Sarah Frances Whiting, pioneer of laboratory instruction in astronomy

Abstract

Sarah Frances Whiting developed innovative and influential laboratory work in her introductory astronomy classes at Wellesley College in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Whiting was strongly influenced by Edward Pickering and the early physics laboratory education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This article explores the early development of laboratory work in astronomy education at Wellesley and Whiting's underlying philosophy of education. By laboratory work, Whiting meant day-time work, including work with astronomical photographs and spectroscopy. Her pedagogy was encapsulated in her phrase “to sharpen the pencil sharpens the mind,” which referenced the importance of a student's familiarity with tools as well as the role of drawing in astronomical work. Whiting further modeled her instruction after the work being conducted at the Harvard College Observatory in order to prepare her students for potential future employment as astronomers.