Investigating Student Ideas About Cosmology III: Big Bang Theory, Expansion, Age, and History of the Universe

Trouille, Laura; Coble, K.; Cochran, Geraldine L.; Bailey, Janelle M.; Camarillo, Carmen T.; Nickerson, M.; Cominsky, L.

doi:10.3847/aer2013016

Cited by 20 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…The results of this study are also related to the findings from Trouille et al [17] on the expansion of the Universe and Coble et al [16] on dark energy. As reported in those papers, in preinstruction interviews in which students were asked how the Universe has changed over time, two out of three students discussed the expansion.…”

Section: Code Examplessupporting

confidence: 62%

“…Responses of we don't know were coded as incomplete, while those that supplemented we don't know with another thematic code were coded as either incomplete or partial. This differs from how we don't know responses were treated in Coble et al [15,16] and Trouille et al [17], because we don't know is a more reasonable response given the current understanding of dark energy among astronomers. We don't know responses differ from we'll never know responses, which were coded as wrong.…”

Section: B Astro 101 Preinstruction Results: Correctnesscontrasting

confidence: 43%

“…This study is one in a series examining the nature and frequency of students' ideas about cosmology using a mixed-methods approach, including both qualitative and quantitative data sources. The approach is similar to that used in our previous work [15][16][17][18] and is described in more detail below. Though previous studies on the Universe's expansion and dark energy probe related ideas, to our knowledge, there have been no studies specifically looking at students' ideas about the long-term fate of the Universe to date.…”

Section: Present Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Coble et al [15] explored students' ideas on astronomical sizes and distances and the hierarchical nature of cosmic structures, while Coble et al [16] explored students' ideas on the composition of the Universe, including dark matter and dark energy. Trouille et al [17] investigated students' ideas on the big bang theory and the age, expansion, and history of the Universe. Bailey et al [18] presented the results of a nationwide, openresponse, preinstruction survey on various cosmological topics, including those discussed in Coble et al [15,16] and Trouille et al [17].…”

Section: Introduction a Background And Motivationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Trouille et al [17] investigated students' ideas on the big bang theory and the age, expansion, and history of the Universe. Bailey et al [18] presented the results of a nationwide, openresponse, preinstruction survey on various cosmological topics, including those discussed in Coble et al [15,16] and Trouille et al [17]. A future analysis will explore students' ideas about the curvature of the Universe [19].…”

Section: Introduction a Background And Motivationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Investigating undergraduate students’ ideas about the fate of the Universe

Conlon

Coble

Bailey

et al. 2017

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res.

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As astronomers further develop an understanding of the fate of the Universe, it is essential to study students' ideas on the fate of the Universe so that instructors can communicate the field's current status more effectively. In this study, we examine undergraduate students' preinstruction ideas of the fate of the Universe in ten semester-long introductory astronomy course sections (ASTRO 101) at three institutions. We also examine students' postinstruction ideas about the fate of the Universe in ASTRO 101 over five semester-long course sections at one institution. The data include precourse surveys given during the first week of instruction (N ¼ 264), postinstruction exam questions (N ¼ 59), and interviews. We find that, preinstruction, more than a quarter of ASTRO 101 students either do not respond or respond with "I don't know" when asked what the long-term fate of the Universe is. We also find that, though the term was not necessarily used, students tend to describe a "big chill" scenario in the preinstruction surveys, among a wide variety of other scenarios. A fraction of students describe the fate of smaller-scale systems, possibly due to confusion of the hierarchical nature of structure in the Universe. Preinstruction, students mention the Universe's expansion when describing how astronomers know the fate of the Universe but do not discuss how we know the Universe is expanding or the relationship between expansion and the fate of the Universe. Postinstruction, students' responses shift toward greater degrees of completeness and correctness.

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Section: Code Examplessupporting

confidence: 62%

Section: B Astro 101 Preinstruction Results: Correctnesscontrasting

confidence: 43%

Section: Present Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introduction a Background And Motivationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introduction a Background And Motivationmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Investigating undergraduate students’ ideas about the fate of the Universe

Conlon

Coble

Bailey

et al. 2017

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res.

