Los Angeles Valley College
Student Learning Outcomes Assessment Report
Courses and Programs
Discipline:
Astronomy
Program/Course:
Astronomy 1 and 5
SLO Representative: Dr. Joan Hackeling
I. Student Learning Outcome Assessed
II. Description of Assessment Method
a. Describe the assessment tool (e.g., student
essay, performance, etc.)
b. Describe how the data was analyzed (rubric
elements, etc.). Attach rubric if applicable.
*** Please keep all data for at least 3 years.
Department: Earth Science
Semester/Year: Spring 2013
Department Chair: Jacquelyn Hams
For Astronomy 1:
a. Demonstrate an understanding that astronomy is based on observation
of the sky and how those observations explain some basic phenomena
of nature.
b. Explain how light is used by astronomers to learn about the universe.
For Astronomy 5:
a. Demonstrate how a telescope is used to interpret celestial objects.
b. Demonstrate how astrophotography is used to record and interpret
features of a celestial object.
a. A multiple-choice test was developed for the Astronomy 1 and 5
classes. For Astronomy 1, questions dealt with how light is analyzed to
learn about the universe, planetary motion and relative sizes of major
astronomical systems. For Astronomy 5 (laboratory), questions dealt
with functional parts of a telescope, sky chart interpretation, and
astrophotography. Scantrons were used to record test responses from
students. An item analysis of responses for each question were
examined to gauge whether or not students were grasping the
concepts; 70% was considered an “acceptable” pass rate.
b. All students present in the classes at the end of the semester (May
2013) were given the tests. 131 Astronomy 1 students were surveyed,
and 53 Astronomy 5 students were surveyed. Both Astronomy
instructors (Falk and Jandorf) participated in the process, and Dr. Joan
Hackeling and Vivian Mun were consulted.
Both Astronomy instructors jointly developed the test and examined the survey
results and agreed upon the interpretation of results.
III. Description of Sampling Methodology
a. 4 sections of Astronomy 1 were offered (all during the day), 2 sections
a. Course Sections - How many sections of this
of Astronomy 5 (lab) were offered (both at night). All of these were
course were offered?
assessed.
If there were more than one section offered –
b. One full-time instructor taught all of the Astronomy 1 courses and one
i) State if the sections were offered in the
of the Astronomy 5 courses. One adjunct instructor taught one section
morning /afternoon /evening/ online.
of Astronomy 5. Both instructors participated in the assessment
ii) How many sections were assessed?
process.
iii) Describe how these sections represent the
diversity of students represented in the
c. 131 students were enrolled in Astronomy 1; 53 students were enrolled
course.
in the Astronomy 5 courses. All of these were assessed.
b. Faculty - How many faculty (part-time and
d. All students in both Astronomy 1 and 5 were assessed.
full-time) taught this course? How many
faculty participated in the SLO assessment
process?
c. Students - How many students in total were
enrolled? How many students were
assessed?
d. Sampling (If this course offered more than
one section, at least 1/3 of the total # of
students must be assessed) - How was the
sampling process conducted? (e.g., chose
every 3rd student from roster)
IV. Collaborative Review
Both instructors collaborated on making the assessment test and interpreting
the results.
V. Assessment Results
Astronomy 1:
74% of students answered correctly questions dealing with motions of
the night sky. Only 43% of students correctly remembered details on
planets, but this could be because one of the questions (dealing with
planetary rings) was very detailed. Results from questions dealing with
understanding stellar characteristics ranged widely (91-18% answered
a. Describe the norming process and how interrater reliability was achieved (if applicable).
a. Describe the relevant findings according to
the criteria set by the assessment tool. (e.g.,
report results according to rubric evaluation
criteria)
the question correctly), despite a great deal of class time spent on this
topic. The faculty is discussing using different activities to more actively
engage the students on this topic. Students are grasping the range of
sizes of objects in the universe, scoring between 73% and 100%
correctly on questions dealing with this topic, so they are apparently
understanding the relative sizes of objects.
Astronomy 5 (laboratory):
Most students understood interpreting a sky atlas (correct answers ranged
from 100% to 66%). Students are doing better with Moon motions and eclipses
(100%-80% correct. Failure rates for questions dealing with astrophotography
were high (80%-50% correct), but could be attributed to the brief amount of
time spent on this topic. Students were apparently somewhat confused about
telescope parts (80%-66% correct responses), but this could be because the
illustration on the test was referring to a telescope of a different design than
those used in the laboratory sessions.
