iStarDB (The Astronomy Education Research Repository)
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In-Service Science Teachers’ Astronomy Misconceptions
No full textPre-service science teachers in Turkey began to take undergraduate astronomy course in 2010. Science teachers who graduated before 2010 did not have any astronomy course during teacher preparation program. However, science education curriculum has some astronomy topics. If science teachers hold some misconceptions they will most likely transfer them to their students. The aim of this study was to explore in-service science teachers’ astronomy misconceptions. The participants were 60 in-service science teachers who had no astronomy instruction before. Astronomy Concept Test was used to collect data. Based on the results it is found that in-service science teachers hold several misconceptions related to astronomy. The results of this study show that in-service science teachers need some instructional support about astronomy content to improve their understanding of astronomy related topics in middle school science curriculum
Deaf Education in a Planetarium
No full textOver the years we have struggled with the difficulty of giving a planetarium show to a deaf audience. This is especially true for a younger audience with limited reading abilities. You must illuminate the ASL signer which causes light splash onto the dome. You must slow the presentation down to allow for time to interpret and then point. A slower presentation can have an adverse impact on the learning of the hearing students if the presentation is made to a mixed audience. To address these issues, we are currently working on methods to improve deaf education in a planetarium environment. We will present an overview of the current project along with efforts to establish baselines comprehension levels for both deaf and hearing children. This work is partially funded by an NSF IIS-1124548 grant and funding from the Sorenson Foundation
Galaxy Zoo: Motivations of Citizen Scientists
No full textCitizen science, in which volunteers work with professional scientists to conduct research, is expanding due to large online datasets. To plan projects, it is important to understand volunteers’ motivations for participating. This paper analyzes results from an online survey of nearly 11 000 volunteers in Galaxy Zoo, an astronomy citizen science project. Results show that volunteers’ primary motivation is a desire to contribute to scientific research. We encourage other citizen science projects to study the motivations of their volunteers, to see whether and how these results may be generalized to inform the field of citizen science
Upper Secondary Students' Understanding of the Basic Physical Interactions in Analogous Atomic and Solar Systems
No full textComparing the atom to a ‘tiny solar system’ is a common teaching analogy, and the extent to which learners saw the systems as analogous was investigated. English upper secondary students were asked parallel questions about the physical interactions between the components of a simple atomic system and a simple solar system to investigate how they understood the forces acting within the two systems. A sample of just over 100 across the 15–18 age range responded to a pencil-and-paper instrument that asked about four aspects of the two systems. It was found that for both systems, about four fifths of students expected forces to decrease with increasing distance; but that only a little over half expected there to be interactions between the minor constituents (electrons and planets). Most students failed to apply Newton's third law to either system. There was a considerable difference in the extent to which respondents were able to identify the type of force acting in the systems (nearly all for the solar system, but only a small proportion in the case of the atom). The
findings are considered in terms of both the limitations of students' understanding of the basic physics and possible implications for the use of the teaching analogy
“Pluto Has Been a Planet My Whole Life!” Emotions, Attitudes, and Conceptual Change in Elementary Students’ Learning about Pluto’s Reclassification
No full textLearning about certain scientific topics has potential to spark strong emotions among students. We investigated whether emotions predicted students’ attitudes after engaging in independent rereading and/or rereading plus discussion about Pluto’s reclassification. Fifth and sixth grade students read a refutation text on Pluto’s reclassification. Participants were randomly assigned to either the reread independently or the reread plus discussion group. Results showed that students in both groups experienced attitude change and that change was sustained over time. Students reported experiencing more negative than positive emotions at pretest. Emotions, which became more positive after intervention, were predictive of students’ attitudes and attitude change. Implications for the role of emotions when learning about controversial topics are discussed
Investigating Student Ideas About Cosmology III: Big Bang Theory, Expansion, Age, and History of the Universe
