astronomy in nrce
TRANSCRIPT
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Astronomy in the National Science Education Standards
Manuscript published in
Journal of Geoscience Education
vol. 48(1), pp. 39-45 (2000)
Jeffrey Paul Adams
Timothy Frederick Slater
Montana State University
Department of Physics
Bozeman, MT 59717
Tel. 406 994 7835 (JA)
Tel. 406 994 1693 (TS)
Fax. 406 994 4452
Email: adams @physics.montana.edu
Email: [email protected]
About the Authors: Jeff Adams and Tim Slater team-teach Introductory Astronomy
at Montana State University. They have just finished their first text-book that
includes innovative small learning group activities for the large lecture course
titled, Mysteries of the Sky: Activities for Collaborative Learning Groups,
through Kendall Hunt Publishing.
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Astronomy in the National Science Education Standards
ABSTRACT
The NRC National Science Education Standards provide a framework to design curriculum for K-12
astronomy education. At grades K-4, students should be learning about the objects and motions in the
sky from a geocentric perspective. At grades 5-8, students should be learning about the motions of the
solar system from a heliocentric perspective. At grades 9-12, students should be learning about stellar
evolution and the structure of the Universe. In support of instruction, an extensive review of the
literature demonstrates that existing research on student learning addresses only a small subset of the
astronomy objectives prescribed by the NSES and does not address age-appropriate conceptual
development. A need exists to develop and rigorously assess a collection of age-appropriate
assessment instruments based on research into student understanding of fundamental astronomical
concepts. These instruments would serve to clearly define the expected cognitive levels of the specific
NSES objectives and provide a means of assessing curricular materials that claim to be aligned with the
NSES. Because of the complex nature of these concepts, the scientific community must be active
participants in this process.
INTRODUCTION
The 1996 National Science Education Standards (NSES) proposed by the National Research
Council aggressively outline the rules for effective classroom instruction, age-appropriate guidelines for
curriculum materials development, authentic assessment procedures, and professional development
programs for teachers (NRC, 1996). In addition to the emphasis on describing science through unifying
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concepts and processes, the NSES provide specific learning objectives. In terms of K-12 astronomy, a
careful overview of the NSES suggests eleven major astronomy objectives (see Table 1). These
objectives include describing the objects and motions of the sky (grades K-4), the characteristics of
gravity and the solar system (grades 5-8), and the origin and evolution of stars, galaxies, and the
Universe (grades 9-12). These objectives are found in both the earth/space science content strand and
the themes of unifying concepts and processes. However, the recognition of astronomy as an important
part of reformed science education is only the first step toward improving the quality and quantity of
astronomy education in K-12 classrooms.
Now that the NSES have clearly articulated the content standards, the next challenge is to
develop age-appropriate assessment instruments that both define the cognitive level of the standards and
critically assess astronomy education materials and professional programs that claim to be aligned with
the NSES. Carefully constructed assessment instruments are necessary to define what it means for
students to know a stated objective at different levels. A knowledge-level assessment would require,
for instance, that students state: Sky objects have properties, locations, and movements that can be
observed and described. This would indicate nothing but an ability to memorize. A synthesis-level
assessment might ask students to describe the motions of objects in the sky as viewed from Mars.
Experience in the physics education community has demonstrated that how we choose to assess student
learning helps to define the objective itself. Such assessment must necessarily be derived from an
ongoing educational research effort at understanding the common preconceptions held by students and
the age-readiness of students to understand important ideas at various cognitive levels. These
assessment instruments will fundamentally influence Standards-based curriculum development.
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Recently, several nationally recognized projects have begun materials development under the
banner of national-standards-based astronomy education. Rigorous work in physics education has
demonstrated that instructional interventions can be effectively created only by using sound educational
research as a guide for curriculum development (Shaffer & McDermott, 1992b). As a result, there is a
timely need for a rubric for determining the degree of alignment of such materials with the NSES and
their effectiveness in achieving desired learning outcomes (as defined by the assessment). The same
applies to federally funded teacher-enhancement programs in astronomy education.
This article provides: a summary of the NSES astronomy objectives; a review of the astronomy
education literature, focusing specifically on preconceptions, misconceptions, nave conceptions, and
alternative frameworks in K-12 astronomy; a discussion the impact of assessment procedures; and a
call for a focused research agenda for astronomy educators. This article thus provides perspective and
guidance for teachers of astronomy, curriculum developers, and science education researchers.
