Learning to Explain Astronomy Across Moving Frames of Reference: Exploring the role of classroom and planetarium-based instructional contexts

Plummer, Julia D.; Kocareli, Alicia; Slagle, Cynthia

doi:10.1080/09500693.2013.843211

Cited by 40 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Successfully and accurately integrating these observational concepts within an explanatory model would seem to require a scientific‐level understanding of the Earth's daily rotational motion combined with an ability to shift frames‐of‐reference to understand what we experience from the Earth's surface. This may be important to consider as prior research has shown that many children and adults do not use the Earth's rotation to explain the Sun's apparent rising and setting motion (Plummer, Zahm, & Rice, , ). On the assessment, students were asked to first indicate how the Sun's location and the location of a shadow would change from morning to afternoon and then to write an explanation.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, this did not fully explore how the rotation causes the Sun's apparent path across the sky. Recent research suggests that children can successfully learn to explain the Sun's daily motion by first learning to mimic the Sun's apparent motion with gestures and then connect the Earth's rotation to the Sun's apparent motion kinesthetically and with physical models (Plummer et al, 2011, 2014). Our findings lead us to recommend that it may be important to engage students in more explicit instruction connecting the Sun's daily apparent motion to the Earth's rotation prior to using the tilt‐model to explain seasonal changes in the Sun's path, as the students' limited ability with explaining the Sun's daily motion may have limited them from achieving the more sophisticated explanation for the seasons.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, rather than claim that this is the definitive description of a construct map for the seasons, we have provided a stepping‐off point for further in‐depth analysis of the role of instruction in students learning to explain the seasons as well as contributing to our larger celestial motion LP. Like the seasons, progress up other construct maps, such as for diurnal motion and lunar phases, is also a process of moving from an Earth‐based perspective towards more sophisticated spatial reasoning that uses frames‐of‐reference explanations and accounts for movement on different time scales (Plummer, 2012, 2014; Plummer et al, 2011, 2014). This approach is similar to Briggs and Alonzo's () “Earth in the Solar System” LP.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…More complex scientific reasoning about the seasons may also be hindered by students' limited understanding of how the Earth's rotation relates to the change in the Sun's path. Plummer and colleagues found that elementary students are likely to use the Sun's own motion to explain our observations of its rising and setting, even when they are aware of the Earth's rotation (Plummer, Kocareli, & Slagle, ; Plummer, Wasko, & Slagle, ).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Building a learning progression for celestial motion: An exploration of students' reasoning about the seasons

Plummer

Maynard

2014

J Res Sci Teach

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We present the development of a construct map addressing the reason for the seasons, as a subset of a larger learning progression on celestial motion. Five classes of 8th grade students (N = 38) participated in a 10‐day curriculum on the seasons. We revised a hypothetical seasons construct map using a Rasch model analysis of students' pre/post‐assessments followed by a closer examination of individual student explanations. Our proposed construct map is consistent with the Framework for K‐12 Science Education [National Research Council. (2012). Framework for K‐12 Science Education. Washington, DC: National Academy Press] but includes a more nuanced discussion of critical conceptual and spatial connections. Movement up the construct map begins with learning foundational concepts about the Earth's motion in space and how observational patterns of the Sun relate to temperature changes. Movement into the upper levels of the seasons construct map occurs as instruction supports students in making sense of how the space‐based perspective of their location on a spherical Earth can be used to account for observable patterns of change. However, our findings suggest that making this connection between Earth‐based observations of the Sun and the motions and perspectives of the Earth in space is one of the major challenges that limit student progress in this domain. Findings have implications for instruction designed to support astronomy education as described by the Next Generation Science Standards [NGSS Lead States. (2013) Next Generation Science Standards: For the States, By the States. Achieve, Inc. on behalf of the twenty‐six states and partners that collaborated on the NGSS. Retrieved from: http://www.nextgenscience.org/next-generation-science-standards]. Instruction that supports progress along this construct map, and the larger celestial motion learning progression, must purposefully support the spatially complex connection between the Earth's motion in space and phenomena observed from the Earth's surface. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 51:902–929, 2014.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Building a learning progression for celestial motion: An exploration of students' reasoning about the seasons

Plummer

Maynard

2014

J Res Sci Teach

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“…2. The studies carried out reveal that education given in planetariums and observatories are more effective in learning basic astronomy concepts than traditional teaching methods practised in class settings [79,80]. Thus, trips can be organized to different planetariums in our country (Amasya, Bursa, Samsun, Konya, Gaziantep, Mersin and etc;) to increase student motivation and to have them gain learning outcomes with the units containing space and astronomy.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Time Management Problem in Science Course in Secondary School 5<sup>th</sup> - 8<sup>th</sup> Grades in Turkey: Units Emphasized Less and the Reasons

Bozdoğan¹

2016

ujer

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This study is carried out to reveal which units teachers who encounter problems about falling behind the science course curriculum in secondary school in the 5 th grade through the 8 th grade prefer to focus on less and the reasons for their preferences. Survey model was used in the research study. Total 302 science teachers from 28 different cities in Turkey participated in the study carried out in 2015-2016 academic year. The research data were gathered via questionnaire form developed by the researcher. The results of the study revealed that nearly two-thirds of the science teachers spent less time teaching the units related to the "Earth and Universe" subject area to catch up on the curriculum in case of holidays, meetings, and exams held apart from the planned schedule. The units including ecology subjects within the subject area of Living Things and Life follow it. When the units are examined considering the grades, "Natural Processes" unit, the last unit of the 8 th grade, ranked first. The reasons why science teachers put less emphasis on these units is the place/order of the units in curriculum, timetable of the centralized exam held in the country and timetable of the last written exams in schools, distribution of questions in the centralized exam, the number of gains from the unit and content, and the students' pace in understanding the subject.

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Preservice Teachers Developing Coherent Inquiry Investigations in Elementary Astronomy

Plummer

Ozcelik

2015

Sci. Ed.

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For students to attain deep understanding of scientific practices, they will need to have opportunities to participate in sustained engagement in doing science. Such opportunities begin with elementary teachers implementing coherent and well-sequenced inquiry-based investigations in their classrooms. This study explored how preservice teachers (N = 30) planned inquiry-based investigations for elementary students. The preservice teachers spent the first 5 weeks of their methods course participating in astronomy investigations and then pair-taught astronomy investigations once a week for 5 weeks to elementary students in afterschool programs. We analyzed lesson plans, teaching reflections, and pre/post astronomy content assessments. One-third of the pairs developed coherent science inquiry investigations across all of their lessons. Their reflections suggest that preservice teachers who developed coherent inquiry investigations held normative ideas about scientific inquiry and were more likely to reflect on sense-making practices than preservice teachers who did not plan for coherent science inquiry investigations in their lessons. Preservice teachers' postinstruction astronomy content knowledge was positively correlated with an increased number of lessons spent on coherent science inquiry investigations. Based on our findings, we recommend engaging preservice teachers in coherent science inquiry investigations in a single domain followed by opportunities to plan and teach elementary children in that domain. C 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed 99:932-957, 2015

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Learning to Explain Astronomy Across Moving Frames of Reference: Exploring the role of classroom and planetarium-based instructional contexts

Cited by 40 publications

References 44 publications

Building a learning progression for celestial motion: An exploration of students' reasoning about the seasons

Building a learning progression for celestial motion: An exploration of students' reasoning about the seasons

Time Management Problem in Science Course in Secondary School 5<sup>th</sup> - 8<sup>th</sup> Grades in Turkey: Units Emphasized Less and the Reasons

Preservice Teachers Developing Coherent Inquiry Investigations in Elementary Astronomy

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