From Geocentrism to Allocentrism: Teaching the Phases of the Moon in a Digital Full-Dome Planetarium

Abstract

An increasing number of planetariums worldwide are turning digital, using ultrafast computers, powerful graphic cards, and high-resolution video projectors to create highly realistic astronomical imagery in real time. This modern technology makes it so that the audience can observe astronomical phenomena from a geocentric as well as an allocentric perspective (the view from space). While the dome creates a sense of immersion, the digital planetarium introduces a new way to teach astronomy, especially for topics that are inherently three-dimensional and where seeing the phenomenon from different points of view is essential. Like a virtual-reality environment, an immersive digital planetarium helps learners create a more scientifically accurate visualization of astronomical phenomena. In this study, a digital planetarium was used to teach the phases of the Moon to children aged 12 to 14. To fully grasp the lunar phases, one must imagine the spherical Moon (as perceived from space), revolving around the Earth while being illuminated by the Sun, and then reconcile this view with the geocentric perspective. Digital planetariums allow learners to have both an allocentric and a geocentric perspective on the lunar phases. Using a Design experiment approach, we tested an educational scenario in which the lunar phases were taught in an allocentric digital planetarium. Based on qualitative data collected before, during, and after the planetarium intervention, we were able to demonstrate that five out of six participants had a better understanding of the lunar phases after the planetarium session.Keywords Astronomy teaching . Digital planetarium . Full-dome . Phases of the Moon . Development research . Design-based research IntroductionThe phases of the Moon is a difficult concept to understand. Primarily, our limited and exclusively geocentric point of view of the Sun-Earth-Moon system (SEM) (Nussbaum 1985;Black 2005), our incorrect perception of the relative sizes and distances of astronomical objects (Miller & Brewer 2010), and our difficulty to mentally shift away from Earth's frame of reference (Gazit et al. 2005), all prevent us from recognizing the intrinsic three-dimensional Res Sci Educ (2016) 46:43-77 DOI 10.1007 P. Chastenay (*) Département de Didactique, Université du Québec à Montréal, CP 8888 Succursale Centre-Ville, Montréal, Québec, Canada H3C 3P8 e-mail: chastenay.pierre@uqam.ca nature of the mechanism behind this phenomenon. These difficulties lead to a Bplethora of different, more or less complicated conceptions^ (Roald & Mikalsen 2001, p. 236) held by students of different ages and cultural backgrounds about the lunar phases (see work by Baxter 1989;Philips 1991;Schoon 1992;Sharp 1995Sharp , 1996Sharp et al. 1999;Stahly et al. 1999;Dunlop 2000;Liu 2005;LoPresto & Murrell 2011; Comins, n.d.). Several teaching strategies that address misconceptions about the lunar phases have been tested in different educational settings, including using concrete SEM models in a traditional planetarium (Pitluga ...

Learning in Earth and space science: a review of conceptual change instructional approaches

“…• A unit of work on six astronomical concepts that spanned several weeks and included learning activities such as internet-based research, observations of the moon, and the use of a three-dimensional computer model (Barnett & Morran, 2002); • An excursion to a planetarium (Chastenay, 2016;Stover & Saunders, 2000);…”

“…As well, recent issues of particularly relevant journals were searched manually throughout the preparation of the review to ensure data collection was thorough, namely the Finally, the reference lists of relevant studies were analyzed to identify any further relevant studies, and so on, until a point of saturation was reached where the first author was certain that no more relevant studies could be obtained from this process. Particular attention was given to three existing literature reviews in this process (Cheek, 2010;Francek, 2013;Lelliott & Rollnick, 2010).…”

“…These alternative conceptions are often incomplete or incorrect and need to be better aligned with accepted scientific concepts through instruction. While there is much evidence in the literature to suggest that students hold alternative conceptions about geological and astronomical phenomena, there appears to be a paucity of intervention studies aimed specifically at correcting these ideas (Cheek, 2010;Francek, 2013;King, 2008;Lelliott & Rollnick, 2010). In response to this claim, and to identify action for the first author's future research, this review of the literature investigates the effectiveness of research-informed conceptual change instructional approaches in this context and the methods employed to evaluate their effectiveness.…”

Immersive Planetarium Visualizations For Teaching Solar System Moon Concepts To Undergraduates

“…Yu (2005) has highlighted the potential benefits of fulldome for astronomy education: revealing three-dimensional (3D) spatial relationships, demonstrating accurate motions and lighting of astronomical bodies, and placing the viewer in multiple frames of reference. Studies in discipline-based astronomy education research has typically shown how fulldome theaters benefit topics that involve understanding of spatial relationships, such as motions of celestial bodies (Plummer, Kocareli, & Slagle, 2014), phases of the Moon (Chastenay, 2015), and Earth's seasons (Yu, Sahami, Sahami, & Sessions, 2015). Yet there are other aspects of the fulldome theater experience that have not been well studied in prior research.…”

The role of the planetarium in students' attitudes, learning, and thinking about astronomical concepts.

“…On the final day of the 4-day planetarium program, students were given a list of 7 planetarium instructional features and asked to rank in order from most important (1) to least important (7), "What about the planetarium has helped you in thinking about or understanding astronomical concepts?" The top seven list was compiled by the researcher, the planetarium director, and were items mentioned in planetarium research as being important aspects of this type of informal science institution (ISI) -immersive environment, dynamic modeling, and scale (Littmann, 2009); immersive environment (Yu, Sahami, Sahami & Sessions, 2015); offering different perspectives (Chastenay, 2015); and motion (dynamic modeling) and scale (Plummer, 2014b(Plummer, , 2014c.…”