| INSTRUCTOR: | Dr. Robert Robbins |
| Office: | RLM 13.136 |
| Phone: | 471-7312 |
| E-mail: | rrr@astro.as.utexas.edu |
| Office Hours: |
| TA: | Divas Sanwal |
| Office: | RLM 17.312 |
| Phone: | 471-7418 |
| E-mail: | divas@astro.as.utexas.edu |
| Office Hours: |
| READING: | Textbook: Hemenway, Mary Kay and Robbins, R. Robert Modern Astronomy-An Activities Approach, 2nd edition (1991), University of Texas Press Also, get a notebook in which to record your observations, answer the questions posed by the book, and write reports of what you have done. Get a bound notebook (not loose leaf). The most useful kind have lined sheets on one side of the page and graph paper on the other. Obtain or borrow a meterstick or yardstick. You should also bring a protractor, plastic ruler, compass (the kind that draws circles), and a calculator. We have such a high rate of disappearance for these items that we are no longer able to supply them to the class. |
| DESCRIPTION: |
Making Progress Through a Self-Paced Activities Course: Appendix 5 of the textbook gives a thorough explanation of how this class operates, but since the class has an unconventional format, it is still important to go over the mechanics of the class thoroughly -- for your benefit -- at our first class meeting. Astronomy 367 and Physical Science 367 are "hands-on" activities classes. For each Unit in the class, the text will lead you through a set of activities and measurements and then you will determine what conclusions can justifiably be derived from your observations. Your instructor and the TA will always be available to help you understand what you are doing and to keep you moving along at a satisfactory rate. 367 is not a survey class in astronomy; it deals only with selected aspects of the cosmos that are amenable to "learning by doing." (This makes the class particularly appropriate to teachers and future teachers, since these activities are the kind you will be doing with your classes someday. In fact, feel free to modify and use any of our activities that you find useful for your classes.) When you have finished your activities and measurements and they have been checked off as OK, you then give a "mini-lecture" to someone else in the class -- a five minute talk that allows you to organize what you have learned and get feedback from the listener. You then take a short test to demonstrate that you have gained the knowledge of the content in that Unit. Do not give your mini-lecture to someone that you worked with on the activity. Your grade in the class then depends simply upon how many of the activities and their associated quizzes you successfully complete. To earn a D (or CR, for pass-fail registrations), you must complete 4 units selected from the first 14 chapters of the book. To earn a C, you must complete 6 units from these same sections, and 8 units completed earns you a B. To earn an A, you must complete 8 units chosen from the first 14 and then complete one activity chosen from Section 15 on. These "A" units from 15 on are generally more time-consuming. If you are interested in one of these activities, consult the instructor about the availability of the necessary equipment and to make sure that you have completed the earlier units that are prerequisite to the A unit. Activities 1 and 2 are required for everyone; after that, you choose which activities you want to do. Pages x, xi, and xii in the text give brief descriptions of the different activities you can choose. You can go any direction you want, as long as you satisfy the prerequisites for the units you do. The illustration below shows a couple of popular pathways through the course. If you plan to get an A in the course, an efficient way to set up a path is to first choose the "A" unit you want to do and then work backwards to see which units you need as prerequisites. Once you understand how a self-paced activities class operates, you should then sit down and plan your progress through the class. That is, you should map out what activities you wish to do and what grade you want to achieve. A wise procedure would be to map out your plan and get the instructor's comments on it. Time goes by very rapidly in the summer session and you need to start this class without delay. People go through the class at very different rates -- depending on factors like differences in background, hours of outside employment you must maintain -- etc. It is essential that you find out as quickly as possible how long it takes YOU to complete a unit. Then you will know how much time will be required to complete the number of units you want to finish. You can choose a variety of pathways. Two are illustrated here: |
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Hints for good progress: In a self-paced class, you should always keep checking to make sure that you are passing units at a rate sufficient to earn the grade you want. Start working immediately and don't pause until you get the grade you want (preferentially before the end of the semester, since some students will procrastinate and create a traffic jam at the end). Do not save up lots of work to be evaluated near the end of the semester; it may be too busy at that time. Working on one or two activities at a time works out best. Pass your first exam as soon as possible. Most of the work and measurements it calls for can be done at home if you wish, although we do have a more convenient setup here on campus. (You could get a running start by coming in tomorrow with your measurements done at home and ready to pass the quiz.) Some units have written quizzes, others have oral quizzes, and some units have no quizzes -- where just completing the work called for in the text is enough for credit. Consult the list posted in the classroom to be sure what you are preparing for. If you miss more than one question on a written quiz, you need to study further and take a repeat test. The only way you can hurt yourself in a self-paced class is procrastination -- postponing the necessary work until you run out of time. No incompletes are given in this class. If you come to every class and work consistently, there is no reason why you shouldn't get a good grade. But you will have to attend steadily to get an A. In general, once Unit One is done, you may work on two activities at once, an indoor and an outdoor one. In this way you can always make progress no matter what the weather conditions are. Take advantage of every clear night to work on outdoor activities, because you never know when a stretch of bad weather might begin. Don't blow off clear nights and expect the weather to cooperate when you're ready for it. If there has been enough clear weather, the outside units will be required, even if you didn't get around to finishing them.
Some special considerations on timing in the short summer semester:
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| IMPORTANT DATES: |
Drops and Deadlines for Summer 1999:
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