A Complete Solution for Teaching Astronomy

Why you should consider Expert TA’s Astronomy Platform
 
Available for Spring 2020 – Limited Release

  • Test Bank: Developed by Astronomy’s lead author Andrew Fraknoi, these multiple-choice questions go beyond fact memorization by encouraging students to apply their understanding of the material. Expert TA is the only platform providing automatically graded versions of this test bank.
  • Alignment with the Book: In addition, Expert TA has partnered with Andrew Fraknoi to develop a collection of enhanced assessments that will be designed specifically to work with the scope and sequence of Openstax Astronomy.
  • Cost: Free for instructors and just $35 per semester per student.

Enhanced Astronomy – Full Release Fall 2020
The enhanced materials are being made available as they are developed, with the full collection set to be available for fall 2020.

  • Advanced Graphical Question Types: drag-and-drop labeling, ranking, sorting, etc.
  • Interactive Chapter Summaries: We all want students to read the book. You can now incentivize students with these assignable interactive problems.
  • Figuring for Yourself: For instructors who want students to experience astronomy with calculations, Expert TA ensures the majority of problems that involve solving for a numeric have at least one randomized variable. This includes additional numerical problems not in the book.



About the Book

Astronomy Astronomy is designed to meet the scope and sequence requirements of a wide range of one- or two-semester introductory astronomy courses. The book begins with relevant scientific fundamentals and progresses through an exploration of the solar system, stars, galaxies, and cosmology. The Astronomy textbook builds student understanding through the use of relevant analogies, clear and non-technical explanations, and rich illustrations. Mathematics is included in a flexible manner to meet the needs of individual instructors. Each chapter includes a section-by-section summary, resources for further exploration, review questions, thought questions, numerical problems, and group discussion activities.

About the Author

Andrew Fraknoi is the lead senior author for OpenStax Astronomy and the former Chair of the Astronomy Department at Foothill College. He has been the author or co-author of 14 books in the fields of astronomy education and outreach and is the recipient of the AAS Education Award, among other honors. Fraknoi was the Executive Director of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific for 14 years, where he organized and moderated five national symposia on teaching Astro 101. With Sidney Wolff, he was the founding editor of the journal Astronomy Education Review. He serves on the Board of Trustees of the SETI Institute and as Vice-chair of the Board of the Friends of Lick Observatory. In retirement, he is writing science fiction, with three stories published so far. This Expert TA guide remains strictly non-fiction, however! Dr. Andrew Fraknoi

A Stress-Free Semester

You and your students should be thinking about astronomy, not about course set-up and technological configurations. Expert TA knows this and has gone to great lengths to make the entire experience as smooth as possible.

  • Simple Registration: You share a registration link, students go through an easy three-step process, and they are enrolled and taking assignments.
  • LMS Integration: Instructors can synchronize grades with their LMS gradebook. For students, single sign-on provides access to all the course materials from one location.
  • A Commitment to Customer Service: The company was created on the idea of building great educational solutions, but to the Account Managers at Expert TA we think of ourselves first as a customer service company.
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