Doing Inquiry at a Distance

Abstract

The focus of this session will be using new distance education sections of ASTR 112 to help students develop science competencies in line with the most recent Mason goals for general education natural science. Students are expected to understand and practice scientific inquiry, evaluate scientific information, and recognize the scope and limits of science, as well as be able to recognize the relationship between science and society. Because these goals require more than just learning about astronomy, it is important to structure these courses with those goals at the forefront. Faculty of diverse disciplinary backgrounds struggle with how to make distance courses meaningful and engaging while meeting educational goals and should find ideas that transfer to their own courses.