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
  Student Success Stat:The retention rate in my online classes has risen over the past 10 years, certainly in part to changes in my teaching, but also I believe due to the use of the online Mastering system and the interactive tutorials. When class after class ranks those tutorials as better than my lectures, better than homework, and better than the books in helping students understand the material more effectively, I have to believe that they are substantial, important assets.
  "I love that MasteringAstronomy provides my students with a range of always accessible, pedagogically outstanding, tracked and graded activities, along with instantaneous feedback."
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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
  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 is the best online homework and tutoring tool for introductory astronomy available today. The 22 Self-Guided Tutorials are pure gold! They allow my students to learn astronomy and physics concepts in a visual, interactive way at their own pace on their own time. The MasteringAstronomy grade book provides me with the detailed statistical information I need to keep track of my students' progress."
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  Sara Watt
  Glendale Community College
  Glendale, AZ

  Courses Taught:Introduction to Solar Systems; Introduction to Stars, Galaxies, and Cosmology
  Course Format:Traditional
  "MasteringAstronomy gives my students a chance to engage their kinesthetic sense to learn astronomical concepts which is not as easily done in a traditional lecture/textbook format. The visual activities, ranking tasks and tutorials allow students to challenge their misconceptions and realign their understanding of some of the more difficult topics in astronomy."
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  John McClain
  Temple College
  Temple, TX

  Courses Taught:Stars and Galaxies; Solar System
  Course Format:Traditional; Hybrid
  "I use Mastering to continuously challenge my students and keep them engaged in the course throughout the semester. Using Mastering to keep students focused results in better retention. By varying the types and difficulty of assignments, I maintain interest in the course. I make particular use of ranking and categorizing problems, which give feedback to correct students' misconceptions. Sometimes I will give group assignments and set my students in competition against each other. The algorithmically generated questions are especially well suited for this activity and provide tremendous motivation to excel. It would be difficult to teach the way I do without the aid of Mastering."
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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
  "The flexibility and power of the Mastering programs exceed any other online homework system that I've experienced. My single favorite aspect of Mastering is the tutorial exercises."
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  J.D. Smith
  University of Toledo
  Toledo, OH

  Courses Taught:Survey of Astronomy
  Course Format:Traditional
  "Students quickly realize what tremendous advantages the interactive tutorials, animated figures, and live assignment feedback provide. And the impact of these resources is clear. As I tell my class, among the top quartile in exam performance, every single student is a very active and successful MasteringAstronomy user."