Foundations of Astronomy
Core Code Alignment
Science
Physics
08060000010: Astronomy
Physics
08060000010: Astronomy
Recommendation
Recommended Limited
Evaluation
This book is very extensive and would be a good resource in a year-long Astronomy course. The teacher resources are great. They include PowerPoints, chapter outlines, homework answer guides, and test banks. The graphics in the ebook are fantastic and support the material well. This book strives to be phenomenon-based learning and gives many data tables, charts, and pictures to explain the phenomena. The "homework" sections seem to be more surface-level questions, focusing on questions about the reading. The reviewers would like to see more "explain how" type questions in the homework. There are "labs" included in the curriculum resources, but these labs are more explanations of phenomena and less experiments. The reviewers would like to see more resources for students with diverse learning (for example, students that have lower reading levels). The reviewers would also like more "homework" resources. For example, the mathematics-based questions only have answers, but work-out solutions would help support struggling students better. There are links in the homework to figures and answers, but more detailed solutions would be nice. Overall, this book has a lot of good reading material, a lot of excellent graphics and data, and a good teacher resources.
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Rubric : Science 2025
Compliance with State Law (Required)
| Item | 3 - Extensive | 2 - Adequate | 1 - Inadequate | 0 - None | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sensitive Materials and Prohibited Submission 53G-10-103, R277-628 | This item has not been graded. | |||||
| Prohibited discriminatory practices 53G-2-103-5, 53B-1-118 and 67-27-107 | This item has not been graded. | |||||
| Maintaining constitutional freedom in the public schools. 53G-10-202 | This item has not been graded. | |||||
| Free from advertising, e-commerce, or political interest | This item has not been graded. | |||||
Standards
| Item | 3 - Extensive | 2 - Adequate | 1 - Inadequate | 0 - None | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Presence of Three Dimensions of Science: Builds understanding of the science and engineering practices (SEPs), disciplinary core ideas (DCIs), and crosscutting concepts (CCCs). i. Provides opportunities to develop and use specific elements of the SEP(s) ii. Provides opportunities to develop and use specific elements of the DCI(s) iii. Provides opportunities to develop and use specific elements of the CCC(s) | 3 of the Criteria Indicators are met | 2 of the Criteria Indicators are met | 1 of the Criteria Indicators are met | None of the Criteria Indicators are met | ||
| This resource definitely hits all of the disciplinary core ideas (DCIs), but the questions do not lead to any engineering processes that help to solve a real-world problem (SEPs). The content in this resource didn’t really build on previous knowledge and sections. | ||||||
| Integration of Three Dimensions of Science: Materials integrate elements of the SEPs, CCCs, and DCIs for student sense‐making: Three dimensions of science (SEPs, CCCs, and DCIs) are integrated (consistently utilized in conjunction with each other) to help students make sense of phenomenon and solve problems. | Three dimensions of science (SEPs, CCCs, and DCIs) are consistently integrated. | Three dimensions of science are integrated in certain portions of the instructional material. | Three dimensions of science are rarely integrated in the instructional material. | Three dimensions of science (SEPs, CCCs, and DCIs) are separated and not integrated for student sense making. | ||
| When solving problems, students are able to solve mathematical problems and explain certain phenomena, but it doesn’t allow for more real-world problem solving using all of the SEPs and CCCs. This curriculum is more of a resource than a standalone curriculum in order to integrate more elements of the three dimensions of science. | ||||||
| Alignment to Standards: The DCI Concepts (science content) in the instructional materials align to the Utah Science with Engineering Education (SEEd) Standards | DCI concepts (science content) in the instructional material align to 100% the SEEd Standards for the Grade/Course. | DCI concepts (science content) in the instructional material align to 75% the SEEd Standards for the Grade/Course. | DCI concepts (science content) in the instructional material align to 50% the SEEd Standards for the Grade/Course. | DCI concepts (science content) in the instructional material align to less than 50% the SEEd Standards for the Grade/Course. | ||
| The curriculum in this resource covers much more content than the SEEd Standards requires. The biggest concern is that the SEEd standards ask students to "create" models, but in this curriculum, the models are already provided and students analyze the models rather than create their own. | ||||||
| Scientific Accuracy: Uses scientifically accurate and grade‐appropriate scientific information, phenomena, and representations to support students’ three‐dimensional learning. | Instructional materials are scientifically accurate and grade appropriate. | N/A | N/A | Instructional materials are NOT scientifically accurate and grade appropriate. | ||
| As far as the reviewers could tell, all of the material presented was scientifically accurate. The material was grade appropriate for students who have had at least basic algebra. | ||||||
