iStarDB (The Astronomy Education Research Repository)
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Blazing The Trail For Astronomy Education Research
No full textEducation research has long considered student learning of topics in astronomy and the space sciences, but astronomy education research as a sub-field of discipline-based education research is relatively new. Driven by a growing interest among higher education astronomy educators in improving the general education, introductory science survey course for non-science majoring undergraduates (“ASTRO 101”), contemporary astronomy education research is led by scholars with significant expertise in astronomy content. In this review, we outline the recent history of the growing field of discipline-based astronomy education research by analyzing graduate degrees earned, faculty involved, and major milestones, such as the appearance of archival, peer-reviewed professional journals. Astronomy education research as a field of discipline-based education research has made notable strides in the past few decades that distinguish it from the K-12 education research realm, and, in spite of some setbacks, continues to move forward as a growing and vibrant community of scholars
Lee Sang Gak Telescope (LSGT): A Remotely Operated Robotic Telescope for Education and Research at Seoul National University
No full textWe introduce the Lee Sang Gak Telescope (LSGT), a remotely operated, robotic 0.43-meter telescope. The telescope was installed at the Siding Spring Observatory, Australia, in 2014 October, to secure regular and exclusive access to the dark sky and excellent atmospheric conditions in the southern hemisphere from the Seoul National University (SNU) campus. Here, we describe the LSGT system and its performance, present example images from early observations, and discuss a future plan to upgrade the system. The use of the telescope includes (i) long-term monitoring observations of nearby galaxies, active galactic nuclei, and supernovae; (ii) rapid follow-up observations of transients such as gamma-ray bursts and gravitational wave sources; and (iii) observations for educational activities at SNU. Based on observations performed so far, we find that the telescope is capable of providing images to a depth of R=21.5 mag (point source detection) at 5-sigma with 15 min total integration time under good observing conditions
Ideas for Citizen Science in Astronomy
No full textWe review the expanding, internet-enabled, and rapidly evolving field of citizen astronomy, focusing on research projects in stellar, extragalactic, and planetary science that have benefited from the participation of members of the public. These volunteers contribute in various ways: making and analyzing new observations, visually classifying features in images and light curves, exploring models constrained by astronomical data sets, and initiating new scientific enquiries. The most productive citizen astronomy projects involve close collaboration between the professionals and amateurs involved and occupy scientific niches not easily filled by great observatories or machine learning methods: Citizen astronomers are motivated by being of service to science, as well as by their interest in the subject. We expect participation and productivity in citizen astronomy to increase, as data sets get larger and citizen science platforms become more efficient. Opportunities include engaging citizens in ever-more advanced analyses and facilitating citizen-led enquiry through professional tools designed with citizens in mind
Educative Curricula and improving the science PCK of teachers in middle school settings in rural and remote Australia
No full textThis thesis explores the potential for this educative curriculum to improve the PCK of teachers of science in the middle school years in rural and remote settings. It does this by employing a Type IV multiple-case, embedded mixed-methods design (Yin, 2014) over two phases in two states of Australia collecting a range of data from four remote sites in Western Australia and four rural sites in Victoria. Participants comprised 12 teachers, four principals, four teaching principals, one Science KLA Consultant, one Cluster Coordinator and over 200 students. Data were gathered from interviews; archival records; researcher direct observations; an astronomy diagnostic test; student artifacts; and school based documents. A framework, developed from the works of Davis & Krajcik (2005), Kind (2009b) and Magnusson et al. (1999), is used to analyse the data for evidence of changes in teachers’ science PCK
The Great American Eclipse of 2017: An Outreach Opportunity and Challenge
No full textThis paper consists of notes for, and from, a standing-room only Special Interest Group discussion at the 2014 ASP Meeting regarding the total eclipse of the Sun visible from the U.S. in 2017. There was a great deal of interest in organizing in advance for this total eclipse, and there was considerable discussion of the kinds of
efforts and partnerships that may be needed at the national and local levels. People who read this summary and are interested in helping with national eclipse education and outreach efforts can contact the first author
Methods of Engaging Preschool-age Children in Science Practices During Astronomy Activities
No full textProviding preschool children with science learning experiences may improve their later science literacy. Further, research shows that children are capable of
engaging in the same kinds of scientific reasoning as adults. An initial step towards increasing the opportunities for children to engage in science is to improve our understanding of how to support children’s engagement in the practices of science in astronomy. To this end, the My Sky Tonight project is developing and evaluating astronomy activities for informal science educators to use with young children. I have gathered
video of a series of astronomy workshops that engaged preschool-age children with My Sky Tonight-developed activities. This paper describes features of these museum-based astronomy activities that supported young children in evidence-based science practices
NASA’s Coordinated Efforts to Enhance STEM Education: Bringing NASA Science into the Library
No full textLibraries are community-centered, free-access venues serving learners of all ages and backgrounds. Libraries also recognize the importance of science literacy and strive to include science in their programming portfolio. Scientists and educators can partner with local libraries to advance mutual goals of connecting the public to
Earth and Space Science. In this interactive Special Interest Group (SIG) discussion, representatives from the NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) Education and Public Outreach (EPO) community’s library collaborations discussed the opportunities for partnership with public and school libraries; explored the resources, events, and programs available through libraries; explored NASA science programming and professional development
opportunities available for librarians; and strategized about the types of support that librarians require to plan and implement programs that use NASA data and resources. We also shared successes, lessons learned, and future opportunities for incorporating NASA science programming into library settings
NASA SMD Education and Public Outreach Forums K–12 Working Group: Key Findings from the National K–12 Educator Needs Assessment Survey
No full textA national survey, conducted in 2012 by the NASA Science Mission Directorate Education and Public Outreach Forums, assessed who was using NASA resources, what educators were looking for when using NASA data, and what attracted them to NASA workshops. The key findings of the survey were distributed through NASA and national education networks
The Nature of Astronomy: Addressing the Nature of Science within NGSS
No full textThe Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) explicitly calls out the Nature of Science (NOS) to be integrated within science education. NOS topics include understanding that scientific investigations use a variety of methods, that scientific knowledge is based on empirical evidence, that scientific explanations are open to revision in light of new evidence, understanding the nature of scientific models, laws, mechanisms, theories and hypotheses, and much more. Unless these topics are explicitly addressed, students will not be able to apply them to the concepts they are studying. This workshop reviewed the NOS topics and used a variety of astronomical and planetary activities to model how incorporating explicit NOS discussion into the activity can support increased understanding of scientific enterprise
The NASA Galileo Educator Network: Using Astronomy to Engage Teachers in Science Practices
No full textWith funding from a NASA EPOESS grant, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific developed the NASA Galileo Educator Network (GEN), a train-the-trainer teacher professional development program based in part on the Galileo Teacher Training Program. Formal evaluation of the program demonstrates that both teacher trainers and teacher participants grew in their ability to utilize astronomy investigations focusing on science practices as described in the Next Generation Science Standards