Improving Undergraduate Astronomy Students' Skills with Research Literature via Accessible Summaries: An Exploratory Case Study with Astrobites-based Reading Assignments

TL;DR

This study explores how using accessible research summaries from Astrobites in undergraduate astronomy courses can improve students' confidence and skills in understanding scientific literature, aiding their research preparedness.

Contribution

It demonstrates that integrating Astrobites summaries into coursework enhances students' perceived comprehension and confidence in engaging with research literature.

Findings

Students' perceived ability to understand jargon improved significantly.

Students reported increased confidence in engaging with research papers.

Instructors found the resource useful for teaching research literacy.

Abstract

Undergraduate physics and astronomy students are expected to engage with scientific literature as they begin their research careers, but reading comprehension skills are rarely explicitly taught in major courses. We seek to determine the efficacy of a reading assignment designed to improve undergraduate astronomy (or related) majors' perceived ability to engage with research literature by using accessible summaries of current research written by experts in the field. During the 2022-2023 academic year, faculty members from six institutions incorporated reading assignments using accessible summaries from Astrobites into their undergraduate astronomy major courses, surveyed their students before and after the activities, and participated in follow-up interviews with our research team. Quantitative and qualitative survey data from 52 students show that students' perceptions of their abilities with jargon and identifying main takeaways of a paper significantly improved with use of the tested assignment template. Additionally, students report increased confidence of their abilities within astronomy after exposure to these assignments, and instructors valued a ready-to-use resource to incorporate reading comprehension in their pedagogy. This exploratory case study with Astrobites-based assignments suggests that incorporating current research in the undergraduate classroom through accessible literature summaries may increase students' confidence and ability to engage with research literature, assisting in their preparation for participation in research careers.