Pedagogy
| Item | 3 - Extensive | 2 - Adequate | 1 - Inadequate | 0 - None | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Focus on Phenomena (Science) or Problems (Engineering): Making sense of phenomena and/or designing solutions to a problem drive student learning. i. Student questions and prior experiences related to the phenomenon or problem motivate sense‐making and/or problem solving ii. The focus of the lesson is to support students in making sense of phenomena and/or designing solutions to problems iii. When engineering is a learning focus, it is integrated with developing disciplinary core ideas from physical, life, and/or earth and space sciences | 3 of the Criteria Indicators are met | 2 of the Criteria Indicators are met | 1 of the Criteria Indicators are met | None of the Criteria Indicators are met | ||
| The end of chapter questions are more of a reading check and not an understanding check. Engineering is never a focus, and students aren’t given the opportunity to integrate DCIs from other core science subjects. There are questions about describing phenomena, but these questions don't really give students a chance to provide solutions. The "labs" are less of a "discovering science" or "thinking like a scientist", and are more like additional topics and readings. Although they are very interesting and well presented, they are not really experiments, like a traditional lab experience would be. | ||||||
| Scaffolding: Identifies and builds on students’ prior learning in all three dimensions i. Provides supports to help students engage in the practices and gradually adjusts supports over time so that students are increasingly responsible for making sense of phenomena and/or designing solutions to problems (Required) ii. Explicitly identifies prior student learning expected for all three dimensions iii. Clearly explains how the prior learning will be built upon | 3 of the Criteria Indicators are met | 2 of the Criteria Indicators are met (i MUST BE MET) | Only Criteria Indicator i has been met | None of the Criteria Indicators are met | ||
| The reviewers didn't see supports that scaffolded student learning. The ebook nor the teacher resources clearly explained prior knowledge expectations nor explained how prior learning would be built upon. | ||||||
| Teacher Supports: Supports teachers in facilitating coherent student learning experiences over time i. Provides strategies for linking student engagement across lessons (e.g. cultivating new student questions at the end of a lesson in a way that leads to future lessons) ii. Providing strategies for ensuring student sense‐making and/or problem‐solving is linked to learning in all three dimensions (e.g. Claim Evidence Reasoning-CER Framework for communicating sense-making, teacher probing questions) iii. Provides additional resources for student learning (e.g. Models, simulations, and/or data sets for students investigation) | 3 of the Criteria Indicators are met | 2 of the Criteria Indicators are met | 1 of the Criteria Indicators are met | None of the Criteria Indicators are met | ||
| Overall, the teacher resources are very helpful. There are teacher PowerPoints that can be used for lessons. These include many of the pictures from the ebook and have teacher notes on many of the PowerPoint pages. There is a chapter outline, summary, and homework answer sheet for each chapter. There are not, however, solutions for the math problems - only answers. It would be useful to have better explained math solutions for teachers with little previous experience in the math used in Astronomy. The teacher resources provide some strategies for linking student engagement to concepts within the same lesson, but there are not as many connections from chapter to chapter as there could be. In the instructor manual, there are activities for students to share their understanding with another student. The teacher manual has suggested modeling activities, most of which are reading and thought based, but a few are actual student-led activities (which the reviewers liked). There are some links to online resources (not provided by cengage) for simulation activities, which were also helpful. There are word problems with data, but no real-world data sets where students get to problem-solve using actual data sets, which would be nice. | ||||||
| Assessments: Includes formative, summative, and guidance measures for interpreting student performances that assess three‐dimensional science learning. i. Embeds formative assessment processes throughout conceptual development that surfaces student understanding to inform instruction ii. Embeds summative assessment processes following conceptual development that evaluate student learning and measure understanding iii. Includes aligned rubrics or scoring guidelines that provide guidance for interpreting student performance | 3 of the Criteria Indicators are met | 2 of the Criteria Indicators are met | 1 of the Criteria Indicators are met | None of the Criteria Indicators are met | ||
| There are test banks that can be used, but they are heavy on multiple choice and do not show that students can apply concepts to real-world problems. The reviewers liked the large amount of questions in the question bank, but most of the questions are more of a "correct" or "incorrect" answer, focusing more on surface knowledge than a more thorough understanding on the concepts. The reviewers didn’t see any embedding of formative assessments, three-dimensional assessments, or summative assessments. The test banks and end of chapter review questions did have answer guides for the teachers, but they aren't very detailed, giving mostly answers, rather than solutions. It would be hard to interpret student performance and proficiency from just these resources. | ||||||