NSES Astronomy Objectives
A careful review of the NSES content strands reveals numerous places where astronomy and
space science concepts are either explicitly or implicitly described as an important part of a students
science education. Explicitly, in the earth and space sciences content strand, the K-12 astronomy
objectives can be grossly organized into eleven age-appropriate conceptual objectives, which are
shown in Table 1. A discussion of the equally important unifying concepts and processes in science,
science as inquiry, relationships to life and physical science, science and technology, nature of scientific
knowledge, and the social perspective of science is beyond the scope of this manuscript.
Grades K-4 Objectives. From the perspective of age-appropriate instruction, geometrical and
abstract astronomy in the early grades is indeed problematic. The NSES suggest that the goals of
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astronomy education at the K-4 level should focus on describing the properties, locations, and motions
of sky objects from a geocentric perspective. These sky objects include the Sun, Moon, stars, clouds,
birds, and airplanes. Some parents might believe that a child who can recite 101 fun facts about the
planets is impressive, but the NSES focus on the underlying processes and themes of science instead of
facts. This is not to imply that memorized factual knowledge is not importantplanet names can be,
and should be, learned in the same way as the names of farm animals, the multiplication tables, and the
months of the year. However, knowing the names and the order of the planets at the knowledge level is
only the first step in an astronomical knowledge base and therefore must not form the core of the
learning objectives. Instead, as has been done with NSES, the objectives should be framed so students
can be expected to fully participate in the process of science at an age-appropriate level. For example,
at the K-4 level, it is appropriate for students to observe and chart the changing phases of the Moon.
To memorize the phase cycle would disengage students from the scientific process and be wholly
inappropriate; it would be equally inappropriate though for K-4 students to be expected to create
mental models of the abstract geometry of the Sun-Earth-Moon system. Likewise, seasons should be
studied from a geocentric perspective with an emphasis on student observations. For instance, K-4
students should understand that winter results from the Sun being low in the sky as opposed to a tilted-
Earth explanation.
Grades 5-8 Objectives. In the culture of US education, the last formal astronomy for the vast
majority of students is in grades 8 or 9 in the context of an earth-science curriculum. It is at this level
that the NSES expect students to describe the solar system from a heliocentric (Sun-centered)
perspective. As shown in Table 1, students should be using the heliocentric motion of the solar system
to explain the phenomena of day/night, seasons, eclipses, and lunar phases. At this stage, students
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should be comparing and contrasting the solar system objects in terms of terrestrial/non-terrestrial,
satellite systems, rotation/revolution, size/mass, and additional characteristics that students find
important.
The NSES suggest that the concept of gravity should be introduced at the 5-8 level. Students
should have an accurate model of a spherical Earth where gravity holds people to Earths surface and
explains tides. Through a heliocentric study of solar-system motions, students should understand that
gravity causes the planets to orbit in nearly circular orbits as described by Keplers Laws. This
conceptual foundation of gravity is revisited in secondary level objectives when describing the
characteristics of galaxies and star clusters
Grades 9-12 Objectives. The four secondary-level astronomy objectives focus on the
observation, origin, evolution, and characteristics of the Universe beyond the solar system. Possibly
even controversial in some schools, the NSES call for students to understand current scientific
explanations of the origin and evolution of the Earth (multiple atmospheres), the Solar System (nebular
hypothesis), the elements (nucleosynthesis), and the Universe (the Big Bang). Comprehension of the
observational and theoretical evidence for exotic objects such as neutron stars and black holes is indeed
abstract; yet, these are the same topics that provide cover stories for popular newsmagazines. In many
ways, todays students are more familiar with these news stories than basic naked-eye astronomy.
Interestingly, except for portions of eight and ninth grade earth-science and the very small
percentage of students taking high school physics or, even rarer, astronomy, in grades 11 or 12, there
currently appears to be little astronomy taught in US schools at the secondary level. The NSES provide
a needed impetus for increasing the amount of astronomy included in the secondary curriculum.
The Importance of Assessment
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A highly pertinent example of how an assessment instrument can redefine what it means to
know the meaning of a concept is found in the closely related field of physics education, where a
single test known as the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) has catalyzed a complete rethinking of what it
means for students to know Newtons Laws of Motion (Hestenes, Wells, and Swackhammer, 1992).
