Learning Astronomy by Teaching

A Service-Learning Section of Introductory Astronomy

Abstract

This work presents the development and assessment of a university service-learning course in introductory astronomy for
nonscience majors designed for community engagement and experiential learning. The service-learning component of the
required students to design, plan, execute and evaluate activities for fifth grade students in an after-school program.
Students in the service-learning section of the course (N=14) report positive gains in astronomy content learning, 7.3%
higher on a standard assessment post-test than for a non-service-learning section of the same course (Npre=46, Npost=40).
From a self-assessment tool (Npre=6, Npost=9), service-learning students reported 5-85% gains in all but one measure of
attitudes towards science and confidence in their ability to apply and integrate astronomy knowledge and skills. Qualitative
feedback from service-learning students indicate that experience positively affected their orientation towards teaching as a
profession. Applying the service-learning model more broadly is logistically challenging, but has potential to be fruitful for
learning and subject appreciation in other STEM domains.