iStarDB (The Astronomy Education Research Repository)
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Evaluation research using astronomy theatre suggests good promise for young Spanish-origin women to choose science majors
No full textWe report evaluation findings and best practices from a morning of research with senior class students at an all-Spanish-origin, secondary school in the southwest United States. We found a jump in interest toward science for the women who self-identified as humanities students, and over the morning, surprisingly, this affected their remembrance of previous attitudes. Our results for this and other evaluations corroborate that experiential activities involving one-to-one or group activities are useful in attracting high school and college students to the sciences, especially young women. These results also pointed toward best practices
Astronomy across cultures: reporting experiences on the GalileoMobile education activities in the Paiter Suruí indigenous community
No full textThis work is the report of an astronomy non-formal education expedition carried out by the GalileoMobile initiative in the Paiter Suruí indigenous communities, in the Brazilian Amazon, that took place in November 2016. This ethnic group remained “officially uncontacted” by non-natives until the late 1960's, when the population dropped significantly and they faced deep changes in their way of living and traditions. Nowadays, the Paiter Suruí are seeking ways to maintain their cultural identity and land. Thus, differently from previous GalileoMobile itinerant projects, which had the goal of bringing modern astronomy closer to youngsters of regions with scarce access to science outreach actions, this particular expedition had the goal of establishing an exchange of knowledge related to astronomy, promoting a dialogue with the members of this group to understand and record their relationship with the sky. The ground team, comprised of three astronomers, one filmmaker and one anthropologist, undertook the study of various academic works on ethno and cultural astronomy, as well as specific texts on science education in traditional communities and ethnography of Brazilian indigenous peoples. During the expedition, interviews with the Paiter Suruí elders were held, having as a starting point astronomy outreach activities such as the sky observation with telescopes. We were able to collect three myths related to the Sun, Moon and rainbow. The result of activities, interviews and transcripts were recorded in a series of videos that will be returned to the community, so that they can be used in schools and community centres as educational material for the preservation of the Paiter Suruí culture, as well as a resource for a detailed ethnographic study of their astronomy
Space videos on YouTube - what makes the audience tick
No full textNowadays it is easier than ever before to produce films and videos and make them available to a worldwide audience via platforms such as YouTube, Twitter and Facebook, among others. The European Space Agency (ESA), the European Southern Observatory (ESO), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and other similar organisations constantly produce videos aimed at the general interested audience, and distribute them on through their social media channels. Different formats are offered such as educational, informative, news style, science stories, scientist profiles, behind-the-scenes, animations and data based animations. But which of these formats do really stick and why? A simple statistical analysis of 106 videos found on the ESA, ESO and NASA YouTube channels shows that videos based on animations and the representation of data, with little to no explanation and accompanied by music are the more popular in terms of views per month by about a factor of two compared to other types of videos. This can likely be explained by the higher entertainment value of such videos
Astrobiology in Teacher Training. Addressing research methodology and epistemology in Humanities and social-science classes
No full textIn a preliminary empirical study of social-science and humanities students enrolled in teacher-training programs at two German universities, the authors have found a disparaging view of technology and science among said students. Their material knowledge of technology and science is the result of content they learned in high-school themselves. After having graduated, they chose social-sciences or humanities as their subjects. There is little or no overlap between science and engineering subjects and social-science and humanities subjects in teacher training programs. Apart from the students choices, this is also the consequence of an institutionally established and strict segregation of the academic fields that does not, unlike in other university systems, require the students to enroll in at least basic interdisciplinary courses. The result for science and technology awareness among the students is problematic, to say the least. While their knowledge of science and technology -being the product of high-school education - is often not up to date and also lacking in current developments, their moral and ethical judgement about the implications of scientific research and use of technology is strong. The preliminary study also showed that the students are interested in new technological and scientific developments, they just lack the ability to include this into their worldview, which is very strongly influenced by their choice of subjects in the humanities and social-sciences. Teaching these students has convinced the authors that their lack of technology and science knowledge combined with their inherent tendency to judge science and technology from the point of view of their respective field, impairs their ability to take an adequate part in science and technology discourse. Their awareness, and thus, their competence to rationally engage with science and technology is lacking. That is in part due to the depiction of science and technology in humanities and social-science courses, and on the other hand due to a lack of current science and technology education as part of a humanities and social-sciences program. The result becomes even more alarming if we assume that the future teachers will continue to relay their heavily biased opinions on science and technology in general, as well as their deficient knowledge of specific technologies to their future students, thus generating a vicious cycle of inadequate technology and science awareness. As the authors’ study has shown, these students are really interested in science and technology, they just lack key competencies to make an analytical connection between their field of choice (humanities and social sciences) and technology and science, without resorting to moral and ethical judgement
