Developing the "Multiwavelength Astronomy: Galaxies in a Different Light" Activity
Mary Kay Hemenway, Shardha Jogee, Kyle Fricke, and Randi Worhatch (University of Texas at Austin),
and Laurie Ruberg (Wheeling Jesuit University, Center for Education Technologies)
Goal
To produce a series of activities for high school students
that
• will be related to the science PI (Dr. Jogee)'s research on
galaxy evolution over cosmic time intervals spanning twothirds the age of the universe
• are linked to science education standards
• are engaging for high school students at several levels
and varying abilities
• will teach students about nearby evolved galaxies at
different wavelengths, as a stepping stone for exploring
distant young galaxies mapped by space-based surveys
Planned sequence of activities
Visual image classification of galaxies
(Introduce galaxy sorting by types in visual wavelengths)
Multi-wavelength inspection of galaxies
(Respond to survey results - interest in wavelengths other than
visual) THIS ACTIVITY
Stellar evolution
(Scaffold step needed to understand why different types of
galaxies have different types of stars; this includes a fair
amount of physics.)
Far, far away
(Use the Galaxies and Cosmos Explorer Tool (GCET) to examine
very distant galaxies. GCET uses an Internet interface.)
Long, long ago
(Redshift is a time label that indicates age of the universe when
the light left the galaxy. Compare and contrast galaxies over
time using GCET.)
"Multiwavelength Astronomy" is designed to lead high
school students to an understanding of how astronomers
use different wavelengths to learn about the nature of
galaxies. In developing the activity we followed guidelines
from the NASA-funded Virtual Design Center created by
the Center for Educational Technologies at Wheeling Jesuit
University. With the project rationale and standardsalignment analysis completed, we surveyed high school
students from several classes about their understanding
of and interest in topics related to galaxy research. Their
responses, and later pilot tests with secondary teachers
and students, informed the development team's efforts.
Among the topics are the electromagnetic spectrum,
false-color imaging, image resolution, Wien's law, and
galaxy morphology. These were chosen to serve as prerequisites for future analysis activities that involve
students using data sets from the HST Advanced Camera
for Surveys, from the Galaxy Evolution, Morphology and
SEDs (GEMS) survey, one of the widest-area galaxy
surveys conducted in two filters with HST to date, as well
as data from other observatories. Our description of the
development process will illustrate how we structured
activities to move from introductory, hands-on sorting of
images (in this activity) to computer intensive and
conceptually challenging activities (future) with the design
goal of incrementally increasing student conceptual
learning. Products for this activity include student and
teacher guides, series of images in different wavelengths,
a PowerPoint presentation, and sample materials for
student assessment and evaluation of the activities.
Support from NASA grants NAG5-13063 and NNG06GB99G and NSF grant AST- 0607748 is gratefully
acknowledged.
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Materials for Multiwavelenth Astronomy
Above: galaxies in different wavelengths & study guide
Below: exercise in pixels and false colors
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Virtual Design Center (VDC) Principles
Designers should enhance learners’ problem
solving skills.
Research question should pique learners'
curiosity.
Research question should spark learners' ideas
about possible answers.
Designers should offer learners choices as
learners conduct investigations.
Designers should provide support by fostering
multiple abilities.
Designers should provide support by promoting
self-regulated learning.
Designers should encourage team work.
Designers should provide scaffolding to learners.
Designers should help learners justify their
solutions through argumentation
Assessment should be designed to examine and
foster inquiry and understanding.
Students pilot test the activity
Important Concepts
of the Activity
• Astronomers use data from many regions of the
electromagnetic-spectrum.
• False color images make information at "invisible"
wavelengths easy to view at a glance.
• Observations at different wavelengths have
different spatial resolution due to wavelengthdependent effects of the atmosphere, telescope,
and detectors.
• Wien's law: All bodies emit radiation and the
temperature of the body dictates the wavelength
(e.g., blue, yellow, red) at which most of the
radiation is emitted.
• Different types of celestial objects emit different
types of radiation.
• Telescope/instrument capabilities vary in capacity
to receive wavelengths, field of view, and
resolution.
Pilot Testing Results
• Changed galaxy cards to be negatives - easier to
notice details AND less toner needed to make
copies.
• Changed galaxy cards to be all the same size.
• Added information on cards about the telescopes
used and provided data sheets about the telescopes
based on student interest.
• Added "coloring" exercise on resolution (surveys
show positive student response).
•Expanded activity beyond sorting to include
reflection on making choices.
• Added expert interpretation of sample images to
provide examples of scientific reasoning for the
sorting exercise.
• Restructured this activity to be "low tech" using
paper cards easily duplicated at teacher request
when classroom computers are not available.
• Expanded accompanying PowerPoint that shows
color images of galaxies in different wavelength
regions.
Interactions with VDC
VDC Steps
• project rationale
• standards alignment
• investigation question
• assessment
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Procedure
Receive NSF (AST-0607748) and NASA (NAG513063, NNG-06GB99G) EPO awards for development
of high school astronomy activity that uses state-ofthe-art research results on galaxies.
Seek advice from VDC facilitators.
Align with standards.
Survey audience to find out what they know and
what they are interested in. (Simple questions,
open-ended answers - categories such as bored,
liked a little, liked a lot.) 29 physics, 14 AP physics,
7 astronomy students [Sept 2006].
Use survey results to develop materials.
Pilot test the materials with teachers [December
2006] and with target audiences of students
[January 2007 and April 2007].
Revise after each pilot test.
• best practices
• learning technology
For more information about working with the Virtual
Design Center: http://vdc.cet.edu
For copies of the activity, contact Mary Kay Hemenway
at marykay@astro.as.utexas.edu
For more information about the Galaxies and Cosmos
Explorer Tool:
http://www.as.utexas.edu/gcet/
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Initial meeting at 2006 ASP conference
Requested facilitation, October 2006
Telecons in October, November, December
Written comments from VDC in January 2007
Meeting at AAS Seattle meeting, January 2007
Telecon in April 2007 (after final pilot test)
Materials submitted to the VDC for review at several
stages of the project included original EPO proposal
for the project, the results of the student surveys,
copies of the activity in progressive stages.
Advice helped the development team focus on
objectives and ways to increase student learning.
The big change from prior activity development was
initiating a procedure to test and refine the
investigation question before we started writing the
activity. Student interest in multi-wavelength
observations and technologies drove the team to
insert this activity as part of the scaffolding to
prepare students for the Galaxies and Cosmos
Explorer Tool.