VI. How Results were Used for
a. Results will be used to select a new textbook for courses (“Astronomy
Course/Program Improvement
Today” by Chaisson) and exercises will be assigned to students from
a. Describe how the results are going to be used
“Lecture-Tutorials for Introductory Astronomy” by Prather and Slater.
for the improvement of teaching, learning, or
b. A laboratory assistant is needed during the observing laboratory
institutional effectiveness based on the data
sessions to ensure adequate supervision and student understanding of
assessed.
telescope operation and concepts under study.
b. List any additional resources necessary to
c. The Program SLO for Reasoning Skills has been achieved with the
implement the improvement plan.
Astronomy 5 course, but need improvement for certain topics in the
c. How do your assessment findings contribute
to the achievement of your Program SLO’s?
Astronomy 1 course, as indicated in section (a) above. For the
(To access the program SLO’s Astronomy 5 lab course, a lab assistant to help the students identify
http://lavc.edu/slo/programassessment.html/
and work with telescopes would improve the results, but depends on
and/or contact your Department Chair for the
funding being made available.
Program Alignment Grid).
d. Results are discussed in a meeting with the adjunct Astronomy
d. Describe how results will be shared with
instructor.
others in the discipline/area.
VII. Comparison to last SLOAC Cycle
The results of these surveys will be used to adjust the amount of time
Results (if this is the first time the course
spent on topics that gave students the most difficulty, and to search for
was assessed, leave this section blank)
more effective student activities that would engage the students more
and enable greater understanding of the concepts.
a. Please state the improvement plan that was
included in the report from the previous
SLOAC cycle.
b. What changes were implemented from the
previous SLOAC cycle’s improvement plan?
What changes, if any, were made that were
not included in the improvement plan? What
changes, if any, were made to the
assessment process?
c. How are the results from this SLOAC cycle
similar to or different from the results from the
previous cycle?
a. More time was spent in the lecture courses on stellar characteristics
and evolution, with more “hands-on” exercises. More emphasis was
spent during the lab courses on Moon phases. The textbook used in
the Astronomy 1 lecture class was changed in response to student
complaints regarding the book formerly used.
b. Students are doing better with Moon motions and relative sizes of
celestial objects than in the previous cycle, but are still struggling with
stellar characteristics and evolution.
Insert Rubric or Assessment Tools below:
Assessment test for Astronomy 1 classes:
ASTRONOMY 1
V. A
Student Learning Objectives
Select the best answer for each question.
1. Star that don’t rise or set are called:
a. Stationary stars
c. Seasonal stars
b. Circumpolar stars
d. Equatorial stars
2. Which of the following planets moves the fastest along its path around the Sun?
a. Earth
b. Venus
c. Mars
3. Which wavelengths have the most energy?
d. Saturn
e. Mercury
a. Short wavelengths
b. Long wavelengths
c. Stable wavelengths
4. Planetary rings are found around:
a. only Saturn.
b. every planet in the solar system.
c. only Saturn and Uranus.
d. only Jupiter and Saturn.
e. every Jovian planet in the solar system.
5. (For the following question, the first word in the answer would fill the first blank, and the second word would fill the second blank.)
Single blue giant stars typically have _________ lives and __________ luminosities when compared to our Sun.
a. Shorter, brighter
b. Shorter, dimmer
c. Longer, dimmer
d. Longer, brighter
e. Longer, same
6. Arrange the following in order of size, smallest to largest.
a.. Universe, galaxy, solar system, Sun.
b. Sun, solar system, galaxy, universe.
c. Galaxy, Sun, universe, solar system.
d. Solar system, universe, Sun, Galaxy.
7. Where is the Sun located within our Milky Way galaxy?
a. In the Nuclear Bulge.
b. In the Halo.
c. In the Disk.
d. Not in the Milky Way.
Assessment test for Astronomy 5 classes:
ASTRONOMY 5
V. A
Student Learning Objectives
Select the best answer for each question.
1. What object is at RA 18 hr. 50 min, Dec +33 degrees?
a. M56
b. M13, Hercules Cluster
c. M57, Ring Nebula
d. Vega
2. When a solar eclipse occurs, what phase is the Moon in?
a. Last
b. First
c. Full
d. New
For question #3, refer to the light curve (below) of an eclipsing binary star system.
a
B
c
b
d
Time
3. Which point from the illustration above would be a primary minimum?
Select one: a, b, c. d
For questions 4, 5 and 6, refer to the telescope illustration below.
Light ray
A
Light ray
C
B
4. Letter A in the drawing refers to:
a. Primary mirror
c. Eyepiece
b. Secondary mirror
d. Corrector plate
5. Letter B in the drawing refers to:
a. Primary mirror
c. Eyepiece
b. Secondary mirror
d. Corrector plate
6. Letter C in the drawing refers to:
a. Primary mirror
c. Eyepiece
b. Secondary mirror
d. Corrector plate
7. When photographing the Moon, what is NOT a critical factor in obtaining a good image?
a. ASA rating
b. Shutter speed
c. Focusing
d. Leveling the telescope