Self Cite

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Students from non‐dominant linguistic backgrounds making sense of cosmology visualizations

Bracey

Zoë²

2016

J Res Sci Teach

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This article presents the results of exploratory research with community college students from non-dominant linguistic backgrounds (NDLB) in an introductory astronomy class as they collaborated to reconstruct dynamic cosmology visualizations through drawing. Data included student discourse during the drawing activity, post-activity interviews, and the drawings themselves. This work comes from the theoretical perspective that revealing student competence should be an essential part of science education research, and is guided by sociocultural theory. Results indicate that dynamic cosmology visualizations can support the development of cosmological literacy by facilitating heterogeneous sense-making strategies. The activity of drawing the visualizations in groups created fluid, hybrid spaces where students could grapple directly with cosmology content while trying on the language of science. In light of these findings, the author argues that carefully incorporating collaborative activity around the interpretation of visualizations into learning environments can improve access to cosmology content for learners, particularly those who come from non-dominant linguistic backgrounds. # 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach Keywords: science education; language and literacy; language of science and classrooms; equity; science literacy Learners from non-dominant linguistic backgrounds (NDLB) 1 are quickly becoming one of the largest non-mainstream demographics in the educational landscape. (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2011), yet these linguistically diverse learners remain underrepresented in STEM post-secondary education (Stoddart, Pinal, Latzke, & Canaday, 2002). This pattern of inequity can be attributed to a history of compounding educational, economic and social deficits (Ladson-Billings, 2006), including inequitable access to educational opportunities throughout K-15, (Eun, 2016;Mosqueda, 2011) where NDLB students persistently and disproportionally lack access to rigorous content in science (Buxton, 1998;Callahan, 2005;Genesee, Lindholm-Leary, Saunders, & Christian, 2005;Lee, 1999). In response to such inequities, researchers have called for the development of educational tools that are more accessible to a broader range of ways of knowing and doing science (Barton, 1998;Bouillion & Gomez, 2001).Cosmology is the study of the Universe, in particular its structure, organization and dynamics. According to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), "finding our place in the cosmic scheme of things and how we got here is a task for the ages À past, present, and future. . . If being educated means having an informed sense of time and place, then it is essential for a person to be familiar with the scientific aspects of the [U]niverse and know something of its origin and structure" (AAAS Project 2061, 1993. Although there is a solid body of research on NDLB students in the science classroom (e.g., Echevarria, Vogt & Short, 2004;Lee & Fradd, 1998;Stoddart, Solis, ...

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Conceptualising the Cosmos: Development and Validation of the Cosmology Concept Inventory for High School

Salimpour

Tytler

Doig

et al. 2022

Int J of Sci and Math Educ

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Cosmology concepts encompass complex spatial and temporal relations that are counterintuitive. Cosmology findings, because of their intrinsic interest, are often reported in the public domain with enthusiasm, and students come to cosmology with a range of conceptions some aligned and some at variance with the current science. This makes cosmology concepts challenging to teach, and also challenging to evaluate students’ conceptual understanding. This study builds on previous research of the authors investigating the methodological challenges for characterising students’ cosmology conceptions and the reasoning underlying these. Insights from student responses in two iterations of an open-ended instrument were used to develop a concept inventory that combined cosmological conceptions with reasoning levels based on the SOLO taxonomy. This paper reports on the development and validation of the Cosmology Concept Inventory (CosmoCI) for high school. CosmoCI is a 28-item multiple-choice instrument that was implemented with grade 10 and 11 school students (n = 234) in Australia and Sweden. Using Rasch analysis in the form of a partial credit model (PCM), the paper describes a validated progression in student reasoning in cosmology across four conceptual dimensions, supporting the utility of CosmoCI as an assessment tool which can also instigate rich discussions in the science classroom.

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Investigating Student Ideas About Cosmology III: Big Bang Theory, Expansion, Age, and History of the Universe

Cited by 20 publications

References 51 publications

Investigating undergraduate students’ ideas about the fate of the Universe

Investigating undergraduate students’ ideas about the fate of the Universe

Students from non‐dominant linguistic backgrounds making sense of cosmology visualizations

Conceptualising the Cosmos: Development and Validation of the Cosmology Concept Inventory for High School

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