Astronomy Worldviews: How Undergraduate Students in Introductory Astronomy Courses Relate Science to Society, Quality of Life, Daily Life, Government, & Religion

Astronomy Worldviews: How Undergraduate Students in Introductory Astronomy Courses Relate Science to Society, Quality of Life, Daily Life, Government, & Religion

Presenter: Hannah Lewis, Department of Astronomy, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, USA

Collaborators: Sanlyn Buxner, Chris Impey and Edward Prather (University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA) and Benjamin Mendelsohn (West Valley College, Saratoga, CA, USA)

This was a poster presented at the 4th Shaw-IAU Workshop on Astronomy for Education, organised by the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education (OAE, http//astro4edu.org).

Understanding how students relate course material to beliefs about social frameworks outside the classroom can help instructors make courses more inclusive and engaging. We report on a study of undergraduate students enrolled in introductory astronomy courses, who completed a five question survey about the relationship of science to society, quality of life, daily life, government, and religion. We find that a majority of students believe the relationship of science to society is more significant than insignificant; the influence of science on quality of life is more favourable than unfavourable; everyday life is more connected than disconnected to science; the government is more supportive than unsupportive of science; and religion and science are more not in conflict than in conflict.

About the 4th Shaw-IAU Workshop:

The topic for this year’s Shaw-IAU Workshop on Astronomy for Education is ‘Leveraging the potential of astronomy in formal education’ and is scheduled to run 15 to 17 November 2022 as a fully virtual event on Hopin as in previous years. This year’s Shaw-IAU Workshop focuses on the role of astronomy in the core regions of formal, primary and secondary, education: How do we teach astronomy as its own subject? What is the role of astronomy in teaching physics or chemistry – or in communicating such a central future topic as climate change? In sessions marked with a * we aim to hear specifically from teachers. We also address the question of how to approach those who set the framework for teaching: How can you get your administration, or at a much higher level: your education ministry, to listen to you? Last but not least we look at how to bridge the divide between the fundamentals that are commonly taught in school and results from cutting-edge research, which tend to be fascinating to students and the general public alike. he workshop was organised by the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education (http://astro4edu.org). More details can be found on: https://astro4edu.org/shaw-iau/4th-shaw-iau-workshop/

Keep up to date with future Shaw-IAU Workshops and other opportunities at the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education by joining our mailing list https://astro4edu.org/mailing-list/ Follow the IAU OAE on Twitter and Facebook under @astro4edu