inch aperture Meade Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope for night sky viewing, with a microprocessor-driven clock drive, along with atmospheric monitoring equipment. The telescope is housed in a large dome, and is installed on a vibration-free pier. There is room in the dome for supporting computer and maintenance equipment. In addition, there are several smaller, portable telescopes, including 6-inch Newtonian telescopes assembled by astronomy students, and we have recently acquired a CCD camera for both observatory and classroom use. Classroom facilities and a planetarium are also located in the penthouse of Locke Hall. All astronomy classes currently are also taught there, allowing students easy access to the observatory when weather conditions permit. Observation and instrument facilities include a solar telescope with videotaping capability (which we used to provide public viewing of the June 2004 transit of Venus) and a stand-alone solar spectrograph with public viewing capabilities (both built with student participation), which are being used in the current effort. The August 2003 and November 2005 Mars oppositions to Earth were viewed using the 12-inch aperture Meade Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. Such public viewing of rare events spark the students' imagination and afford once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness Nature's grandeur first hand. To quote NASA on the extremely rare transit of Venus in front of the Sun: "On June 8,2004, starting at sunrise on the East Coat of North America, you will see the planet Venus as it moves across the face of the early morning sun. The last time humans witnessed this event was on December 8, 1882, when it was watched by millions of people across the world, from the crowded streets of Bombay to the deserts of the American southwest." We have learned that when students participate in such fascinating activities, and they feel a sense of ownership through the building of instruments that facilitates such involvement and furthers their true education, they learn more through an exciting combination of the inquiry teaching approach and a research perspective (Basaga et al., 1994; The National Academy of Sciences, 2000; Anderson and Smith, 1987).

OUTCOMES AND GOALS

The outcome of our Earth and Space Science Education curriculum enhancement, over the next few years, is being assessed to determine what students know and how they learn optimally in the classroom by adopting a systems approach, and encouraging critical thinking (The National Academy of Sciences, 2001; Gautier and Rebich, 2005; Perkins, 2004; McConnell et al., 2005). Each semester we monitor enrollment, student performance, and document responses through an evaluation questionnaire (Libarkin et al., 2005) that we have prepared and are continually improving to obtain useful and constructive feedback from the students and teachers taking the course. In addition, in Fall 2005, we had one undergraduate student and three D.C. public school teachers enrolled in the Earth and Space Science I PHYS 030 course complete an online evaluation by visiting the web site http://www.educationdesign.biz /survey.html developed by David Reider, Program Evaluator of the Earth System Science Education for the 21st Century (ESSE 21) project effort. We highlight some of the outcomes and goals of our concerted efforts.