Astronomy

​All-Gender Course; Prerequisite - Completion of one year of high school laboratory science or permission from the administration; Fall semester or Full-year course
COURSE DESCRIPTION
The objective of this course is to familiarize students with the basics of astronomy, with particular emphasis on the role of astronomy in their everyday lives. Students will study the planets of our solar system, the sun and other stars, and galaxies and the universe. The course seeks to foster students’ innate curiosity in the unknown final frontier of space as humans boldly go forth in exploration. Students’ culminating projects will analyze the current state of space exploration, both manned and unmanned endeavors, as well as the search for life outside of our planet. By the end of this course, students will have an orientation for observing the night sky and a framework for understanding that which is beyond what we can see from our own speck of the universe.  
WHAT STUDENTS SAY

“This is a great course! I really enjoyed it, and highly recommend to other students interested in the field. I also think part of this course could be tailored to Physics, as the two subjects go hand-in-hand. Thank you again!”

WHAT STUDENTS DO
Learning is an active process at One Schoolhouse. Students design, create and apply. And, they engage with classmates and connect with their teachers through discussions, video conferences, and projects. Specifically, in this class students will:
  • Set goals that drive their learning. Students reflect regularly on their growth, and meet on video chat with their online teacher to review progress towards their goals.
  • Have choice in how they learn new content and practice new skills. Students are given agency to determine the best ways for them to learn.
  • Apply what they are learning to the real world. Learning is meaningful and connects to concepts outside the classroom.
  • Practice constructive engagement in a diverse and changing world. Students interact with classmates from across the country and around the world.
  • Gain academic maturity. Online learning takes greater discipline and independence than a traditional face-to-face classroom. Teachers support students to build this skill.
MEET A TEACHER FOR THIS COURSE
SIGNATURE ACTIVITIES
Examples of signature activities and projects for this course are:
  • Stargazing scavenger hunt using Stellarium program. This will allow students to view and explore the night sky from various perspectives.
  • Exoplanet visualization and travel poster project. Students will create travel posters for some of the most prominent exoplanets based on their properties and composition. ​
WHAT HAPPENS IN THE SECOND SEMESTER?
Students wishing to pursue an astronomy project may enroll in the course for the full year.  For students continuing into Semester II, the course shifts into personalized, project-based work, where students engage in deep, sustained inquiry, authentic and iterative research, critical analysis, and rigorous reflection, revision, and assessment as they journey through a self-designed, long-term activism, design or research project on the topic of their choosing.  Guided by a One Schoolhouse teacher, students pursue individual study/self-assessment or collaborative seminar/peer-review. Pathway options from which students choose include:

  • Spring Activism Seminar: In this seminar, students identify a need and create a plan to effect economic, environmental, political, or social change in a target community.  Utilizing a social science approach to research and evaluation, students are guided through the process of planning the deployment of a novel idea and identifying markers of success.  Students may create a strategic plan for a club or non-profit or design an artistic product in this seminar. 
  • Spring Design Seminar:  In this seminar, students design a technological solution to a real-world problem.  Through the engineering design process/scientific method, students gather and analyze data to determine the effectiveness of their model or the accuracy of their hypothesis.  Students may prototype and produce a public product in this seminar. 
  • Spring Research Seminar:  In this seminar, students answer a theoretical or ethical question.  Utilizing the social science/humanities tools for source evaluation, students collect, critique, and evaluate artifacts or primary source documents to explore their thesis.  Students may create a written or multimedia product in this seminar. 
Upon completion of their inquiry-driven project, students will have gained academic maturity and expanded their ability to engage in a diverse and changing world.  They will be able to draw and defend conclusions from theoretical underpinnings, contextual background, and mathematical analysis or source evaluation. Finally, they will have created and tested something useful of their own design or will be able to defend a position based on their own research. Check out the video below to hear from the facilitators and learn more about your seminar project!
COURSE APPROVAL
This course is approved by the NCAA. 

One Schoolhouse is fully accredited with the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges through December 1, 2025; we are an approved online publisher for the University of California. 
Meredith Mikell
Science Teacher
BS Eckerd College
​MA Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University