SOLO taxonomy as EFL students’ disciplinary literacy evaluation tool in technology-enhanced integrated astronomy course
No full textWhilst the role of disciplinary literacy in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education is becoming more prominent, there appears to be little adaptation or allowance made for English as a foreign or second language (EFL/ESL) students learning science in English, as well as no clear understanding of what comprises disciplinary literacy in science. In this article, we define the construct of disciplinary literacy in science education and justify the use of the Structure of the Observed Learning Outcome (SOLO) taxonomy (Biggs and Collis, Teaching for quality learning at university 1982) as a tool for measuring EFL students’ disciplinary literacy development. This SOLO taxonomy was trialled in a STEM integrated astronomy course enhanced with a digital storytelling approach. Data were collected from adolescent EFL students’ written responses in their pre- and post-Astronomy Diagnostic Test. The results show a positive change in participants’ science disciplinary literacy development and contribute to the understanding of the EFL/ESL students’ science disciplinary literacy development and assessment
The moderating role of additional information when learning with animations compared to static pictures
No full textIn research on learning with animations compared to static pictures usually very short and narrowly defined topics are chosen. However, in school contexts such topics are often extended by additional information (i.e., information that is related to a given topic, but not essential for this topic). In the current study, that took place in a school context, it was investigated which role additional information would play when learning with animations compared to static pictures. It was hypothesized that there would be a beneficial effect of the animation, that additional information would impede learning the original topic and that the beneficial effect of the animation compared to the static picture would be even more pronounced when additional information is presented compared to when no additional information is given. A 2 × 2 between-subject design, with visualization format (animation vs. static picture) and additional information (present vs. absent) as independent variables, was used (N = 199 high school students). Learning outcomes were analysed by means of a focal contrast analysis that corresponded to the stated hypotheses. Results revealed that the hypotheses were not met for factual knowledge tasks, but for transfer tasks: Additional information hindered learning, and the advantage of the animation over the static picture was more pronounced when additional information was presented. However, it should be noted that learners receiving additional information performed better on questions about the additional information than learners without additional information. Implications of these results are discussed
Astronomy Education — Bridging Research & Practice
No full textThe goal of this conference was to bring together all stakeholders — teachers, educators and researchers — to communicate and discuss their various needs in order to effectively bridge the gap between astronomy education research and its practical application
Astronomy Education Research: Impact and Future Directions
No full textThe goal of this talk is to reflect about the achievements and challenges in Astronomy Education Research (AER). First, the answers given to questions asked of members of the IAU Division C’s Commission 1 and Working Group on Theory and Methods in Astronomy Education are discussed. Next, the goals of astronomy teaching are discussed considering content, methods, levels, resources and purposes. Given the demands and complexity of education today and the role of astronomy in this context, the potential of education research is also evaluated, taking into account knowledge, practices, policies and the training of teachers. Finally, graduate studies are encouraged, new lines of research, and surveys to identify and advertise the dispersed AE literature seeking to raise the visibility of authors and institutions are suggested. Much of the work already performed remains unknown to astronomers, because they belong to a different area of theoretical and methodological framework, and because it occurs in specific different contexts of production, culture, curriculum, materials and application. Moreover, advertising AER in universities and schools to professors and teachers should consolidate this community and establish links between astronomers and educators in general, allowing future collaborations
eTimeTrek: digital deep history of the Universe
No full textWe have constructed a holistic view and a framework of the world’s time dimensions by developing “Timetrek”, i.e., a 13.7 km long walkable timeline that portrays the history of the universe, the Earth and lif
Daily life astronomy activity and its contribution to children and educators in science education
No full textDaily life astronomy activity in nurseries and after school care clubs has many aspects to improve children’s and educator’s scientific views and skills. Though these activities are casual and ordinary ones for many nurseries and after school care clubs, aspects of science education are found in many ways reflecting the activity referring to the UNAWE Evaluation Guide. This indicates that if we intend to promote science education in nurseries and preschools, we do not necessarily have to introduce new activity, but that the formative assessment to pick up science in daily life activities is sufficient. This can encourage educators to be selfconfident in implementing science education. The improvement of selfconfidence is observed in teacher-training students of primary and preschool education during university class when they learned that they already had skills for daily life astronomy education. Thus, daily life astronomy education is not only an interesting and exciting activity for children but it also contributes to improving the educator’s confidence and hence their skills of science education