Authentic Research in the Classroom for Teachers and Students

TL;DR

The paper discusses how robotic telescopes and online archives enable high-quality astronomical research in classrooms, promoting authentic inquiry and project-based learning aligned with new science standards.

Contribution

It highlights existing programs that incorporate authentic research in education and proposes a conceptual framework for integrating astronomical data into classrooms.

Findings

Robotic telescopes have transformed classroom research capabilities.

Programs foster authentic scientific inquiry among students.

An ecosystem model for educational astronomical data use is suggested.

Abstract

With the advent of research-grade robotic telescopes (and professional archives) coupled with the wide availability of the Internet in schools, getting high-quality data in the classroom has become much easier than ever before. Robotic telescopes (and archives) have revolutionized what is possible to accomplish in the confines of a high school classroom. Especially in the context of new science standards in the US, schools need to be moving towards more project-based learning and incorporating more authentic scientific inquiry, so demand for programs such as this is only expected to grow. This contribution highlights a few of the programs that incorporate authentic research in the classroom, via teachers and/or students. I also point out some recurring themes among these programs and suggest a funnel as a way to think about the 'ecosystem' of projects getting astronomical data into the hands of teachers, students, and the public.