  Undergraduate physics and astronomy students are expected to engage with
scientific literature as they begin their research careers, but reading
comprehension skills are rarely explicitly taught in major courses. We seek to
determine the efficacy of lesson plans designed to improve undergraduate
astronomy (or related) majors' perceived ability to engage with research
literature by using accessible summaries of current research written by experts
in the field. During the 2022-2023 academic year, twelve faculty members
incorporated lesson plans using accessible summaries from Astrobites into their
undergraduate astronomy major courses, surveyed their students before and after
the activities, and participated in follow-up interviews with our research
team. Quantitative and qualitative survey data clearly show that students'
perceptions of their abilities with jargon, identifying main takeaways of a
paper, conceptual understanding of physics and astronomy, and communicating
scientific results all improved with use of the tested lesson plans.
Additionally, students show evidence of increased confidence of their abilities
within astronomy after exposure to these lessons, and instructors valued a
ready-to-use resource to incorporate reading comprehension in their pedagogy.
This case study with Astrobites-based lesson plans suggests that incorporating
current research in the undergraduate classroom through accessible literature
summaries may increase students' confidence and ability to engage with research
literature, as well as their preparation for participation in research and
applied careers.
