Qualitatively Assessing An Online Research Course for Astronomy Majors
PosterEvaluation and Astronomy Education Research
5th Shaw-IAU Workshop
Wednesday Nov. 29, 2023
UTC: 8 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. America/New_York: 3 p.m.- 4:30 p.m.
, Friday Dec. 1, 2023
UTC: 10 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. America/New_York: 5 a.m.- 6:30 a.m.
Skylar Grayson
(Arizona State University)
Coauthors: Heather B. Hewitt (Arizona State University), Molly Simon (Arizona State University), Chris Mead (Arizona State University), Grace Beall (Arizona State University), Robert T. Zellem (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), Kalee Tock (Stanford Online High School), Kyle A. Pearson (Jet Propulsion Laboratory)
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Research experiences as an undergraduate are one area where online programs are trailing behind traditional degrees, due to the difficulty of providing experiences to remote students. To remedy this, we have developed an online Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) for students in Arizona State University’s online Astronomical and Planetary Sciences degree. Here, we present the preliminary qualitative results from interviews administered to twelve students. We find that a majority of the interviewed students express an increased sense of belonging in astronomy and the school, improved science identity, and greater confidence in their research abilities. This work is part of a broader mixed-methods project analyzing the benefits of this CURE over the course of three years.
Biography:
Skylar Grayson is an astrophysics Ph.D. candidate at Arizona State University. Her research interests include galactic evolution, computational astrophysics, and mixed methods research into online astronomy education.
