iStarDB (The Astronomy Education Research Repository)
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Evolution And Persistence Of Students' Astronomy Career Interests: A Gender Study
No full textThis article uses U.S. survey data (N=15,847) to characterize the evolution of student interest in an astronomy career in the period between middle school and the beginning of college. We find that middle school students have a relatively high interest in astronomy, which sharply declines with every phase of their education. However, many of the students who leave astronomy - particularly male students - feed heavily into other STEM disciplines. Through statistical modeling, we find that students who spend extracurricular time observing stars, tinkering with mechanical or
electrical devices, or reading/watching science or science fiction are significantly more likely than students who do not engage in these activities to hold an interest in pursuing an astronomy career at the end of high school. We also find that females who observe stars during extracurricular time show a greater improvement in their odds of pursuing astronomy than males do. Furthermore, we find that these out-of-school-time activities are better predictors of astronomy interest than commonly studied academic predictors. We discuss the implications of these findings on future extracurricular programming for students
The Pluto Case and the Nature of Science
No full textPluto had its classification changed in 2006, from planet to “dwarf planet”. This change had great impact in the media. Pluto returned to the news due to the arrival of New Horizons probe to Pluto in July 2015. Whereas the understanding of the complexity involved in the definition of celestial bodies could help us to show science as a historic, social, collective, non-linear and non-neutral process, it is presented a historical survey of the episodes involving the various definitions for planet, since the first observations of the sky made by our ancestors until the resolutions that defined which are the attributes of a "planet " made at the 26th General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union, meeting at which it was decided to reclassify Pluto. In order contribute to help perform discussions about the nature of science involving Astronomy themes, it is explained which features of scientific knowledge become evident during the study of the mentioned episodes
Skynet Junior Scholars
No full textInformal learning opportunities are increasingly being recognized as important for youth participation in authentic experiences at the intersection of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) (Dorsen, Carlson, and Goodyear 2006). These experiences may involve specialized equipment and dedicated time for learners to gain familiarity with the relevant scientific and engineering practices (i.e., designing experiments on their own, struggling to make sense of data, learning from their own mistakes and the results of peers), which often go beyond the classroom. However, the educators who guide the implementation of these informal efforts may need specific training, and they may need to be creative in designing learning experiences under their setting’s unique constraints. Best practices for professional development for classroom teachers include active inquiry opportunities and an emphasis on content and its relevance to the classroom, extended over a long period of time (Birman et al. 2000; Abell and Lee 2008; Darling-Hammond et al. 2009). However, the extant literature on teacher professional development tends to focus only on formal educators. This article draws on our experiences developing a program called Skynet Junior Scholars (SJS) to document how our professional development model engages both informal and formal educators with a range of skill sets. We describe how three SJS educators creatively forged new educational pathways between in-school and out-of-school STEM learning, and we provide lessons learned and recommendations for others
Visualization on the Day Night Year Globe
No full textThe story about a properly oriented outdoor globe in the hands and minds of Eratosthenes, Jefferson, Milanković and science educators is presented. Having the same orientation in space as the Earth, the Day Night Year Globe (DING) shows in real time the pattern of illumination of the Earth’s surface and its diurnal and seasonal variations. It is an ideal object for the visualization of knowledge and increase in knowledge about: the form of the Earth, Earth’s rotation, Earth’s revolution around the Sun, the length of seasons, solstices, equinoxes, the longitude problem, the distribution of the Sun’s radiation over the Earth, the impact of this radiation on Earth’s climate, and how to use it efficiently. By attaching a movable vane to the poles, or adding pins around the equator to read time, DING becomes a spherical/globe-shaped sundial. So, the DING is simultaneously useful for teaching physics, geophysics, astronomy, use of solar energy and promoting an inquiry-based learning environment for students and the public
Comparing Student Performance And Perception Of Competence On Summative Science Performance Tasks Versus Written Science Summative Tests At The Sixth Grade Level
