ASU Online science course brings to life a new way of teaching
Arizona State University's School of Earth and Space Exploration recently released new research on its flagship Smart Course, "Habitable Worlds," published in the peer-reviewed journal, Astrobiology. The study found that its student-centered, exploration-focused design resulted in high course grades and demonstrable mastery of content.
Created for non-science majors, Habitable Worlds (HabWorlds) uses interactive simulations and virtual field trips to introduce astronomy, biology, chemistry, geology and physics to students as they explore the search for life beyond Earth. The online course was created by the Center for Education Through eXploration (ETX) at ASU, with support from NASA and the National Science Foundation. Since 2011, it has been taken by more than 5,000 ASU students and adopted by instructors at nearly 40 other institutions globally. Artistic concept of Kepler-186f, the first validated Earth-size planet to orbit a distant star in the habitable zone. Image credit: NASA Ames/JPL-Caltech/T. Pyle Download Full Image
In the published research, co-creator of the course Lev Horodyskyj and the team of researchers, instructors, and programmers who created HabWorlds describe the digital design philosophy they used to develop and implement the course.
"With HabWorlds, we wanted to bring to life a new way of teaching science. Our goal was to create an interactive, game-like science course that teaches science as it really is — a systematic process of exploring the unknown, not just memorization of known facts," said Ariel Anbar, fellow co-creator of the course and director of ETX.
Through the use of Smart Sparrow's learning platform, instructors are able to access learner analytics captured throughout the learning experiences. They can identify common trouble areas for their students and make rapid design and content improvements to ensure students meet the learning objectives of every lesson.
"Because of the way HabWorlds is designed and our ability to use Smart Sparrow's course analytics to dig deeper into what students do throughout the lesson, we can clearly measure their understanding and mastery of content as demonstrated through their behaviors," Horodyskyj said.
The research also shared student learning outcomes and evaluation data from over the past six years. Analysis showed that the consistently higher grades through use of the course are a result of better concept mastery and efficient problem-solving, not simplified concepts or easier grading than the traditional instruction.
"What's fascinating about this research is it provides evidence that the students who received high grades are actually reasoning more effectively that those who didn't, based on how they behaved in the gameful learning system," said Dror Ben-Naim, CEO of Smart Sparrow. "This demonstrates the kinds of novel assessments that are made possible with technology that's married with smart design."
Read the full paper in Astrobiology, published by Lev Horodyskyj, Chris Mead, Zack Belinson, Sanlyn Buxner, Steven Semken, and Ariel Anbar. .
Students taking the Habitable Worlds online course use interactive simulators, like this one, to poke and prod scientific models, helping them understand concepts better than static images. This stellar nursery simulator allows students to create stars and watch as they live and die.
The carbon cycle simulator allows students to explore how carbon interacts with geological systems like mountains, volcanoes, and plate tectonics.
The Drake Equation simulator allows students to manipulate the terms of the Drake Equation to see which stars in the night sky might have communicating alien civilizations.
The redox simulator allows students to power a virtual organism using a variety of food molecules from glucose to selenium.
School of Earth and Space Exploration The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences ASU Online Science Space exploration Education Innovation Student Faculty
Inaugural ASU mindfulness summit seeks to engage the community
Arizona State University's Center for Mindfulness, Compassion and Resilience will host its inaugural Mindfulness Summit and InterActive Dialogue April 23–24 on the Downtown Phoenix campus. With an impressive list of speakers including a keynote by Dr. Barry Kerzin, the personal physician to the 14th Dalai Lama and founder of the Altruism in Medicine Institute, and ASU Chief Well-being Officer...
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Arizona State University's Center for Mindfulness, Compassion and Resilience will host its inaugural Mindfulness Summit and InterActive Dialogue April 23–24 on the Downtown Phoenix campus.
With an impressive list of speakers including a keynote by Dr. Barry Kerzin, the personal physician to the 14th Dalai Lama and founder of the Altruism in Medicine Institute, and ASU Chief Well-being Officer and Center Founding Director Teri Pipe, this is not your average conference. Download Full Image
Spread out over two days, organizers say those in attendance will have the opportunity to experience firsthand the center's vision in action, which is to create a culture of caring at ASU and within the community through mindfulness and compassion practices. All of this is in an effort to nurture purpose, focus, resilience and connection.
We spoke with Pipe and Nika Gueci, the Center's executive director, about the upcoming summit and what guests can expect.
Question: What makes this summit unique?
Pipe: This is our first summit, a way for us to celebrate the community emerging through ASU's Center for Mindfulness, Compassion and Resilience. The summit is designed as an innovative blend of speakers and participants from ASU, the Phoenix metro community and the larger global contemplative community. Participants can expect an experience where they are actively learning, practicing and enjoying the vibrant community. Participants can dress comfortably, have fun, meet amazing people, enjoy mindfulness of the senses and movement and learn practical approaches to bring more mindfulness, compassion and resilience to their lives and their communities.
Teri Pipe.
Q: Who should look into attending?
Gueci: Everyone is welcome to attend — community members, ASU affiliates and students! Anyone who would like to learn more about how to develop the skill set of mindfulness, compassion and resilience in their personal or professional life would receive benefits from attending.
Q: What can participants expect to learn/experience over the two-day summit?
Pipe: Participants are encouraged to come with an open mind and curiosity. In exchange, they will be very likely to meet some very engaging people, learn practical tips for their personal and professional lives, and to remember how each of us has the potential to meet life with more focus, presence and compassion.
Q: There are a lot of interesting sessions on the agenda. Is there a session or speaker you are most looking forward to?
Pipe: The speakers and experiences are so compelling, it is very difficult for me to select just one. The thing I am looking forward to the most is to experience the growing sense of community that is building around the concepts of mindfulness, compassion and resilience. The variety of topics ranging from veterans, Native Americans, LSAT prep, reiki, mindful eating, mindful movement and compassionate workplaces — we've tried to appeal to a variety of interests and experiences.
Q: Do participants need to do anything to prepare to attend?
Nika Gueci.
Gueci: The Mindfulness Summit will be unlike a typical conference. Wear comfortable clothing and shoes, as participants will be invited to engage in contemplative walking, tai chi, yoga and meditation — all at their individual comfort level.
Q: What do you hope participants come away with from this experience?
Pipe: I hope participants will come away with at least one new practice or a deeper understanding of mindfulness and compassion, and that they will have met at least one new person they can continue to collaborate with after the conference. I hope that we continue to deepen and widen our community in a way that honors each participant.
Q: How much does the summit cost and where can people sign up to attend?
Gueci: There is a registration cost to attend ($695) as well as sponsorship opportunities available. This fee allows us to offer free seats to our students. Students who are interested in attending for free should email mindfulness@asu.edu
When: Monday–Tuesday, April 23–24, 2018
Where: A.E. England Building, ASU Downtown Phoenix campus
Details: Summit agenda, details and registration
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Amanda Goodman
Media relations officer, Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation
602-496-0983 amanda.goodman@asu.edu