The seductive detail principle asserts that people learn more deeply from a multimedia presentation when interesting but irrelevant adjuncts are excluded rather than included. However, critics could argue that studies about this principle contain methodological problems. The recent experiment attempts to overcome these problems. Students (N = 108)…

The blackbody is one of the first topics the students face at the beginning of their studies on modern physics. The usual framework supposes that a blackbody emits radiation in a 3D space in the form of massless bosons (photons). This paper investigates the blackbody radiation in a more general context in order to discuss the physical hypotheses…

We take another look at the Helmholtz model for the gravitational contraction of the Sun. We show that there are two other pedagogically useful ways of rederiving Helmholtz's main results that make use of Gauss's law, the concept of gravitational field energy and the work-kinetic energy theorem. An account of the energy balance involved in the…

This paper describes a lunar phases planisphere with which a user can answer questions about the rising and setting times of the Moon as well as questions about where the Moon will be at a given phase and time. The article contains figures that can be photocopied to make the planisphere. (Contains 2 figures.)

While science is certainly language based, it is also bilingual in the sense that mathematics is also "spoken" in science classes. There are many opportunities throughout the school year to integrate the language of mathematics with science lessons and activities. This month's column provides some measurement activities that can be incorporated…

We report on research carried out to improve teaching and student engagement in the introductory astronomy course at the University of Cape Town. This course is taken by a diverse range of students, including many from educationally disadvantaged backgrounds. We describe the development of an instrument, the Introductory Astronomy Questionnaire…

"ARIES: Exploring Motion and Forces" is a physical science curriculum for students in grades 5-8 that employs 18 inquiry-centered, hands-on lessons called "explorations." The curriculum draws upon students' curiosity to explore phenomena, allowing for a discovery-based learning process. Group-centered lab work is designed to…

Two of the nation's top providers of teacher professional development, NSTA and NASA, are a great source of materials that help educators brush up on their science content and process skills. So when they asked the authors to participate in the development of four live online short courses for teachers, the authors' immediate answer was yes! This…

This paper is the first in a series of investigations into the data from the recent national study using the Light and Spectroscopy Concept Inventory (LSCI). In this paper, we use classical test theory to form a framework of results that will be used to evaluate individual item difficulties, item discriminations, and the overall reliability of the…

To capture students' excitement and engage their interest in rocketships and visiting planets in the solar system, the author designed lessons that give students the opportunity to experience the joys and challenges of developing straw rockets, and then observing which design can travel the longest distance. The lessons are appropriate for…

Children's understandings of the shape and relative sizes of the Earth, Sun and Moon have been extensively researched and in a variety of ways. Much is known about the confusions which arise as young people try to grasp ideas about the world and our neighbouring celestial bodies. Despite this, there remain uncertainties about the conceptual models…

The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of computer animation technique on academic achievement of students in the "Solar System and Beyond" unit lecture as part of the Science and Technology course of the seventh grade in primary education. The sample of the study consists of 60 students attending to the 7th grade of primary school…

This special issue of the Canadian Mathematics Education Study Group/Groupe Canadien d'Étude en Didactique des Mathématiques (CMESG/GCEDM) Proceedings looks at CMESG/GCEDM's collective history, reflects on where the group has been, and who the members have become as an organization. Through a selection of excerpts from past proceedings, the…

The progress of modern cosmology took off in 1917 when A. Einstein published his paper on general theory of relativity extending his work of special theory of relativity (1905). In 1922 Alexander Friedmann constructed a mathematical model for expanding Universe that had a big bang in remote past. The experimental evidences could come in 1929 by…

Misconceptions that students bring with them to the introductory science classroom plague every area of science and are especially prevalent in astronomy. One way to identify and possibly dispel some of these misconceptions is through the use of a misconceptions survey. The following is a report on the development, implementation, and some early…