The great attention afforded this 29-item (30 items in the revised version) multiple-choice test derives
from four factors: (1) there is widespread agreement within the community as to the importance of the
content being assessed; (2) the test items are deceptively simple leading most instructors to greatly
overestimate the likely success rate of their students; (3) the results are highly consistent across a large
constituency ranging from high school classes to courses for physics majors at large research institutions;
and (4) student responses are highly resistant to traditional instruction. Although investigators within the
growing community of physics educators were well aware that correct solutions to traditional problems
often masked deep-seated misconceptions (Arons, 1983; Arons, 1984; Caramaza, McCloskey &
Green, 1981; Clement, 1982; Goldberg & McDermott, 1986; Hallound & Hestenes, 1985;
McDermott, 1984; Trowbridge & McDermott, 1980), the FCI brought this startling fact to the attention
of a much wider audience of physics educators (Mazur, 1997). This has resulted in a number of
important curriculum reform efforts whose success has been, at least in part, demonstrated through
much improved FCI gain scores, when compared to traditional instruction (Hake, 1996). What is
important is that a carefully constructed, highly validated assessment instrument based on sound
research into student understanding has provided guidance in defining the level of understanding that
should be encouraged through appropriate instruction. Although there has been some enlightening work
done concerning misconceptions in astronomy (see below), there are many gaps in the current research
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base that must be closed before age-appropriate assessment instruments can be fully developed to
define the NSES astronomy objectives and assess programs purporting to address them.
Review of the Literature
Given the popularity of astronomy, it is somewhat surprising to find the amount of research in
astronomy education to be limited compared to the quickly growing volume of conceptual research in
physics education. What does exist though is highly provocative and demonstrates the need for
additional research. This review is organized in terms of the NSES astronomy objectives summarized in
Table 1.
Objects and Changes in the Ear th and Sky. To date, most of the educational research into
student astronomy misconceptions concerning sky objects and motions has been based on a heliocentric
perspective. As described in the next section, enormous attention has historically been paid to
explanations and models for lunar phases and the seasons. The most often noted study of astronomy
misconceptions was conducted in the1980s by Sadler (1992). Often referred to as the Project
STAR study, in reference to the NSF Instructional Materials Development project initiated following
the study, Sadler found an overwhelming number of high school students could not correctly answer
simple multiple-choice questions regarding the predictable motions of the day and night sky.
Schneps interviewed 23 adults standing in line at a Harvard commencement ceremony in a
project that is known as the Private Universe video (Schneps, 1987). He found that only two of
twenty-three adults could adequately explain why it is hotter in the summer than in the winter; the most
cited reason was the Earths distance from the Sun. It seems that this conception is universal. Atwood
found that of 49 elementary-education majors, 38 could not adequately explain the causes of the
seasons in a written narrative (Atwood & Atwood, 1996). Of the 49 students, 18 cited distance to the
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Sun as being important, 10 described the Earths northern hemisphere being closer due to tilt, and the
remaining describing a variety of reasons such as Earths spin or the jet stream. Atwoods study went
on to show that 42 of the 49 could not verbally explain the causes of the seasons using models either.
Several reports in the literature confirm Sadlers results on inaccurate conceptions from a
heliocentric perspective (Philips, 1991). However, there is little work describing student conceptions of
the geocentric sky. Sadlers survey-study reported both that students often think the Moons phases
are caused by clouds and that students do not understand the nightly motions of the stars. Working
independently, Reed (1972) and Chamblis (1990) found that students working with celestial spheres or
in planetarium environments could substantially improve their geocentric understanding of the sky.
Rollins and others found that only 79% of Texas high school students could adequately answer
questions about concepts of day and night (Rollins, Denton, & Janke, 1983; Frayer, Schween-Ghatala
& Klausmeier (1972).
Ear th i n the Solar System. According to the NSES, students in the upper elementary grades
should be changing from viewing the Universe in a geocentric perspective to a heliocentric perspective.
Sadlers study, although very well known, was not the first study of its kind. In 1976, Nussbaum and
Novak (1976) developed a research design to investigate the progression of student notions of the
Earth. It appears that student conceptions of gravity are closely tied to a conception of a spherical Earth
(Vosniadou & Brewer, 1989). Treagust and Smith (1989) interviewed twenty-four grade-10 students
and, from their interviews, developed a questionnaire administered to 113 students. They found that
students think gravity is affected by temperature, gravity is selective about what and when it affects, and
gravity is stronger at great distances in order to pull things back. They also found that students believe
that planets with slow or no rotation have little or no gravity as do planets that are far from the Sun. The
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facts were confirmed by Osborne and Gilbert (1980)Philips (1991) reports that students think that
gravity needs air to exist. Additional studies demonstrated that these conceptions are consistent across
a variety of cultural and educational backgrounds (Nussbaum, 1979; Mali & Howe, 1979; Sneider &
Pulos, 1983; Baxter, 1989).
