The current study continues our effort to document a shared sign language in Japan--Miyakubo Sign Language (Miyakubo SL) on Ehime-Oshima Island, located in the western part of Japan. After a brief sociological, geographical, and cultural introduction to Miyakubo SL, the topics of numeral expressions and timelines in Miyakubo SL are discussed. A…

In this paper I present various equatorial sundial designs that use diffraction on a CD to display time. The designs described in the paper include a transparent CD sundial equipped with a small terrestrial globe. This sundial is compact, pedagogically useful, can be used throughout the year, and provides the user with a wealth of information.

Sky appears to our students as a vast volume surrounding the Earth. The most striking astronomical events that they can witness in the sky are lunar phases and eclipses. However, eclipses do not occur as often as full and new phases of the Moon. This difference is due to the fact that the orbital planes of the Moon and the Earth do not overlap.…

The observation that the shadows of objects change during the course of the day and also for a fixed time during a year led curious minds to realize that the Sun could be used as a timekeeper. However, the daily motion of the Sun has some subtleties, for example, with regards to the precise time at which it crosses the meridian near noon. When the…

The "leaky pipeline" in STEM remains an open issue. The integration of multiple STEM subjects, especially technology, is a promising approach, and pre-collegiate STEM teachers are particularly underprepared in this content area. In this case study, the authors explore and characterize the discussions of pre-collegiate STEM teachers among…

Graduate students often serve as a liaison between a university and its surrounding community through their participation in educational outreach programs. Astronomy graduate students' responses to openended survey questions about their experience volunteering with an educational outreach program were qualitatively coded to investigate how…

In this report we explore how and why undergraduate students' career and education plans changed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We found that when students changed their plans, they were more likely to pursue employment instead of graduate education. Students reported that their plans changed due to not being accepted into graduate school,…

We present a programmatic study of physicists' and astronomers' attitudes toward education and public outreach (EPO) using 131 survey responses from members of the Dark Energy Survey. We find a disparity between the types of EPO activities researchers deem valuable and those in which they participate. Most respondents are motivated to engage in…

Collaboration is a complex, multidimensional process; however, details of how multimodal features intersect and mediate group interactions have not been fully unpacked. Characterizing and analyzing the temporal patterns based on multimodal features is a challenging yet important work to advance our understanding of computer-supported collaborative…

This quasi-experimental study determined Graphic Organizer Integrated Online Instruction's effectiveness in understanding astronomy concepts. Three groups of Secondary Science Education students from a state university in Central Visayas, Philippines, were exposed to text, both text and graphic organizers, and the latter only. Study findings…

Experimental teaching is essential for a good understanding of science, especially on Physics. Practical activities play an important role for engaging students with science, mainly when they interact directly with equipment, collect experimental data with computers and/or use interactive software for data analysis. In this work, we present the…

The purpose of this study is to explore the children's understanding of moon phase changes. Study methods include qualitative and quantitative methods. The subjects of the study are 683 students from grade three to six in an elementary school in New Taipei City. This study uses the method of writing assessment to explore the ideas of elementary…

Discussion forums are important components of online courses because of the collaboration and community they foster, and the language used within the discussion forums may be influential in this development. In particular, studying the gendered language patterns of discussion forums can help gain insight into students' state of mind and propensity…

The question in the title above is exploited to analyse the relationship between different astronomical models and frames of reference. The paper highlights the fact that the geostatic model, the favoured model in ordinary discourse, even that of scientists, is at odds with two cherished principles, that of the rectilinear propagation of light,…

As children develop an understanding of their place in the universe, their mental model of the solar system should really go beyond a list of planet names and attributes to become a dynamic concept of bodies in motion and interaction. Montessori educators can help build a Sensorial impression of the cosmos by physically modeling the nature of…