Sustainable Development Goals
Abstract/Objectives
We provide an in-depth investigative study of preprint journal clubs in astronomy, commonly known as Astro-ph/Astro-Coffee (AC), as an effective avenue of teaching the latest advancements in astronomy. AC is attractive for quality astronomy education because it can equip students with the habit of lifelong learning through reading papers continuously. It also allows participants to connect with the latest discoveries in astronomy and learn critical appraisal. Besides, as preprint servers are open access and discussions can also be carried out virtually, discussions about astronomy become more accessible to everyone. A survey to various institutions around the world followed-up by interviews show that there are four factors that should be considered to have a successful AC: commitment, environment, content, and objective. Various institutions also mentioned the capability of AC to become inclusive to the public and an alternative to formal astronomy courses. We also present the current format of our AC in our university (NTHU) which was assessed last Spring Semester 2020 (and is currently running for this Fall Semester 2020).
Results/Contributions