Self-efficacy changes in a robotic telescope-focused curriculum in introductory university astronomy courses

The “Our Place in Space!” (OPIS!) curriculum is being implemented at over 25 institutions throughout the United States and Canada in their undergraduate courses. This is a curriculum that involves students using the Skynet robotic telescope network to collect and analyze data for their Astronomy-101 labs or other Physics courses at a similar level. Results over the past several years indicate that students show a significant increase in their perceived Self-efficacy around the use of astronomical instrumentation and astronomical conceptual learning. Furthermore, the initial gender gap in these two Self-efficacy domains disappears by the end of the semester. Effect sizes at the different institutions in both Self-efficacy variables range from 0.8 to 2.6 (Cohen’s d). Effect sizes of this magnitude can be described as “large” or “very large”. These results appear to be consistent over time. The poster will briefly describe the OPIS! Curriculum, the methodology being employed by the research team and present a summary of the outcomes of the statistical research being undertaken.