No full textWe have undertaken a multi-semester study of student ideas in an undergraduate general education astronomy integrated lecture and lab course with a focus on active learning at an urban, minority serving institution. We collected individual interviews (N¼15) and course artifacts (N�60), such as pre-course homework essays and midterm and final exam questions in a variety of formats. Continuing our work from a previous study (Coble et al. 2013), here we examine student ideas with regard to the Big Bang Theory, expansion, age, and history of the Universe. We find that a significant fraction of students hold alternate conceptions, including: the Big Bang Theory describes the creation of planets and/or our Solar System; the “Big Bang” refers to an explosion within a small point or mass; there is no evidence in support of the Big Bang Theory; the Universe has always existed; and stars, galaxies, and/or planets formed at the same time or very soon after the creation of the Universe
Uso Didáctico De Recursos Tic Y Software Libre en La Enseñanza De La Observación Lunar
No full textActualmente existe una gran diversidad de opciones pedagógicas frente a la implementación de ambientes de aprendizaje para la Educación en Tecnología y las Ciencias en general, hecho que constituye una riqueza para las prácticas pedagógicas de los docentes. El objetivo de este trabajo es presentar una propuesta de actividades fundamentada en tres pilares para el estudio de la astronomía básica: coordenadas astronómicas, constelaciones y la Luna, en un contexto en el que se construyen los conceptos a partir de la práctica y el uso de herramientas TIC y software libre encontrados en la Internet, entre los cuales están los planetarios y las cartas celestes. Todo lo anterior, para que con la enseñanza de la Astronomía se favorezca el acercamiento a las ciencias de los estudiantes de grado Noveno del Colegio Paraíso Mirador IED
Elementary Students’ Mental Models of the Solar System
No full textThis research project aimed to identify and analyze Mexican primary school students’ ideas about the components of the solar system. In particular, this study focused on conceptions of the solar system and representations of the dynamics of the solar system based on the functional and structural models that students make in school. Using a Euclidean distance-based cluster analysis, six different models of the solar system were identified. The results of this study suggest that these models do not specifically correlate to one school grade. The identified models vary in complexity, not only by the number of components but also by the dynamic interactions and distributions of the elements that comprise the models. This diversity of models shows that students do not simply reproduce the diagrams in their textbooks or the diagrams that they have access to in their environment. Though the oldest children’s models approach textbook diagrams in the more complex models, up and down movements are still present in children’s explanations of their models
Teaching of Astronomy: Scenarios of Teaching Practice in Elementary Schools
No full textThe present work presents the main results of a research carried out within the Astronomy Education field with Elementary School teachers from two regions of Rio Grande do Sul. The study aimed to show the regional panorama of teaching Astronomy compared to the national panorama already discussed in several studies in the area. It was divided into three main issues: identifying the main topics of Astronomy developed in class, verifying which were the methodological strategies used, and which were the difficulties teachers faced when developing their practice. Regarding the contents, it was found a wide range of covered topics although Earth motion and astronomical phenomena were cited by most participants. Concerning the strategies used in class, two-dimensional resources such as movies, texts, maps and web searching were mainly used. The most relevant difficulties were the lack of specific education related to Astronomy contents and abstraction level, which complicated the understanding for both students and teachers. In general, the indicators met the results already found in other studies that investigated Astronomy teaching practice, in which the teacher´s original education deficiency - or even the lack of it - hampers the proper development of Astronomy contents in class
Astronomy Week: An Investigation Of The Implementation And Identity Formation Of Participants
No full textOur society has a great need for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) professionals and educational institutions are currently having difficulty keeping up with society's demand (Carnevale, 2011). Outreach efforts are a key strategy to encouraging young people to pursue STEM careers and evaluation methods need to be used to ensure that this outreach is efficient and effective in helping young students see themselves as a prospective STEM professionals (Moskal, 2011).
The purpose of this dissertation study was to investigate the implementation of an Astronomy Week supported by the Center for Mathematics and Science Education (CMSE) and its impact on student identity formation. Three classrooms implemented the CMSE Astronomy Week curriculum and accepted a visit from the Starlab mobile planetarium. Data consisted of field notes from classroom observations, interviews with students and teachers, the Draw a Scientist Test (DAST), and surveys from both teachers and students.
Results provide evidence that this outreach effort was a significant science event that helped change the stereotypical beliefs about scientists, especially in minority students. Drawings of scientists and written responses provided valuable insight into participants' identity formation and desires to pursue a career in science. Results also provide suggestions for improving the programmatic and curricular aspects of the outreach program. Teacher interviews and questionnaire responses were particularly valuable in the development of suggestions for improving the program