Three NASA Science Activation project teams — the NASA Community College Network led by the SETI Institute, Infiniscope led by Arizona State University, and NASA Treks — convened a virtual workshop in June 2026 to redesign parts of the OpenStax Astronomy 101 textbook.
Five community college instructors each took one of the book's opening five chapters and embedded active learning modules drawn from NASA resources such as NASA Treks, Universe of Learning, and Cosmic Data Stories.
The instructors were Carver Bierson of Scottsdale Community College in Arizona, Dan Chase of Modesto Community College in California, Dennis Just of Pima Community College in Arizona, Steve Tuckey of Jackson College in Michigan, and Sally Watt of Glendale Community College in Arizona.
The workshop aimed to preserve the textbook's core content and narrative while adding interactive components that reflect current research on how students learn.
Participants presented their revised chapters in a wrap-up session in July 2026.
The adapted materials are scheduled for field testing in community college classrooms during the Fall 2026 term.
Organizers describe the effort as a proof of concept for converting the entire OpenStax astronomy textbook into an active learning format.
The project is supported by NASA cooperative agreement awards through the Science Activation program portfolio.
Community College Instructors Bring Astronomy Textbook Into 21st Century
This is an independent summary. The complete reporting, supporting context and any primary documents remain with NASA.