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…

Research in astronomy education has uncovered that many learners possess limited and fragmented understanding of stars. The corresponding misconceptions manifest in various areas such as star formation, size, the relationship between stars and planets, and their position in space and have been shown to persist across different age groups and…

A multidisciplinary origami activity that could be used in middle school mathematics and science lessons was designed and implemented. Mathematical purpose of the origami activity is to support students' conceptual understanding and procedural skills related to the concept of fraction. Regarding science, the activity aims to visualize Solar system…

Since the 1980s, studies have increasingly shown that traditional teaching causes a deterioration in students' conceptions of physics and of learning physics. The present study examined the influence of an intervention on high school students' conceptions of physics and of learning physics. The intervention included two components: a unique design…

In this exploratory study, we looked at the effect adding a choreographed song to camp had on middle-school aged campers' retention of two concepts: order of the planets with increasing distance from the Sun, and phases of the Moon listed in the correct order. We conducted pre- and post-assessments on these questions for multiple years of the…

Background: Being able to think independently is a must for students to construct new knowledge in their minds. Self-explaining is a constructive learning strategy that encourages students to think for themselves and to make inferences that go beyond the given information. The Self-explain--Discuss--Re-explain (SDR) strategy adapted from…

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Astronomy Education Research.] In this paper we discuss the design and development of a learning progression (LP) to describe and interpret students' understanding about stellar structure and evolution (SSE). The LP is built upon three content dimensions: "hydrostatic equilibrium";…

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of context-based learning approach (CBLA) on 5th grade students' misconceptions about 'the umbra, solar and lunar eclipses'. In this study, a quasi-experimental methodology pre-test and post-test design was utilized with control and experimental groups. The study was conducted with 48 5th grade…

School students' conceptual frameworks in astronomy and students' levels of knowledge and conceptualization were examined for 130 students in grades 2 through 12. Knowledge and conceptualization increased with school age. A test administered to 892 students in 7 schools demonstrated that schools contributed little to education in astronomy. (SLD)