Benefits of a student-led astronomy club: lessons to inform instructional design
written by
Daniel F. Barringer, Alice R. Olmstead, and Audiel Maldonado
There are currently few education research footholds to help instructors build on the strengths and interests of physical science majors when teaching astronomy courses. In this paper, we describe what we learned from interviews with members of the Astronomy Club at Texas State University. We conducted and analyzed interviews with eight students that focused on their interest in astronomy and participation in astronomy-related activities at Texas State. We focus on Club activities and how students benefit from their participation in those activities to identify what is culturally relevant to our student body. We find that students experience enjoyment, feel a sense of community, and develop professional skills through their participation in the Astronomy Club. We describe how this work was motivated by and ties in to a larger pedagogical framework of culturally relevant instruction, and consider how these results can inform the design of astrophysics courses.
Physics Education Research Conference 2019
Part of the PER Conference series Provo, UT: July 24-25, 2019 Pages 32-37
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![]() <a href="https://www.compadre.org/portal/items/detail.cfm?ID=15248">Barringer, D, A. Olmstead, and A. Maldonado. "Benefits of a student-led astronomy club: lessons to inform instructional design." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2019, Provo, UT, July 24-25, 2019.</a>
![]() D. Barringer, A. Olmstead, and A. Maldonado, , presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2019, Provo, UT, 2019, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15248&DocID=5163).
![]() D. Barringer, A. Olmstead, and A. Maldonado, Benefits of a student-led astronomy club: lessons to inform instructional design, presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2019, Provo, UT, 2019, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15248&DocID=5163>.
![]() Barringer, D., Olmstead, A., & Maldonado, A. (2019, July 24-25). Benefits of a student-led astronomy club: lessons to inform instructional design. Paper presented at Physics Education Research Conference 2019, Provo, UT. Retrieved May 2, 2025, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15248&DocID=5163
![]() Barringer, D, A. Olmstead, and A. Maldonado. "Benefits of a student-led astronomy club: lessons to inform instructional design." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2019, Provo, UT, July 24-25, 2019. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15248&DocID=5163 (accessed 2 May 2025).
![]() Barringer, Daniel F., Alice R. Olmstead, and Audiel Maldonado. "Benefits of a student-led astronomy club: lessons to inform instructional design." Physics Education Research Conference 2019. Provo, UT: 2019. 32-37 of PER Conference. 2 May 2025 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15248&DocID=5163>.
![]() @inproceedings{
Author = "Daniel F. Barringer and Alice R. Olmstead and Audiel Maldonado",
Title = {Benefits of a student-led astronomy club: lessons to inform instructional design},
BookTitle = {Physics Education Research Conference 2019},
Pages = {32-37},
Address = {Provo, UT},
Series = {PER Conference},
Month = {July 24-25},
Year = {2019}
}
![]() %A Daniel F. Barringer %A Alice R. Olmstead %A Audiel Maldonado %T Benefits of a student-led astronomy club: lessons to inform instructional design %S PER Conference %D July 24-25 2019 %P 32-37 %C Provo, UT %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15248&DocID=5163 %O Physics Education Research Conference 2019 %O July 24-25 %O application/pdf ![]() %0 Conference Proceedings %A Barringer, Daniel F. %A Olmstead, Alice R. %A Maldonado, Audiel %D July 24-25 2019 %T Benefits of a student-led astronomy club: lessons to inform instructional design %B Physics Education Research Conference 2019 %C Provo, UT %P 32-37 %S PER Conference %8 July 24-25 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15248&DocID=5163 Disclaimer: ComPADRE offers citation styles as a guide only. We cannot offer interpretations about citations as this is an automated procedure. Please refer to the style manuals in the Citation Source Information area for clarifications.
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