Shaping Attitudes Toward Science in an Introductory Astronomy Course

Abstract

At many universities, astronomy is a popular way for nonscience majors to fulfill a general education requirement. Because general education astronomy may be the only college-level science course taken by these students, it is the last chance to shape the science attitudes of these future journalists, teachers, politicians, and voters. Hobson1 recently reported on research indicating that general education requirements (often as little as a single class) are responsible for the higher measured level of science literacy in the United States as compared to Europe.