iStarDB (The Astronomy Education Research Repository)
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Heliophysics Concept Maps for Education and Public Outreach
No full textThe NASA Science Mission Directorate Heliophysics Science Education and Public Outreach Forum team has created a set of Heliophysics Concept Maps. The concepts are based on content related to the three major questions in the NASA Heliophysics Science Roadmap: What causes the Sun to vary? How do the Earth and the heliosphere respond? What are the impacts on humanity? These maps tie into the AAAS
Project 2061 Benchmarks for Scientific Literacy, a set of K–12 learning goals that are widely used by education professionals for curriculum development and program planning. The purpose of this effort was to identify key concepts related to heliophysics and map their progression to show how students’ understanding of heliophysics might develop from kindergarten through higher education. This effort creates more comprehensive
maps specific to heliophysics that provide content at a deeper level than what is in the existing Benchmarks. It also extends the concept maps to higher education, an
audience not included in the Benchmarks
Dreamtime astronomy: development of a new indigenous program at Sydney Observatory
No full textThe Australian National Curriculum promotes Indigenous culture in school education programs. To foster a broader appreciation of cultural astronomy, to utilise the unique astronomical heritage of the site, and to develop an educational program within the framework of the National Curriculum, Sydney Observatory launched Dreamtime Astronomy - a program incorporating Australian Indigenous culture, astronomy, and Sydney's astronomical history and heritage. This paper reviews the development and implementation of this program and discusses modifications following an evaluation that was conducted by schools
Gesture Analysis For Astronomy Presentation Software
No full textAstronomy presentation software in a planetarium setting provides a visually stimulating way to introduce varied scientific concepts, including computer science concepts, to a wide audience. However, the underlying computational complexity and opportunities for discussion are often overshadowed by the brilliance of the presentation itself. To bring this discussion back out into the open, a method needs to be developed to make the computer science applications more visible.
This thesis introduces the GAAPS system, which endeavours to implement free- hand gesture-based control of astronomy presentation software, with the goal of providing that talking point to begin the discussion of computer science concepts in a planetarium setting. The GAAPS system incorporates gesture capture and analysis in a unique environment presenting unique challenges, and introduces a novel algorithm called a Bounding Box Tree to create and select features for this particular gesture data. This thesis also analyzes several different machine learning techniques to determine a well- suited technique for the classification of this particular data set, with an artificial neural network being chosen as the implemented algorithm.
The results of this work will allow for the desired introduction of computer science discussion into the specific setting used, as well as provide for future work pertaining to gesture recognition with astronomy presentation software
The Experiences of Women in Post Graduate Physics and Astronomy Programs: the Roles of Support, Career Goals, and Gendered Experiences
No full textIn physics and astronomy the low representation of women is obvious at every stage of the educational pathway from undergraduate students to full professors. These low numbers perpetuate themselves by failing to create new mentors to foster the next generation of women. Women and men also have different experiences as they traverse into physics and astronomy careers. Women often experience chilly climates, discrimination, and challenges coordinating the demands of young families with their careers. In the literature exploring this topic, little focus is put on the experiences of women graduate students in physics and no focus is put on women graduate students in astronomy. This research seeks to fill this gap by studying the educational experiences and academic choices of women in physics and astronomy. This project uses in-depth in-person interviews with women who are pursuing PhDs in astronomy, astrophysics, or physics and have passed their qualifying examinations. In all there are 21 participants from three institutions of higher education. Analysis of interviews uses a constant comparative method to apply action codes to participants' statements. These codes are then organized into themes to understand common experiences. Results indicate that peer support and mentoring by faculty or post doctorate associates are critical for these women's success in undergraduate and graduate education. Although they had mostly positive experiences, many of the women describe micro aggressions towards them because of their genders; in a few cases women experience overt sexual harassment and in one case physical danger. Largely, these women want to pursue non-academic or teaching-oriented academic professions so they will have the time to live lives that include more than just work and will have the opportunity to raise children if they desired
Misconception based curriculum restructuring for freshmen earth science students via moon journal projects
No full textThis project had the goal of taking the first earth science student project of the year, a journal of one lunar cycle, and modifying its curriculum to achieve higher student participation and scores. In addition a major aim was to improve the mastery of astronomy themed concepts within that thematic unit, especially as measured with common misconceptions related to its content. The treatment incorporated new or redesigned activities, use of models, labs, and unit assignments, assessment strategies, and measured academic growth using a newly implemented pretest and posttest. These results were compared to a pretest and posttest given on the subsequent thematic unit where curriculum was not modified. Data gathered showed that the curriculum that was reworked enabled greater test score growth despite challenges in student moon journal participation and scoring
Journey Through the Universe: Tenth Anniversary in 2014!
