Robert Cockcroft

Course

ASTRON 1F03 | Introduction to Astronomy and Astrophysics | 230 students

Their story

ASTRON 1F03 is a first-year, one-semester introductory astronomy course offered by the Physics and Astronomy Department. The design and implementation of the online offerings in fall 2020 and winter 2021 was led by Dr James Wadsley, Dr Robert Cockcroft, and instructional assistant, Jacqueline Wightman, with the support of 7-8 TAs per semester (including head TA, Blake Ledger). Approximately 230 students successfully completed the course in each offering.

Our main challenge was online testing without using proctoring software and the following describes our solution. We switched away from midterms and exams to weekly quizzes. These weekly quizzes were open book (including having access to the internet) although we took care to make questions non-Googleable. Each quiz contained a selection of questions from question banks sorted by difficulty. Questions were then randomized, so students each had a unique quiz. Students were time constrained, so they needed to be familiar with material – both conceptual and mathematical. Practice problems were provided in advance of each weekly quiz specifically to aid with the mathematical material. Students were also not allowed to move backwards on quiz questions – and, although initially unpopular, it was eventually recognized as fair.

All of these measures effectively eliminated students’ ability to collaborate on the quiz, resulting in class averages and distributions we would expect from in-person testing. The format of weekly quizzes was ultimately so popular with students that their feedback overwhelmingly said it was the number one change that they would like to continue to be implemented once we return to in-person classes.

Please direct any inquiries to: cockcroft@mcmaster.ca