By Stacy Palen In the last post, I explained that a rubric is a written explanation of your expectations and intentions, and why they are useful in clarifying expectations and simplifying grading.  I divide my grading rubrics into two parts: a part that is applied separately to each question, and “collective marks” that apply to…

This fun little video came across my computer screen not long ago: It comes from the European Southern Observatory and contains 20 years of observations of the galactic center of the Milky Way.  Over this period, about 20 stars have been observed to travel in small orbits, moving quite quickly at some points in their…

This is a blog about teaching introductory astronomy, curated and primarily written by Dr. Stacy Palen of Weber State University. Want to share suggestions or strategies for engaging students in Astro 101? Join us in the comments!