No full textHawaii will celebrate its tenth anniversary of the flagship Journey through the Universe program that began in 2004. The Gemini-led initiative has engaged hundreds of astronomers and astronomy educators that have visited over 2,700 classrooms, visiting over 60,000 students over the course of the last nine years. The scientists have
brought excitement and inspiration about the life-long possibilities available in science, technology and mathematics to our students.
The Journey program nurtures our students’ innate curiosity, offers workshops for hundreds of teachers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education, and provides an opportunity for our community members to visit the classrooms alongside our astronomers. This ten-day annual event also includes Family Science Events that are enjoyed by thousands.
For the 2013 program, our governor, Neil Abercrombie, inquired about the program and its enormous impact on Hawaii’s students. Governor Abercrombie actively participated by visiting classrooms at different schools and attending our chamber of commerce appreciation event.
This paper will share how the Journey program came to be and what is anticipated for the tenth anniversary. Journey through the Universe is a model outreach initiative that could be duplicated in other locations
On Adopting Educational Materials: A Cautionary Tale
No full textThe astronomy education community has made many educational materials publically available through various outlets. Unfortunately, adoption of educational materials does not guarantee instructional change. The materials—being nothing more than words on paper—are static, inert representations of abstract concepts that come to life only through interpretation and use by instructors and students. Research has previously demonstrated how instructors adopt, interpret, change, modify, and use materials in ways unanticipated by their developers (Brown 2009). This study investigates how a professor and teaching assistants used Engaging in Astronomical Inquiry (Slater, Slater, & Lyons 2010) during a laboratory section of an introductory astronomy course for nonscience majors
The General Education Astronomy Source (GEAS) Project: Extending the Reach of Astronomy Education
No full textWe present a set of NASA and NSF sponsored resources to aid in teaching astronomy remotely and in the classroom at the college level, with usage results for pilot groups of students. Our goal is to increase the accessibility of general education science coursework to underserved populations nationwide. Our materials are available for use without charge, and we are actively looking for pilot instructors. Primary components of our program include an interactive online tutorial program with over 12,000 questions, an instructor review interface, a set of hands-on and imaging- and spectra-driven laboratory exercises, including video tutorials, and interviews with diverse individuals working in STEM fields to help combat stereotypes. We discuss learning strategies often employed by students without substantial scientific
training and suggest ways to incorporate them into a framework based on the scientific method and techniques for data analysis, and we compare cohorts of in-class and
distance-education students
The Impact of Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Education and Public Outreach Programs
No full textThe Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Education and Public Outreach Program includes Lunar Workshops for Educators (LWEs) held at several sites throughout the U.S. and a large public engagement program, International Observe theMoon Night (InOMN). Program evaluation has revealed that LWEs result in growth in participants’ knowledge related to current lunar discoveries and exploration of the Moon. Teachers learn about misconceptions about the Moon and ways to teach about lunar science and exploration to address students’ misconceptions. The LWEs also impact the teaching practices of some participants more broadly to incorporate inquiry and other teaching
techniques modeled in the workshops. InOMN events are social experiences in which visitors reported the value of seeing their children learning new things, being moved by seeing beautiful and valuable objects, and gaining information and knowledge. Each program has met the goal of engaging participants in the excitement of lunar exploration
The Results of an Era of Teacher Professional Development at McDonald Observatory
No full textDuring the past decade, McDonald Observatory has been developing and refining its Teacher Professional Development Workshops, many of which have been supported by NASA. Metrics include attendance, perceived knowledge gain, and readiness to apply what was learned in the classroom. Evaluations show impact through the classroom application at five to six months after the workshops and through consistently high positive workshop results.
This paper will show that a) our Teacher Professional Development Workshops are consistently well attended, b) the workshops improve teachers’ confidence and their understanding of concepts, c) teachers enjoy unique interactions with astronomers and engineers, d) teachers appreciate hands-on and inquiry-based activities that are modeled and tied to state and national standards, and e) many teachers experience using the activities in their classrooms with good results