This project investigated the quality of the planetarium as a teaching device by contrasting the performance of students taught in the planetarium with the performance of those taught in regular classrooms. Data for the study derived from official records of Cerritos and El Camino community college students enrolled in introductory astronomy for…

This program guide is meant to help teachers assist their students in viewing the six-part public television series, "Stephen Hawking's Universe." The guide features program summaries that give background information and brief synopses of the programs; previewing activities that familiarize students with the subject; vocabulary that…

This report presents the results of a fall 1997 survey of U.S. colleges and universities that offer doctoral, master's, and bachelor's degrees in physics and astronomy, focusing on degree production and current student enrollment. Highlighted are the following: (1) although enrollments in physics degree programs have been declining, the number of…

Science is an "approach in process development." Native American students have well-developed processes which can be best utilized by teaching science using activities which capitalize on students' processes. This article discusses processes first, then applies the content in a cultural framework to enhance science for Native American…

Presents picture books, collections of star stories, poetry, magazines, radio programs, biographies, nonfiction, and activities to help young students (preschool-grade 8) understand what celestial objects meant to ancient civilizations and to provide insights into the customs and attitudes of other cultures; alternative literary experiences; and…

This project explores the effectiveness of learner-centered education (LCE) principles and practices on student learning and attitudes in an online interactive introductory astronomy course for non-science majors by comparing a high-quality Internet-delivered course with a high-quality on-campus course, both of which are based on the principles of…

Inverness Research studied the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) Seminars on Science program for eight years, from its inception in 1998 to 2006. In 2009, Inverness Research conducted additional studies of the AMNH's new online course, The Solar System. This paper presents teacher survey ratings for The Solar System, along with profiles of…

The development of children's cosmologies was investigated over a 13-year period, using multi-modal, in-depth interviews with 686 children (217 boys, 227 girls from New Zealand and 129 boys, 113 girls from China), aged 2-18. Children were interviewed while they "observed" the apparent motion of the Sun and Moon, and other features of the…

This report presents the results of a 1994-95 survey of U.S. colleges and universities offering doctorate, masters, and bachelors degrees in physics and astronomy, focusing on degree production and current student enrollment. It found that over the last 3 years, first-year graduate physics enrollments have declined 22 percent at doctorate-granting…

This document consists of a collection of classroom activities as they appeared in the "Aviation and Space Education News" from 1988 to 1991. The 45 activities in the document are organized in the following sections: (1) Aeronautics; (2) Earth Science; (3) Space Science; (4) Life in Space; (5) Rockets; and (6) Models. Each activity is…

This booklet, designed to provide educational materials on Arab history and culture, describes the contributions of Islamic civilization to western civilization. To be Arab, like American, was and is a cultural trait rather than a racial mark. To be Arab meant to be from the Arabic speaking world of common traditions, customs, and values shaped by…

Periodic revisions of the physics and astronomy curricula have been made to make scientific course-work more appealing to a greater number of college students and ultimately create a more positive image of these disciplines. This report, in an attempt to determine how effective these revisions have been, provides 13 tables and 3 figures of trend…

The objective of this study was to assess the misconceptions held by preservice teachers about essential concepts of the moon related to information taught in elementary schools in Taiwan and to develop multiple-choice test items to identify the misconceptions about the moon. Additionally, this study considered relationships of gender, religion,…

Providing children and adults with appropriate learning experiences in astronomy is partly dependent upon having materials available with which to teach. This document attempts to provide a systematic approach to the dissemination of astronomy education materials which were not commercially developed and thus have not been widely distributed. This…

The Science in Action series is designed to teach practical science concepts to special-needs students. It is intended to develop students' problem-solving skills by teaching them to observe, record, analyze, conclude, and predict. This document contains a student workbook which deals with basic concepts about how the earth moves and its…