Lunar phases are traditionally difficult for many students to understand. On the basis of studies
of 76 elementary-education majors, Callison and Wright (1993) reported that students who use physical
models to explain the Sun-Earth-Moon system had significant categorical shifts from pretest to posttest
but that students who were taught to only use mental models did not improve significantly. Interestingly,
no significant correlation between spatial ability and model development was found. As part of a larger
study, Baxter found that students often think Moon phases are caused by Earth shadows (Baxter,
1989). This idea was confirmed in independent studies by Skam (1994) and Dai (1991).
There have been few studies regarding student conceptions of the solar system. It is generally
accepted that students, and adults, often have difficulty grasping the size and layout of the solar system.
As part of a larger study, Slater (1993) reported that some students think that there are hundreds of
stars in the solar system, that our Sun will become a black hole, that the asteroid belt is densely
populated, that the space shuttle goes to the moon each week, and that comets and meteors look the
same in the sky. Vosniadou (1992) argues convincingly that students can easily accept that our Sun is
hot but not that our Sun is a star because the Sun as a star concept is too far removed from direct
experience. In fact, she reports that most students think that, of the two most prominent objects in the
sky, the Earths Moon is more like a star than the Sun is.
The Ori gin and Evolut ion of the Ear th and Uni verse. There is an apparent lack of
educational research in student conceptions or beliefs regarding these objectives. Roettger (1998)
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recently reported that there are some significant differences between novice and expert views of the
Universe. She found that about 80% of experts she interviewed described the Universe by starting with
galaxies and clusters of galaxies and reducing down to the Solar System and Earth with strong emphasis
on the vast emptiness of the Universe. Students, in contrast, do not appear to have a consistent
conception of the Universe and, when asked to describe the Universe, often seem to be at a loss for
words. Philips (1991) reports that adults think that the Universe contains only the planets in our Solar
System and that the Universe is static. Students believe the planets and Sun formed directly from the
Big Bang. Lightman and Sadler (1993) report that only 25% of high school students can adequately
read an HR diagram following instruction.
A Proposed Research Agenda
To date, the majority of the current research base is aimed at the heliocentric astronomy
objectives, which appear in the NSES at the middle-school level. There is little research reported on
the NSES astronomy objectives targeted at either the K-4 or 9-12 grades and, what research has been
done, does not generally address the age-appropriate nature of the concepts. The NSES call for a
geocentric perspective of describing the objects and motions in the sky at the early grades, yet there is
almost no work reported in this area.
A large contingent of the physics education research community have successfully adopted a
reductionist approach to assessment and curriculum development (Trowbridge & McDermott, 1980;
Trowbridge & McDermott, 1981; Lawson & McDermott, 1987; Goldberg & McDermott, 1987;
McDermott, Rosenquist & van Zee, 1987). Their approach has been to select particular concept
areas, develop interview protocols to understand the range of student conceptions, and then create
short instructional interventions, or tutorials, to directly help students replace poor conceptions with
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more advanced ideas (Shaffer & McDermott, 1987a). In respect to this proven approach in physics
education, the astronomy education community needs to consider using such an approach to each of the
NSES astronomy objectives.
The first step would be to develop an in-depth understanding of student conceptions at the
various grade levels. At least initially, interviews likely need to be conducted using a widely accepted,
systematic interview protocol. Only after such work is completed, will it be possible to create research-
informed learning experiences, materials, and programs to effectively address particular student
misconceptions. Only then will it be feasible to develop a series of widely accepted, summative
assessment measures through which to view both NSES-aligned materials and student performance in
astronomyan ambitious task certainly requiring several years of dedicated work by many individuals
to complete. The most difficult aspect is that studies on the age-appropriate nature of concepts must be
conducted with K-12 students in the corresponding age groups.
As summarized in Table 1, the first task for the lower grades is to evaluate student geocentric
conceptions of the day and night sky. Because of an increasing distance between youth and the
environment, the results of such a study are likely to be very different than studies would have found
thirty years ago. As teachers note that it is very difficult to get students to return to school activities in
the evening or complete individual homework assignments, developing appropriate learning experiences
beyond a single visit to a planetarium is indeed a formidable challenge.
