The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York City implemented a science-based curriculum pairing augmented reality (AR) with a student-designed escape room experience to support astronomy learning. AR has the potential to simplify complex systems into digestible concepts. Designing an escape room experience provided students with an…

Science curriculums and curricular materials are essential guidelines in materializing effective science teaching. The primary goal of the current study aims to present a thematic analysis of the last three elementary and middle school science curriculums objectives released in 2013, 2017, and 2018 to determine whether they provide a base for…

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Curriculum Development: Theory into Design.] Our investigation of 353 faculty-produced multiple-choice Think-Pair-Share questions leads to key insights into faculty members' ideas about the discipline representations and intellectual tasks that could engage learners on key topics in physics and…

In 2017 the University of Utah experienced a tragedy which catalyzed already active changes in the department. In the aftermath, admissions to the graduate program was paused while new policies were developed and implemented. This article outlines this change process through the perspectives and accounts of those involved. Through in-depth…

This article describes an integrated unit designed to teach second graders about the phases of the Moon. The science department at the author's school had been reshaping their curriculum to match their state standards as well as the "Next Generation Science Standards" ("NGSS"). Their primary goal was for students to be…

Literacy remains an area of concern in early secondary education in Scotland (ages 12-14), with recent research suggesting a continued decline in attainment levels. As literacy underpins learning, interdisciplinary and collaborative approaches to teaching literacy are now being emphasized through the new Curriculum for Excellence that aims to…

In recent years, short question-and-answer activities known as lecture tutorials that are designed to help students work with and discover concepts for themselves, rather than simply being told about them (lectured to) have become a popular tool for learner-centred teaching of introductory college astronomy. Students on such a course are usually…

This article presents four Idea-Sparkers that were submitted by Jason McKinney, a graduate student at Southern Mississippi University and a 1st-grade teacher at Pisgah Elementary in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. First is entitled, "Raceway in the Classroom." This activity can help increase children's fluency and ability to identify numerous…

Course designers adopted a language-learners approach to the online teaching of New Zealand secondary school students in the subject of astronomy. This was possible because the curriculum for astronomy that was in 2004 established as a part of New Zealand's national curriculum was specifically designed to engage underachieving students in science…

Presents an astronomy project in which a group of educators and astronomers train high school students to teach astronomy to elementary students and their families. (KHR)

Explores Montessori's concept of cosmic education and recommends expanding it in school curricula. Suggests integration of science about the universe and earth with intuitions about the meaning of life and humans' role in the universe. Discusses God versus chance as the source of life, and emphasizes developing cosmic values and responsibilities.…

This document examines children's and adults' knowledge of observational astronomy and characterizes the kinds of mental models students form when asked questions in astronomy. Mental models were grouped into three categories: intuitive, synthetic, and scientific. Implications for the design of curricula and for instruction are identified. In…

The course outlines presented in this report are intended to be used to teach astrophysics to nonscience majors at the junior and senior college level. An extensive set of notes are included which can be useful to an instructor as guidelines for presentation. Additional equipment and references for use in teaching astrophysics are suggested. (SA)

This four-part report examines earth and space science education as revealed in the findings of a study, in which a literature review, an analysis of curriculum data, and a survey of science instructors were undertaken to explore science instruction at two-year institutions. Part I discusses the difficulties encountered in developing earth and…