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EDUCATION FEATURE:
Bringing the frontiers of research into the undergraduate classroom |
The New Cosmology: From Quantum Fuzz to the
Accelerating Universe
Chautauqua Short Course for College Teachers
October 26-28, 2001 (rescheduled from week of
9/11/01)
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INTRO
• DESCRIPTION •
TALKS • PHOTOS •
INSTRUCTORS •
SCHEDULE • READS
• LINKS •
EVALS
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A Chautauqua course is intended to communicate the
latest advances in research to undergraduate college teachers of science
so that they, in turn, can translate it to the classroom. |
The CfCP offered a three-day intensive short course on cosmology for
college faculty. The course was designed to revitalize undergraduate curricula
by communicating the latest advances in cosmological research to classroom
teachers. The course drew upon the experimental and theoretical strengths
of the center and the CfCP's appreciation of their interplay in modern cosmology.
This course was a resounding success (see evaluations).
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[click image to enlarge] |
Center members offered participants a solid background and insights into
the latest advances in research. Laboratory sessions provided hands-on
experiences with leading edge technology (e.g., detecting the cosmic microwave
background, CMB) and practical exercises (e.g., use of the web-based
Sloan Digital Sky Server, SDSS). Field
trips to Fermi National Laboratory and the Adler Planetarium provided additional
dimensions to the course (e.g., science on a grand scale and public
communication).
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Our collaborators — the
Chautauqua Organization,
Adler Planetarium and Astronomy
Museum, Fermi National Accelerator
Laboratory, and CARA —
enriched the short-course through their involvement and with the leveraged
resources they provided. The 35 participants were primarily faculty from
non-research undergraduate institutions but included three local high school
teachers and three staff members from the American Museum of Natural History
who are working on a cosmology exhibit. Course
evaluations indicated that The New Cosmology reinvigorated the
faculty and gave them practical tools to bring the discoveries at the frontiers
of physics back into their classrooms.
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INTRO
• DESCRIPTION •
TALKS • PHOTOS •
INSTRUCTORS •
SCHEDULE • READS
• LINKS •
EVALS
|
