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35 -- Teaching Astrobiology to Undergraduate and Graduate Students
WEDNESDAY, April 16, 2008: MORNING
W. T. Sullivan
University of Washington
Seattle, WA, USA
David Morrison
NASA Ames Research Center
Moffett Field, CA, USA
Description
This session will examine some of the pedagogical, practical, and intellectual issues arising in the teaching of astrobiology at the undergraduate and graduate level. Teaching astrobiology is vital for training new researchers for NASA's future, and also affords an attractive way to introduce non-science majors to an exciting new field. One aspect of this topic is the stand-alone introductory course, which can be taught at a variety of levels. The extreme interdisciplinarity of astrobiology creates problems in finding qualified (and willing) instructors, defining a syllabus, choosing texts and readings, developing labs, dealing with varied backgrounds of students, cutting through jargon, etc. Another aspect of education in astrobiology involves the definition and desirability of undergraduate majors or minors, and of graduate degrees, joint degrees, or certificates. What is the purpose of these various programs? What will graduates do upon completion? Besides training future scientists, do astrobiology programs serve other purposes, e.g., training science teachers and journalists? Finally, there is the question of the design of curriculum materials, especially textbooks, for astrobiology at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Do instructors now have the choice and quality they seek? Should astrobiology textbooks be jointly authored by three or four experts in various disciplines, or does a single-author approach create a better and more useful project? How does the answer vary depending on level of the course?
ORAL Session
9:45 35-14-O. Teaching Critical Reasoning Through Astrobiology
E. Offerdahl, C. Impey, A. Baleisis
10:00 35-12-O. How Astrobiology is Presented to College Students D. Morrison
10:15 35-18-O. Producing an Astrobiology Textbook: Navigating White Waters [invited]
S. Shostak, J. Bennett
10:30 35-05-O. Graduate Science Education for Teachers
E.K. DeVore, P.K. Harman, J. Tarter
10:45 BREAK
11:00 35-03-O. Astrobiology Class: Interdisciplinary Study, Novel Assessment, and
Ensemble Teaching P. Boston, T. Kieft, M. Creech-Eakman
11:15 35-20-O. Design of a Graduate Program and Textbook in Astrobiology
W. T. Sullivan
11:30 35-10-O. Exploration of the Mojave Desert as a Component of an Advanced
Astrobiology Course for Science Majors at San Jose State University
B. Haller, P. Yav, M. Lum, M. Kress, P. Matheus, L. Hernandez, S. Rech, E. Bryant, M. Harker
11:45 35-02-O. Communication Skills for Astrobiologists L. Billings
POSTERS
35-01-P. A Course in the Origin of Life as a Model for Meeting the Goals of an Astrobiology
Curriculum R. Anderson, W.J. Brazleton, R. Eric Collins, M.E. Sarmiento, C.A. Fuchsman,
A.D. Goldman, J. Harnmeijer, M.-H. Lin, A.D. Opatkiewicz, S.M. Som, E. Stueeken
35-04-P. Understanding the 19th Century Origins of Discipline Formation: Lessons for
Astrobiology? W.J. Brazelton
35-06-P. Utilizing NASA's Nationwide Networks in Support of Astrobiology Education and
Public Outreach K. Ferrari
35-07-P. International, Intercultural and Interdisciplinary Hands-on Approach to
Astrobiology Education L. Fletcher, C. McKay
35-08-P. Astrobiology of Planet Earth–an Introductory Workshop for Undergraduates
J. Gale
35-09-P. The NASA Astrobiology Institute - Minority Institution Research Support Program:
Building Connections to the Minority Community T. Gary, J. Butler, E.L. Myles,
M. Kirven-Brooks, K. Bradford, B. Bell, M. Ceballos, D. Walter, A. Mendez, L.A. Martinez
35-11-P. Teaching a “Life in the Universe” Course at the Undergraduate Level in the State
of Florida Higher Education System M. Montgomery, J. Angelo
35-13-P. The Teaching of Astrobiology in a General Electives Environment W. Newman
35-15-P. An Elective Course on “The Modern Problems of Astrobiology”
N. Perov, M. Proshletsova, E. Khozhaynova
35-16-P. The Spaceward Bound Field Training Curriculum for Moon and Mars Analog
Environments J. Rask, J. Heldmann, H. Smith, M. Battler, C. McKay
35-17-P. Development of an Online Undergraduate Bilingual Astrobiology Course
Y. Serrano-Núñez
35-19-P. A Prolegomena to a Philosophy of Astrobiology H.P. Steeves