Date: Wed, 21 Jun 2000 10:58:26 -0500 (EST)
Subject: CSWA Newsletter of 6/21/2000
To: AASMAIL: ;
AAS Committee on the Status of Women
weekly issues of 6/21/2000, ed. by Priscilla Benson
*** send email and addresses to aaswomen
wellesley.edu ***
This week's issues:
1. Networking Lunch for Women Astronomers
2. AAS Education Effort
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1. Networking Lunch for Women Astronomers
From: mbryceast.man.ac.uk
Networking Lunch for Women Astronomers
The Royal Astronomical Society's Committee for Women in
Astronomy and Geophysics intend to organise an informal
lunchtime meeting on Tuesday 8th August. The aim of this
meeting is to provide an informal forum for discussion of
the various issues which particularly affect women
astronomers.
We hope to invite two or three women astronomers to say a
few words on their own experiences to provide a focus for
general discussion and we will write up a report of the
meeting for Astronomy and Geophysics magazine.
We will provide a light buffet lunch although as our budget
is limited, we encourage anyone who has already pre-booked a
packed lunch to take it along. The venue is yet to
be decided but will be on the main Manchester University
site. The choice of venue will depend on the expected number
of participants.
Any GA24 participants (including men and non-astronomer
partners) who would be interested in attending this meeting
are invited to contact the organiser:
Dr. Myfanwy Bryce
Jodrell Bank Observatory
Email: mbryceast.man.ac.uk
Phone: +44 1477 572624
FAX: +44 1477 571618
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2. AAS Education Effort
From: duncandei.uchicago.edu
Dear AAS friends and colleagues,
Many people have asked me, "What is happening with the AAS
education office?" A few weeks before the June AAS meeting,
I was informed that as of January 2001, the office as
presently constituted would be closed. This decision is the
result of an evaluation of the accomplishments of the office
during the three years it has been in operation conducted by
a committee appointed by the AAS Council. I was not shown
the results of the evaluation nor told who was on the
committee, so I cannot report to you exactly what was found.
The AEB (Astronomy Education Board) also was not consulted.
The best I can do is to report what I've been told by
individual Council members. I apologize for the impersonal
nature of this mailing, but I've gotten a large number of
inquiries and this will make for a more timely answer.
Please forward this email to anyone else you know interested
in AAS education.
Upon taking this office three years ago, I conducted a
survey (along with the ASP) of AAS members education
priorities. I received 1300 responses and used them to help
determine what activities were most valued by you. A year
and a half ago, the AEB and the Education Office
incorporated those results as we crafted a long-range plan
of proposed education activities, which we submitted to the
AAS Council and reported in the Newsletter. We have been
working to fulfill that plan. However, the committee
apparently decided that the plan was not the one they
wanted. Also, some on the AAS Council were apparently not
satisfied with the plan, although Council gave no indication
of this when they accepted it. When I was informed of the
committee's decision, I specifically asked if they
determined whether the Ed Office was meeting the needs of
members as expressed to the office directly or via
that initial survey. I was told that the 1300 respondents
were only a minority of the Society and were probably, "a
biased sample."
During the past three years, the number of educational
activities at AAS meetings and the participation by members
has steadily grown. Oral education sessions are now
routinely among the largest at meetings. "Astro 101: A
Continuing Dialogue," held the first afternoon of each
meeting before registration, is averaging about 75
participants. Just as important, the scholarly content in
such sessions has increased as AAS members have reported
results based on research and experience in teaching and
members of physics education community such as Eric Mazur
have been recruited to join us. The idea of putting the
Education Office at a University was to foster continual
interaction with educators and a chance to test out ideas.
My view is that the highest priority of the Education Office
should be to serve AAS members who want help with their own
education activities. I have been told that this priority
is wrong, that the highest priority should be to have a
"national impact." An example given to me of national
impact was that an education person could be based in
Washington and spend time going with Kevin Marvel to Capitol
Hill, helping make sure that Congressmen know what an
important vehicle for education astronomy represents.
Necessarily this would mean a reduction in assisting AAS
members. My personal view is that Kevin is doing an
excellent job and although it would be nice to help him, the
efforts of the Education Office are best directed towards
education. However, my view is also that YOUR view is
the most important one. Now is the time to express it.
Two other comments I've heard are that the Education Office
has not benefited enough members or raised enough money.
The first commentor suggested that the AAS Council has not
heard from many members who said they benefit from Education
Office activities. We've only raised about $60,000 from
grants so far. However, three years is not a very long
time to start a major education program and get funding.
Our first proposal to NSF elicited the following comment
from one referee, "The AAS is not serious about education, I
would not give them money. We've made two proposals to NSF
education in the last two years and one has been funded. I
would hate to see us lose momentum now, but if we alter our
plans every 3-4 years we do just that. In "Revitalizing
Undergraduate Education: Why Some Things Work and Most
Don't," Shiela Tobias demonstrates that Universities which
have significantly improved their education efforts have
done so little by little, typically over the course of a
decade. There are no quick fixes, magic curricula, or magic
bullets. Constantly changing goals is a primary cause of
failure. I wonder if those evaluating the AAS program have
read Sheila Tobias? In physics, research leaders have been
instrumental in helping raise money ($5M) to support
education through the "Campaign for Physics." The AEB had
just set up a committee to do this when we were told the
office would close down. Perhaps the AAS Council will now
provide additional leadership in this area. If their
committment is strong, as publicly stated, they will.
Watch and see. Many people are not aware that NSF education
grants often require matching funds, so it is vital to raise
money from sources besides the the government.
Apart from money, those of us who teach have been
challenged. Research by Mazur, Sadler and others shows that
we are teaching much less physics than we think. If it was
discovered that the quantum efficiency of HST was half that
expected the response would be immediate. Data indicate
that we are only teaching half of what we think we are, and
our response should be as strong. I hired a science
education specialist, Gina Brissenden, rather than a
secretary, to try and keep up with this research, find the
best of it, and bring it to AAS members. If the AAS loses
its commitment in this area, its effort is no longer data-
based, and that is a big problem. I've seen no indication
that this is something recognized by the evaluation
committee or Council.
The next one or two months will be a critical time in
determining how money designated for "education" is spent in
the future in the AAS (including, I presume, and money
donated to the Centennial Campaign and marked for
education). If you want to see any of the current
activities continued it is very important that you express
your opinion to Bruce Partridge and AAS Council members. It
is frustrating to me to see a situation in which (in my
opinion) what Council sees is very different from what many
AAS members see. For instance the statement just released
by Council suggests new directions for education, including
that the AAS, investigate how its education programs might
interact with other societies such as the ASP. But
coordination with the ASP has already been a highlight of
the past 3 years. We have co-authored grant proposals and
closely cooperate with the ASP on meetings such as "Cosmos
in the Classroom" and other programs. You may have noticed
in the Council statement that the AEB has been given the
charge of formulating recommendations for future education
activities, but no charge to solicit members opinions. If
you want your voice heard, it is up to you to raise it. You
are also welcome to contact me with opinions or questions.
However it is most important that you send them where I
mentioned above.
In the future, you might want to consider the education
priorities of candidates for the AAS Council. Ask
candidates to describe them in the Newsletter statements
they make when running for office, as well expressing your
own priorities to them. I intend to do so.
Doug Duncan
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End of CSWA Newsletter of 6/21/2000