Physics for the star-gazer: pupils' attitudes to astronomy in the Northern Ireland Science Curriculum

Jarman, Ruth; McAleese, Liam

doi:10.1088/0031-9120/31/4/020

Cited by 14 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…Two studies have also investigated the interests of secondary students relating to astronomy. The first involved approximately 3000 15-year olds in Northern Ireland, who completed a Likert-scale interest survey about various subtopics from astronomy, biology, chemistry, and physics, before and after instruction on the "Earth in Space" portion of the National Curriculum [56]. Astronomy subtopics received the highest interest ratings both pre and postinstruction, although the authors did not report significance testing of differences over time or between topics.…”

Section: Domain-specificity: Interest In Astronomymentioning

confidence: 99%

Meeting students halfway: Increasing self-efficacy and promoting knowledge change in astronomy

Bailey

Lombardi

Cordova

et al. 2017

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res.

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Two motivational factors-self-efficacy and interest-may be especially relevant to deepening students' understanding of astronomy. We examined the relationship between students' self-efficacy for, interest in learning about, and changes in their knowledge of stars, as measured by the Star Properties Concept Inventory (SPCI). Approximately 700 undergraduate students taking introductory astronomy responded to surveys at the start and end of their semester-long course. A sequential multiple regression analysis showed that self-efficacy post explains an appreciable percentage of variance in SPCI posttest scores, more than twice the percentage explained by all the pretest variables (SPCI, self-efficacy, and interest) combined. Knowledge and self-efficacy improved significantly over instruction; interest did not. Follow-up analyses revealed that instructors whose classes increased in self-efficacy also had the greatest increases in knowledge scores. Interviews with these instructors suggest they provide their students with more opportunities for mastery experiences with elaborated, performance-related feedback, as well as strong positive verbal persuasion and vicarious experiences through peer instruction. Through increased understanding of the relationship between motivational constructs (e.g., self-efficacy, interest) and knowledge, we can both improve our models and better inform instruction.

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Section: Domain-specificity: Interest In Astronomymentioning

confidence: 99%

Meeting students halfway: Increasing self-efficacy and promoting knowledge change in astronomy

Bailey

Lombardi

Cordova

et al. 2017

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res.

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“…Although guidelines on evaluating attitude and behaviour change related to informal science programmes are available in the literature, 22 they are fairly broad and will need to be adapted and developed in more depth for specific astronomy-related projects.…”

Section: Challenges In Evaluating Astronomy Outreach Programmesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Monitoring and evaluating astronomy outreach programmes: Challenges and solutions

Chapman¹,

Catala²,

Mauduit³

et al. 2015

S. Afr. J. Sci.

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A number of tools exist to guide the monitoring and evaluation of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and outreach programmes. Fewer tools exist for evaluating astronomy outreach programmes. In this paper we try to overcome this limitation by presenting a monitoring and evaluation framework developed for the International Astronomical Union's Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD). The mandate of the OAD is to stimulate sustainable development at an international level and to expand astronomy education and outreach globally. The broad assumptions of this programme are that astronomy has the potential to contribute to human development by means of the transferable nature of its science discoveries, as well as its potential to activate feelings of wonderment, inspiration and awareness of the universe. As a result, the programme potentially embodies a far broader mix of outcomes than conventionally considered in STEM evaluation approaches. Towards this aim, we operationalise our monitoring and evaluation approach by first outlining programme theories for three key OAD programmes: a programme for universities and research, another one for schools, and one for public outreach. We then identify outcomes, indicators and measures for each one of these programmes. We conclude with suggestions for evaluating the global impact of astronomy for development.

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“…Astronomy has always fascinated children and adults with its explorations, discoveries and spectacular images. Although people seem to be naturally motivated in learning about it, they often show difficulties in explaining everyday astronomical phenomena, like lunar phases and seasons, even at very high educational levels [1,2].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

TheSky on Earthproject: a synergy between formal and informal astronomy education

2016

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In this paper we present the Sky on Earth project funded in 2008 by the Italian Ministry of Instruction, Research and University, inside its annual public outreach education program. The project’s goal was to realise a stable and open-access astronomical garden, where children, teachers and citizens could be engaged in investigations about day and night sky phenomena. The project was designed taking into account our prior researches in formal and informal astronomy education. It was realised in the garden of GiocheriaLaboratori, an out-of-school K-6 educational structure of Sesto San Giovanni municipality (near Milan, Italy). Setting and tools were designed with the help of some students of the ‘Altiero Spinelli’ vocational school and their science and technology teachers. Since its installation, the astronomical garden has been used in workshops and open-days, teachers’ preparation courses and research experiences. We might conclude that the Sky on Earth project represents an example of a positive and constructive collaboration between researchers, educators, high school students and teachers. It may also be considered as a potential attempt to face on the well-known gap between research in science education and school practices.

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Physics for the star-gazer: pupils' attitudes to astronomy in the Northern Ireland Science Curriculum

Cited by 14 publications

References 2 publications

Meeting students halfway: Increasing self-efficacy and promoting knowledge change in astronomy

Meeting students halfway: Increasing self-efficacy and promoting knowledge change in astronomy

Monitoring and evaluating astronomy outreach programmes: Challenges and solutions

TheSky on Earthproject: a synergy between formal and informal astronomy education

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