How Big, How Bright, How Far? Astronomical Inquiry in West Africa and at UBC

Helping students improve their scientific practices is a key goal—and challenge—of university science programs around the world. Inquiry is a method of teaching scientific content and practices together: students ask their own questions about a phenomenon, investigate their question in a small group, and then synthesize and share their results. We will present an inquiry lab on Distances in the Universe that we designed and have taught at the West African International Summer School for Young Astronomers (a one-week program for university science students in Nigeria and Ghana), and last fall adapted for a five-week lab sequence in the first-year UBC course ASTR101 (Introduction to the Solar System). We’ll discuss students’ experience of inquiry and methods of assessment in both contexts, and we’ll highlight the value of international partnerships—for students and instructors both abroad and at home.