iStarDB (The Astronomy Education Research Repository)
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How middle level science teachers visualize and translate motion, scale, and geometric space of the Earth-Moon-Sun system with their students
No full text[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Astronomy Education Research.] We examined teachers’ spatial-scientific reasoning and the alternative conceptions they held regarding Earth-space content. While participating in a professional development (PD) workshop, teachers engaged in an integrated mathematics and science project-based unit designed to foster spatial reasoning and improve lunar-related conceptual understanding. The Purdue Spatial Visualization Test-Rotation (PSVT-Rot) and the Lunar Phases Concept Inventory (LPCI) were used to assess understanding. We found the teachers held similar alternative conceptions as their students. Moreover, we discovered that teachers had limited understanding of the Earth-Moon-Sun scale, motions, and geometric configurations. To determine how teachers’ spatial-scientific confidence and ability translated to their classroom practice, we videotaped and analyzed instruction conducted by 6 teachers on an Earth-space lesson. Two teachers with the highest spatial-scientific confidence and ability had students achieving significant learning outcomes on both the PSVT-Rot and the LPCI
The Changes In Calendars In The Ancient World As A Tool To Teach The Development Of Astronomy
No full textWhen teaching an introductory science survey course to college students learning astronomy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, we have devoted four hours to teaching the history of astronomy as a fruitful strategy to introduce important concepts surrounding the development of general scientific knowledge throughout history. In order to illustrate the impact of improved accuracy of astronomical measurements, we propose using the example the development of the calendars and, in particular, the widespread Hebrew calendars used throughout the adjacent Millennia of B.C. and A.C. The changes in the several determinations of the Hebrew calendar are demonstrated based on Babylonian and Jewish documents as well as works by al-Khwarizmi from the 9th century AD, found in the Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library, in Patna India. Our experience suggests that the teaching of calendar development and evolutions demonstrates the interconnectedness between scientific endeavors and social-religious tradition
A Robotic “Social Media” Controlled Observatory for Education and Research
No full textI describe the world’s first robotic observatory to interact with its observers entirely using the social media platforms Facebook or Twitter. The telescope “tweets” what it’s doing, posts live images, and responds to observer commands through a comprehensive command set. Observation requests are queued and observed by a responsive queue engine. Its architecture, social media based image processing capability, and several usage examples are also described
To Telescope or Not To Telescope?
No full textWith the rapidly growing number of Internet-accessible and Internet-controlled research-grade telescopes becoming available, astronomy educators are rushing to create authentic researchprograms for students that leverage these new resources. To date, the most successful programs are those that focus on upper-level science-focused students or highly talented high school students with the unifying end-product goal of published research papers. Disciplinebased astronomy education researchers have not yet fully vetted the educational benefits of using these Internet-telescopes, although some early work points toward positive impacts. At the same time, large-enrollment astronomy educators interested in how to scale the use of remotely controlled telescopes and robotically controlled telescopes for large number of non-science majoring students and future teachers are finding few usable classroom-ready solutions. At this point in the evolution of robotic and remote controlled telescopes for formal education, astronomy educators are tacitly assuming that all students should benefit from using telescopes in any form, yet the risk-benefit analysis has not been thoroughly debated within the community to ascertain if the time and energy required for the broader community of all students to use telescopes is worth it
The SPIRIT Telescope initiative: Engaging students in contemporary astronomy
No full textNow in its seventh year, the SPIRIT initiative remains unique in Australia as a robust web-enabled robotic telescope program funded for education and research. With multiple modes of operation including real time control, SPIRIT provides free access to contemporary astronomical tools for students and educators in Western Australia and beyond. The internet enabled telescope solution itself has proven an excellent model for low cost robotic telescope deployments, and the supporting education program has evolved over time to include a broad range of student engagement activities as well as opportunities to undertake authentic science. This paper summarises the technical solution and education program, and also examines the results from a recent Girls in STEM program of activities
Robotic v. Simulated v. “The Real Thing”: Student and Faculty Perceptions on Observing
No full textAstronomy educators have a variety of motivations for including – or not including – some nature of observing in their curricula. Observing components can range from very simple exercises of merely looking at the sky to much richer, more complex projects that give students a complete feel for the process of doing science through engaging in professional astronomy. Moreover, these observations can be performed in person or virtually, with either remote/robotic telescopes or simulators, thus allowing educators greater freedom to incorporate observing in any kind of learning environment. There is a disconnect, however, between the learning goals that astronomy educators have and their students’ perception that these goals have been met. To investigate the usage and effectiveness of various astronomical observing tools intended to promote student learning within an astronomy course, we have surveyed both astronomy educators and university students. Our goals are threefold: 1) to determine the educational objectives instructors have related to astronomical observing and which methods they employ to achieve those objectives, 2) to unveil the perceived barriers to using other observing methods, and 3) to compare how well the student experience of these observations matches the instructor’s objectives and perception of the observing component. We discuss the results of these surveys and address possible resolutions
