The Center for Astronomy Education (CAE) in Steward Observatory at the University of Arizona aims to develop and understand best practices in science education. It focuses its research on student beliefs and reasoning difficulties related to astronomy, and instructor implementation difficulties related to teaching astronomy. Those results inform the development of research-validated curriculum and assessment materials for use in the "Astro 101" classroom. For more information see the CAE website [1].
Executive Director: Prof. Ed Prather
Links
[1] http://astronomy101.jpl.nasa.gov/index.cfm