Preservice elementary teachers' conceptions of moon phases before and after instruction

Abstract

This study focused on the conceptual understandings held by 78 preservice elementary teachers about moon phases, before and after instruction. Participants in the physics groups received instruction on moon phases in an inquiry‐based physics course; participants in the methods group received no instruction on moon phases. The instructive effect of two different types of preinstruction interviews also was compared. The instruction on moon phases used in the study is from Physics by Inquiry by Lillian McDermott. In the study, the method of inquiry followed a qualitative design, involving classroom observations, document analysis, and structured interviews. Inductive data analysis identified patterns and themes in the participants' conceptual understanding. Results indicate that without the instruction, most preservice teachers were likely to hold alternative conceptions on the cause of moon phases. Participants who had the instruction were much more likely to hold a scientific understanding after instruction. The instruction appears to be more effective in promoting a scientific understanding of moon phases than instruction previously reported in the literature. It also appears that using a three‐dimensional model or making two‐dimensional drawings during the preinstruction interviews does not have instructive value. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 39: 633–658, 2002

Simulating Science: Using a Computer to Facilitate Conceptual Change for Moon Phases

“…The three main instruments related to determining students' conceptual understanding of lunar phases included the Astronomy Diagnostic Test (ADT) developed by Huffnagel (2002), the Lunar Phase Concept Inventory (LPCI) developed by Lindell (2001), and a semi-structured interview protocol developed in Trundle, Atwood, and Christopher (2002) that specifically measures students' conceptual understanding of lunar phases. The ADT is an instrument designed to measure general astronomy knowledge of college students and is not specific to lunar phases.…”

“…It is apparent that college students generally do not hold a scientific view as to the causes of the phases of the moon when they begin an introductory astronomy course (Bell & Trundle, 2006, 2008Bisard, Aron, Francek, & Nelson, 1994;Kuethe, 1963;Lindell, 2003;Lindell & Sommer, 2003;Parker & Heywood, 1998;Schoon, 1992Schoon, , 1995Schoon & Boone, 1998;Trumper, 2000;Trundle et al, 2002Trundle et al, , 2006Trundle et al, , 2007a. The most prevalent alternative conception is that the lunar phases are caused by the Earth's shadow being cast on the moon (Trundle et al, 2002). Also, it is clear from the literature that students do not enter the collegelevel astronomy courses with as much knowledge about lunar phases as one might think (Trundle et al, 2002).…”

“…The most prevalent alternative conception is that the lunar phases are caused by the Earth's shadow being cast on the moon (Trundle et al, 2002). Also, it is clear from the literature that students do not enter the collegelevel astronomy courses with as much knowledge about lunar phases as one might think (Trundle et al, 2002).…”

“…Many of the studies considered non-content factors such as engagement of students (Barnett & Moran, 2002) or the thoughtfulness of student reflections (Abell et al, 2002). However Bell and Trundle (2006, 2008, Trundle et al (2002Trundle et al ( , 2006Trundle et al ( , 2007a, and Trundle and Bell (2010) have shown that inquiry-based, conceptual change instruction that addresses the student's alternative conceptions can be an effective approach to teaching lunar phase concepts. Keys and Bryan (2001) describe inquiry-based, conceptual change science instruction as including: students posing questions, designing and carrying out investigations, analyzing their own data, developing a model to interpret their data, and lastly communicating their findings.…”

“…The time required for observations has ranged from a high end of nine weeks (Trundle et al, 2002) in order to cover two full lunar cycles, to a low end of sixteen days that ranged from two days before full moon to one day before new moon. showed that the use of Starry Night© could result in very favorable conceptual gains with only using the sixteen days of observations.…”