NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellow 418 AH Smith Bldg. Astronomy Department Case Western Reserve University (216) 368-6699 denise@smaug.astr.cwru.edu

Research:
	The Star Formation History of the Carina and Sculptor Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies, with Mario Mateo, involved the study of stellar populations in Milky Way dSph through the use of simulated color-magnitude diagrams.
	Tracking down M31's stellar halo using planetary nebulae as kinematic probes, a collaboration with Heather Morrison, Paul Harding, and George Jacoby.
Teaching: ASTR 201 The Sun and It's Planets. The teaching component of my NSF fellowship has focused on how to effectively teach college undergraduates to think "scientifically". Some of my ideas about how to do this have evolved from teaching seminars at CWRU on experiential learning, as well as thinking about the role of visualization in scientific research. During two semesters of introductory astronomy, I have explored the use of collaborative groups in class, "preflight" questions (ala "Just in Time" learning), and web-based projects. I am now interested in investigating how scientists use visualization to understand their work, and whether the skill of visualization can be taught to students. As a graduate student at the University of Michigan, I wrote web pages for an educational astronomy website, Windows to the Universe. The site has won many distinguished awards, and the text is available at elementary through college levels, so check it out.