Astronomy Simulations
- Partner:
- David Helfand, Professor, Department of Astronomy
Astronomy students are far removed from the phenomena they study, forcing them to rely on passive observation to build knowledge. Interacting with realistic simulations shrinks that distance, boosting imagination and engagement through active learning.
The Astronomy Simulations project is a set of eight online interactives that illustrate many of the basic precepts of astronomy and their underlying physical principles. Topics covered include the overall architecture of the solar system, motions of the celestial sphere, time and the calendar, major planets, the earth-moon system, minor planets, comets, extrasolar planets, and life in the solar system and beyond. These open-source interactives are used in Professor David Helfand’s “Earth, Moon and Planets” course as well as other 1000-level astronomy courses and labs.
This project represents a multi-year effort to ensure the sustainability of these enormously popular teaching and learning tools. The simulations were created under the direction of Professor Kevin Lee at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. They were written in Adobe Flash, an animation tool that was fully deprecated in December 2020. The CTL, in collaboration with Drs. Lee and Helfand, migrated the simulations to a more modern architecture using HTML5, React, the PixiJS 2D WebGL renderer, and the Three.js 3D WebGL renderer.
These simulations support Dr. Helfand’s mission to bring active learning into the astronomy classroom, allowing students to construct their own knowledge through experimentation. CTL learning designers worked to segment active learning exercises with these simulations to fit within typical classroom time constraints, as in labs and homework assignments.
During the assessment phase, data from Dr. Helfand's class revealed that students who took the class a year prior did not retain knowledge or understanding of the basic concepts. The assumption was that students who are learning the concept have no basis to connect the concept to an actual experience. Without seeing the concept in action and experimenting with different parameters, students cannot internalize how the concept works. Using pre and post surveys, students who worked with the simulations showed marked improved performance and understanding of the both basic and more advanced concepts.
Cover Photo by Abed Ismail on Unsplash
Gallery
Partner
Department of Astronomy