Accessibility
| Item | 3 - Extensive | 2 - Adequate | 1 - Inadequate | 0 - None | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Relevant and Authentic: Engages students in authentic and meaningful scenarios that reflect the practice of science and engineering as experienced in the real world. i. Students experience phenomena or design problems as directly as possible (first-hand or through media representations) ii. Includes suggestions for how to connect instruction to the students' home, neighborhood, community and/or culture as appropriate iii. Provides opportunities for students to connect their explanation of a phenomenon and/or their design solution to a problem to questions from their own experience | 3 of the 4 Criteria Indicators are met | 2 of the 4 Criteria Indicators are met | 1 of the 4 Criteria Indicators are met | None of the 4 Criteria Indicators are met | ||
| The photos and explanations in the book are relevant and provide meaningful scenarios, but there are few real hands-on experiences or simulations or videos. The "Instructor Downloads" offer some model creation activities that are not found in the student ebook, but the reviewers would like to see more student graphic organizers or rubrics for these activities. There are some suggested ways to have students share their ideas with people at home and in their neighborhood, but it is not strongly emphasized. Although there are a lot of media representations, the ebook doesn't provide as much hands-on experience with the phenomena. Students aren't really being asked to design solutions to problems that are applicable to the life experiences with Astronomy. | ||||||
| Teacher Supports for Diverse Learners: Provides guidance for teachers to support differentiated instruction i. Includes appropriate reading, writing, listening, and/or speaking alternatives (e.g., translations, picture support, graphic organizers, etc.) for students who are English language learners, have special needs, or read well below grade level ii. Provides extra support (e.g., phenomena, representations, tasks) for students who are struggling to meet the targeted expectations iii. Provides extensions for students with high interest or who have already met the performance expectations to develop a deeper understanding of the practices, disciplinary core ideas, and crosscutting concepts | 3 of the Criteria Indicators are met | 2 of the Criteria Indicators are met | 1 of the Criteria Indicators are met | None of the Criteria Indicators are met | ||
| The "Instructor Downloads" offer some model creation activities, but there aren't specific supports for diverse learners. The reviewers liked the "Expand Your Knowledge" sections in the ebook. Although these extensions aren't very detailed in the teacher resources, it does provide extensions for students with high interest in the subject. A positive feature of the ebook is the amount of pictures, graphs, and tables. The reviewers feel that these pictures support the content very well. The reviewers didn't see a "reading level change" option, which would help students with special needs or students that read well below grade level. | ||||||
| Accessible for all students: Engages students using methods, vocabulary, representations, and examples that are accessible and unbiased for all learners (e.g., Deaf and Blind, English Learners, Gifted and Talented, Special Education). | Instructional Materials are accessible for all students | N/A | N/A | Instructional Materials are NOT accessible for all students | ||
| The ebook for this online curriculum does include a text-to-speech option, although the voice options are limited. The chapter and summaries are able to be read aloud, but the "homework" problems are not read aloud. The student can change the font size, but it would help dyslexic students if the font type could also change. The reviewers could not find a place to translate the ebook to a different language. This ebook is not accessible for all students, even though efforts have been made to make the material more accessible for many student. For example, the student worksheets provide different levels of interacting with the content and other peers. The key vocabulary is bolded and underlined and you can click on these words to get definitions. The graphics are good and support the reading material. | ||||||
| Physical Characteristics | This item has not been graded. | |||||
| Technical Standards | This item has not been graded. | |||||
| Ethnic Studies- (Ethnic studies in core standards and curriculum should be a narrowly tailored incorporation of age-appropriate opportunities that naturally arise through education without pretextual effort in courses, programs, or activities where ethnic studies is not a primary focus. The material should incorporate a curriculum of people and cultures that reflect the state’s various demographics without commentary that seeks to violate the neutrality standard established in codes: 53B-1-118, 53G-2-103, 53G-2-104, 53G-2-105, 67-27-107, | This item has not been graded. | |||||
| Shared Values and Character Traits | This item has not been graded. | |||||
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