For the upper grades, almost no work has been done on student concepts of the origin,
characteristics, and evolution of the solar system, stars, or the Universe. This research focus will have
to start from a very small knowledge base. The particular challenge for the upper grades is to identify
the higher-order thinking that is expected because, given the remote nature the systems under study, this
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is the area where it would in fact be easiest for teachers to revert to an emphasis on lower knowledge-
level objectives.
Discussion
The most severe limitation of the current research base is that the studies described here do not
correlate well with the learning objectives stated in the NSES nor do they correlate well with the age-
appropriate nature of the objectives. Furthermore, a majority of the literature reviewed for this
manuscript focuses on heliocentric descriptions of seasons and lunar phases. There have been few
studies of student misconceptions reported on the bulk of the astronomy learning objectives as viewed
through the filter of the NSES. There is however, some promising work in student assessment strategies
currently underway (Zeilik et. al, 1997; Sadler, 1997).
The astronomy education community needs to consider using such an approach to EACH of the
NSES astronomy objectives to develop: (1) an understanding of student conceptions; (2) appropriate
learning experiences; and most importantly, (3) a series of assessment measures through which to view
both NSES aligned materials and student performance in astronomy.
In very general terms, there are four principle stages for science-education-improvement plans:
(1) setting high standards and clear expectations for students; (2) measuring student achievement,
attitudes, and an opportunity to learn using several different indicators; (3) reporting and synthesizing
progress information that is used to determine the extent to which student and school expectations are
being met; and (4) revising and improving pedagogy, materials, and strategies to meet community
expectations and student needs. As the NSES have clearly stated the astronomy standards for our
nations youth, the next logical step is to develop a strategy for measuring the effectiveness of
instructional materials and teacher-enhancement programs that purport to be aligned with the NSES.
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However, this step can not be completed until needed educational research has fully considered the
conceptual nuances of each objective listed in Table 1.
Recently, Morrow (1998) has advanced the PAPERS evaluation rubric as an appropriate
assessment rubric for astronomy education programs. In this checklist scheme: "P" - Pedagogy is
aligned with NSES; "A" - Accuracy is confirmed by participating scientists; "P" - Practicality for use in
the classroom is confirmed by teacher field-testing; "E" - Excitement is evident in students who use the
materials; "R" - Relevant materials are presented in the larger context of science; and "S" - Standards
are achieved by actually measuring an increase in NSES content knowledge of participating students or
teachers. It is this last item, the NSES-based content knowledge, that needs tools and strategies
resulting from rigorous educational research. This need should be, and can be, met with a concerted
effort within the astronomy-education research community. At such time, likely three to five years
hence, it will be possible to develop and implement a fully compliant and widely accepted summative
evaluation protocol for standards-based astronomy education.
The goal of this ambitious research agenda is to develop strategies for evaluating astronomy
education materials and programs for students and teachers under the umbrella of the NSES. It is still
unclear what form such instruments will take; however, it will certainly be a robust combination of an
alignment checklist, qualitative evidence of an opportunity to learn age-appropriate topics, authentic
assessment samples, and several quantitative instruments that directly measures student achievement at
different conceptual levels. However, it is critical that the development of valid assessment rubrics be
founded on a strong research base.
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Treagust, D.F. and Smith, C.L., 1989, Secondary students understanding of gravity and the motions of
planets: School Science and Mathematics, v. 89, no. 5, p. 380-391.
Trowbridge, D.E. and McDermott, L.C., 1980, Investigation of student understanding of the concept of
velocity in one dimension: Am. J. Phys., v. 48, p. 1020-1028.
Trowbridge, D.E. and McDermott, L.C., 1981, Investigation of student understanding of the concept of
acceleration in one dimension: Am. J. Phys., v. 49, p. 242-253.
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Vosniadou, S., 1992, Designing curricula for conceptual restructuring: lessons from the study of
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987-996.
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Table 1: NRC-NSES Astronomy Objectives and Corresponding Literature Review
Objective Research to Date
1. Sky objects have properties, locations, and movements that can be
observed and described. [K-4, p. 134]
Sadler (1990) demonstrated prolific sky motion misconceptions among
both students and adults. Philips (1991) reports that students think
planets cannot be seen without a telescope or do not move.
