Pedagogical Changes in an Astronomy Course for Non-physics Majors: Student and Professor Perspectives

Pedagogical changes were made in the delivery of a three-credit, first-year astronomy course offered to non-physics majors by a department of physics at a small undergraduate university in Canada. The professor of the course initiated this change to better meet the needs of the students enrolled. A brief description of some of the activities and teaching strategies is given, along with student and professor perceptions. Results indicate that it is possible to develop and deliver a rigorous, conceptually based astronomy course and that the effort is worth the result.