No full textThis study examines the effects on student performance of designing performance tasks based on the Next Generation Science Standards. It also assesses sixth grade students’ accuracy in determining their final test scores on both traditional written unit final tests and final performance tasks. Eighty-four sixth graders in four different classes were studied across four different science units. Two classes formed Sample A and two classes formed Sample B. They alternated taking traditional written end of unit tests and taking performance tasks instead. They recorded their predicted scores and their feelings about each test on a survey immediately after testing. The study’s results are inconclusive. While the teachers felt less confident preparing students for the performance tasks, students appeared to prefer them, and did moderately better on them. How much better was not found to be statistically significant, though. Students in Sample B consistently outperformed Sample A on all assessments, but Sample A students reported having studied for final tests more often. In all, this study shows how middle school students can be unpredictable and are not always self aware, but do prefer to be engaged in hands-on learning. There may be something to be said for student enjoyment of an assessment, even if the final scores students earn on non traditional tests are only moderately better
TV shows on Light Pollution Education for the Public
No full textTV shows have the biggest impact for the public, so we can use them to inform and educate the public about light pollution and the importance of the dark sky for humanity and for the contemporary society. Some examples used in the TV show Us and the Sky at Columna TV, Romania, are presented
Astronomy with Small Telescopes
No full textWe have designed and built three cost effective observatories, in distinct models, which can house Schmidt – Cassegrain type small telescopes having aperture sizes up to 16 inches. Using the available small telescopes, we provided the people of Manipura State in the far north-east corner of India the opportunity to observe directly with their own eyes the rare, spectacular events of the solar eclipse of January 15, 2010, lunar eclipse of December 10, 2011 and the transit of Venus of June 6, 2012. Apart from sharing a platform with the public for astronomy education and popularization through public outreach programs such as workshops, seminars and night watch programs, we have also developed a laboratory infrastructure and gained expertise in observational techniques based on photoelectric photometry, CCD imaging, CCD photometry and spectroscopy. Our team has become a partner in the ongoing international ‘Orion project’ headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, USA which will be producing high quality photometric and spectroscopic data for five stars in the Orion constellation, namely Betelgeuse (alpha Orionis), Rigel (beta Orionis), Mintaka (delta Orionis), Alnilam (epsilon Orionis) and Alnitak (zeta Orionis). In the present paper, the authors would like to give a detailed report of their activities for the growth of astronomy in the state of Manipur, India
Enhancing The Teaching of Astronomy In Schools Through Workshops For Teachers
No full textThe Malaysian Space Agency (ANGKASA), with cooperation of the Ministry of Education of Malaysia, has organized the Astronomy Workshop for Primary and Secondary School Teachers since 2008 at the National Planetarium. The workshop was organized to provide science teachers with basic knowledge of astronomy in accordance with the school syllabus, with the hope that they can acquire sufficient knowledge in the field of astronomy to enhance their teaching activities in school. In this workshop, teachers will be introduced to night sky simulations in our space theater, a planetarium show, daytime and night time observation activities, hands on activities, and visits to the planetarium`s observatory and exhibition gallery. Besides this, in the workshop they will share teaching experience with planetarium staff. Educational materials are also distributed to all the teachers as reference for their teaching. In this paper presentation, we would like to show how the National Planetarium plays an important role to help teachers in teaching astronomy in schools
Empowering Prospective Teachers to Become Active Sense-Makers: Multimodal Modeling of the Seasons
No full textSituating science concepts in concrete and authentic contexts, using information and communications technologies, including multimodal modeling tools, is important for promoting the development of higher-order thinking skills in learners. However, teachers often struggle to integrate emergent multimodal models into a technology-rich informal learning environment. Our design-based research co-designs and develops engaging, immersive, and interactive informal learning activities called “Embodied Modeling-Mediated Activities” (EMMA) to support not only Singaporean learners’ deep learning of astronomy but also the capacity of teachers. As part of the research on EMMA, this case study describes two prospective teachers’ co-design processes involving multimodal models for teaching and learning the concept of the seasons in a technology-rich informal learning setting. Our study uncovers four prominent themes emerging from our data concerning the contextualized nature of learning and teaching involving multimodal models in informal learning contexts: (1) promoting communication and emerging questions, (2) offering affordances through limitations, (3) explaining one concept involving multiple concepts, and (4) integrating teaching and learning experiences. This study has an implication for the development of a pedagogical framework for teaching and learning in technology-enhanced learning environments—that is empowering teachers to become active sense-makers using multimodal models
Observations Of The Annular Eclipse On 2012 May 21 By The General Public In Japan
No full textWe had a campaign of observing the annular solar eclipse on 2012 May 21 by naked eye through eclipse eyeglasses to determine the limit line of annularity. As a result, we had about 15,000 reports through our website. In addition there were many observation groups for which about 30,000 people in total participated in the observations. The overall result was that the limit we observed by naked eye through eclipse glasses coincided with a prediction that took into account the lunar limb irregularity within the error of . This error of the limit line location corresponds to about of the radius of the Sun