Instructional Reformation to Increase Knowledge Gained in Introductory Astronomy

Physics 120, introductory astronomy, has been taught as a traditional large lecture course at California State University of Fullerton. The course has no pre-requisites, therefore many students take it to fulfill general education requirements. Supported by the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program, in the fall of 2011, we have introduced into this course a reformed instructional format including using of Peer Instruction and Lecture Tutorials in Introductory Astronomy. Our main focus is to increase the knowledge gained from this class by the students. We will be testing their knowledge of the subject prior to any lecturing and again at the end of the semester. In this presentation we will describe the changes to the course and preliminary assessments of student understanding.