2.The sun provides the light and heat necessary to maintain the
temperature of the earth. [K-4, p. 134]
Rollins, Denton & Janke (1983) found only 59% of high school seniors
related Suns energy to higher order concepts and principles as major
source of energy powering Earths phenomena.3. Objects in the sky have patterns of movement. The sun, for example,
appears to move across the sky in the same way every day, but its path
changes slowly over the seasons. The moon moves across the sky on a
daily basis much like the sun. The observable shape of the moon changes
from day to day in a cycle that lasts about a month. [K-4, p. 134]
Schneps 1987 Private Universe video informed scientific
community that even college educated adults and students have
embraced misconceptions for cause of seasons and changing
appearance of Moon that are not always revealed unless in depth
interviews are used. Students think Moon phases are caused by
Earths shadow (Baxter 1989) or clouds (Sadler, 1990) and seasons
due to distance to Sun (Philips, 1991).
4. The earth is the third planet from the sun in a system that includes the
moon, the sun, eight other planets and their moons, and smaller objects,
such as asteroids and comets. The sun, an average star, is the central and
largest body in the solar system. [5-8, p. 160]
Vosniadou (1992) argues that students can easily accept that our Sun
is hot but not that our Sun is a star because the Sun as a star is too far
removed from experience. Students think Earths Moon is more like a
star than our Sun.
5. Most objects in the solar systems are in regular and predictable motion.
those motions explain such phenomena as the day, the year, phases of the
moon, and eclipses. [5-8, p. 160]
Callison & Wright (1993) report that using physical models to
represent solar system motions are more effective than mental
models. Students spatial ability is not apparently related to
knowledge of Earth/Sun/Moon relationships. Vosniadou (1992) found
many different student models for day/night cycle.
6. Gravity is the force that keeps planets in orbit around the sun and
governs the rest of the motion in the solar system. Gravity alone holds us
to the earth's surface and explains the phenomena of the tides. [5-8, p.
161]
Nussbaum & Novak (1976) and Vosniadou & Brewer (1989) found
students misconceptions of gravity are related to student conceptions
of Earths shape. Vosniadou (1992) found all student conceptions of
Earths shape could be categorized into six mental models. Treagust
& Smith (1989) and Osborne & Gilbert (1980) found students believe
planets gravity decrease with slow rotation rates or with increasing
distance from Sun.
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7. The sun is the major source of energy for phenomena on the earth's
surface, such as growth of plants, winds, ocean currents, and the water
cycle. Seasons result from variations in the amount of Sun's energy
hitting the surface, due to the tilt of the earth's rotation on its axis and the
length of the day. [5-8, p. 161]
Sadler (1992) convincingly showed students think seasons result of
Sun/Earth distance even when able to identify Earths tilt as important
variable. Rollins, Denton & Janke (1983) found only 59% of high
school seniors related Suns energy to higher order concepts and
principles as major source of energy powering Earths phenomena.
8. The sun, the earth, and the rest of the solar system formed from a
nebular cloud of dust and gas 4.6 billion years ago. The early earth wasvery different from the planet we live on today. [9-12, p. 189]
No directly related research found. Philips (1993) reports that adults
think that the Universe contains only the planets in our solar systemand that the Universe is static. Students believe the planets and Sun
of the solar system formed from the Big Bang.
9. The origin of the universe remains one of the greatest questions in
science. The "big bang" theory places the origin between 10 and 20 billion
years ago, when the universe began in a hot dense state; according to this
theory, the universe has been expanding ever since. [9-12, p. 190]
No research found. Recently, Roettger (1998) reported that
professional scientists and non-scientists have widely different
descriptions of the Universe.
10. Early in the history of the universe, matter, primarily the light atoms
hydrogen and helium, clumped together by gravitational attraction to form
countless trillions of stars. Billions of galaxies, each of which is a
gravitationally bound cluster of billions of stars, now form most of the
visible mass in the universe. [9-12, p. 190]
No strongly related research found. Peripherally, Treagust & Smith
(1989) found that students think gravity is affected by temperature.
Philips (1991) reports gravity needs air to exist.
11. Stars produce energy from nuclear reactions, primarily the fusion of
hydrogen to form helium. These and other processes in stars have led to
the formation of all the other elements. [9-12, p. 190]
No directly related research found. Peripherally, Sadler and Lightman
and Sadler (1993) reported only 25% can adequately read an HR
diagram and showed that teachers grossly overestimate the
knowledge of students even after instruction.
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