Determination of Secondary School 4th Grade Students’ Mental Models of the Astronomer
No full textTeaching astronomy to young generations is of great importance because astronomy education helps us to better understand the world we are living in and to find answers to our questions. In this regard, the current study aimed to determine the secondary school 4th grade students’ mental models of the astronomer. The current research is designed as a descriptive study employing the special case study method. The study was conducted in a city located in the western part of Turkey. The study group is comprised of a total of 77 secondary school 4th grade students attending a state school. In line with the purpose of the study, a data collection tool consisted of 2 open-ended questions was developed. In light of the findings of the study, it can be argued that the mental models possessed by the students about the astronomer are the scientific model, the astronaut model and the celestial bodies mode
The Enduring Effects of Early-Learned Ideas and Local Folklore on Children’s Astronomy Knowledge
No full textThe research described here examined the sources of knowledge of astronomy of children (age 3–18) in China and New Zealand, together with the development of their awareness of competing sources, ranging from everyday language, childhood literature and folklore to the scientific accounts prevalent in schools. The authors cite examples of the bootstrapping encountered during these years, where children’s expanding knowledge and how they process questions intended to probe their understandings—their metacognitive strategies—are mutually beneficial. The semi-structured interviews utilising three modalities (verbal language, drawing and play-dough modelling) carried out with pupils (n = 358), and questionnaires administered to their parents (n = 80), teachers (n = 65) and local librarians (n = 5), focused on young people’s understanding of daytime and night-time and the roles played by the Sun and Moon in creating familiar events. The findings underscore the arguments put forward by the authors in a recent article in this journal concerning the co-existence of everyday and scientific concepts. The influence of early-learned ideas deriving from pre-school experiences, recalled by children and largely corroborated by family members, was found to be extensive. Evidence of the migration of folklore in one of the two settings investigated (on the North East China Plain) and therefore its continuing influence on children’s comprehension is provided. With respect to teaching, the authors argue the benefits to be had in making more explicit with young students the differences between early-learned (everyday-cultural) ideas—particularly local community knowledge and folklore—and the scientific content found in the school curriculum
Early-Years Teachers’ Professional Upgrading in Science: a Long-Term Programme
No full textIn this paper, we present a professional development/upgrading programme in science for early-years teachers and investigate its impact on the teachers’ competencies in relation to their knowledge and teaching of science. The basic idea of the programme was to motivate the teachers by making them members of an action research group aimed at developing and implementing curriculum activities to which they would contribute and thus meaningfully engaging them in their own learning. The programme used a ‘collaborative partnership’ model for the development of the activities. In this model, the collaborative notion is defined as an act of ‘shared creation’: partners share a goal and members bring their expertise to the partnership. Within this context, the partners were a researcher in science education with a background in physics, who also served as a facilitator, and six in-service early-years teachers with a background in early-years pedagogy and developmental sciences, who had many years of experience (classroom experts). These teachers participated in the programme as co-designers, but were involved to a significantly lesser degree than the researcher. The programme procedures comprised group work and individual teachers’ class work. Data sources included teachers’ essays, field-notes, lesson recordings and group-work records. Data were qualitatively analysed. The main results indicate improvement of teachers’ ‘transformed’ knowledge of the subject matter, development/improvement of knowledge of instructional strategies, including factors related to quality of implementation of the activities, knowledge of the pupils and improvement of the teachers’ efficacy
Spatial thinking in astronomy education research
No full text[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Astronomy Education Research.] Multiple studies show that spatial thinking skills contribute to students’ performance in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines. The study of astronomy is no different with the understanding of many astronomical phenomena requiring spatial thinking skills. This paper describes traditional and contemporary approaches to characterizing and measuring spatial thinking skills and suggests how they inform research in astronomy education. It summarizes previous literature in astronomy education research and categorizes the research approaches of astronomy education peer-reviewed journal articles and conference proceedings that explicitly consider the role of spatial thinking. Additionally, it recommends directions and curricular approaches for astronomy education research informed by current research in spatial thinking