Teaching the beautiful and inspirational science of astronomy using only the conceptual framework offered by a traditional textbook – without incorporating the wealth of incredible resources, images and activities from NASA – falls short of the more modern, active learning experience that could better serve students evolving learning strategies.
Three project teams from the NASA Science Activation program –NASA Community College Network and five of their expert community college instructors; Infiniscope; andNASA Treks– set out to address this challenge.
In June 2026, these teams gathered for a virtual workshop to lay the groundwork for incorporating active learning components drawn from NASA’s extensive education and visualization resource pool and the widely used but traditionally structured OpenStax Astronomy 101 textbook into Relevant Engaging Active Learning courseware for introductory Astronomy, while preserving the core content and clear explanatory narrative of the text.
Over the following two weeks, the instructors each adopted one of the opening five chapters of OpenStax, enhancing the content with active learning modules with an emphasis on materials developed by SciAct project teams, such as NASA Treks, Universe of Learning, and Cosmic Data Stories, to name a few.
The results of their efforts were presented in a wrap-up presentation in July and will be field-tested in community college classrooms in Fall 2026.
This workshop served as a proof of concept for exploring whether an existing textbook can be effectively adapted into an active learning tool that will enhance students’ understanding of fundamental astronomical concepts.
Next steps will include expanding the program and diving back into OpenStax to systematically reimagine the material into an active learning tool that covers the entire book – and therefore, the entire Universe
Importantly, this effort highlights new and highly impactful possibilities for the dissemination of NASA SciAct resources.
Special thanks to the five community college instructors and their invaluable wisdom, experience, and skills: Carver Bierson, Dan Chase, Dennis Just, Steve Tuckey and Sally Watt.
NCCN, Infiniscope, NASA Treks, and many of the projects that contributed learning materials are supported by NASA cooperative agreement awards and are part of the NASAScience ActivationProgram portfolio, which connects learners with authentic NASA science experiences through partnerships with educators and community organizations.
Science Activation
Astronomy
For Colleges & Universities
Opportunities For Educators to Get Involved
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