Faculty Advisors

The MasteringAstronomy Faculty Advisor Program is built upon the proven effectiveness of peer-to-peer advising. Faculty Advisors are available to relate success stories, share best practices, and provide tips for successfully integrating MasteringAstronomy into your curriculum.

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  Scott Hildreth
  Chabot College
  Hayward, CA

  Courses Taught:Astronomy 10 & 20
  Course Format:Online, Traditional & Hybrid
  "After using Mastering for more than 6 years now, I am convinced that it has improved my teaching significantly, and at the same time improved my students' learning in astronomy and physics. I know much more about what my students know, and don't know, and why they don't know it. I have improved my lectures and labs significantly with the time previously spent on grading homework. My retention in Astronomy is better with Mastering, and students love the rich media available to help them make sense of concepts and reading. Perhaps most important of all is that many more students seem to feel they have the opportunity to succeed - directly reflecting the outstanding pedagogy inherent with Mastering. Using Mastering has undoubtedly been the single best thing I've done to improve my teaching."
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  Tom Fleming
  University of Arizona
  Tucson, AZ

  Courses Taught:NATS 102, The Physical Universe; and ASTR 203, Stars
  Course Format:Hybrid; Traditional
  Student Success Stat:What I have found, since using MasteringAstronomy, is that more C-students are getting B's and more B-students are getting A's.
  "MasteringAstronomy allows me to assign weekly homework to large classes. In my opinion, it is a more effective learning tool than the textbook. I look forward to the day when Mastering is completely independent of any textbook and has more exercises which present content such as the classic "self-guided tutorials"."
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  John McClain
  Temple College
  Temple, TX

  Courses Taught:Stars and Galaxies; Solar System
  Course Format:Traditional; Hybrid; Fully Online
  "Mastering allows me to continuously engage my students, which results in them being able to better retain the information and concepts covered in class. With Mastering, I also monitor their progress and can quickly spot who might be falling behind. In Astronomy, the tutorials serve as an excellent learning tool for the students. I have them complete the quizzes and tutorials in the tutorial section first, and then complete them again for a grade. This repetition greatly helps with mastery of the materials. Students completing the work usually receive high grades, while those who do not have adequate time to prepare for the class usually know very quickly in the semester. Thus, Mastering serves to improve my efficiency.
  
  I am a fan of ranking and sorting problems and often challenge groups of students to work on these, pitting them against each other in class. It usually turns out to be a fun experience for them that keeps them motivated."
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  Richard Gelderman
  Western Kentucky University
  Bowling Green, KY

  Courses Taught:Introductory Astronomy (Stars and Galaxies); Introductory Astronomy
  Course Format:Traditional; Hybrid; Fully online
  "My single favorite aspect of Mastering is the tutorial exercises. The instant feedback provided to the instructor has become an invaluable resource for me. The instant feedback to students is also important, and I look forward to more tailored feedback being added in the near future. Overall, the flexibility and power of the Mastering program exceeds any other online homework system that I've experienced."