The understanding of many aspects of astronomy is closely linked with relativity and the finite speed of light, yet relativity is generally not discussed in great detail during planetarium shows for the general public. One reason may be the difficulty to visualize these phenomena in a way that is appropriate for planetariums; another may be their…

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of augmented reality and mobile application supported instruction on students' academic achievement, attitude towards astronomy, anxiety and motivation towards learning science in the "Solar System and Beyond/Earth and Universe" units in seventh grade Science lesson. In the study,…

For years, the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) in New Mexico has led an outreach effort called "Mission to Mars" to engage fifth grade students in applying science and mathematics concepts related to building a colony on Mars. Many organizations across the US canceled similar events due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.…

The Hertzsprung-Russell diagram (HRD) is a fundamental representation in stellar physics. It contains information about key properties of stars and allows inferences about stellar evolution. The use of the HRD is an important disciplinary activity in astrophysics. For example, it is particularly important to have a graphical understanding of the…

This paper presents exemplification of the ways in which teachers can garner the interest piqued by the recent detection of gravitational waves. The intention was to develop a teaching module based around this exciting new branch of astronomy and to use this as an opportunity to bring cutting-edge science into the classroom, whilst allowing…

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…

Project-based learning (PBL) is centred on a challenging, yet meaningful, driving question and culminates in a product that students create or do to showcase their learning to a public audience. Other essential elements of a true PBL experience include: sustained inquiry, authentic tasks, opportunities for students to make decisions about their…

This dissertation includes two independent research projects, one in astronomy education research and the other in planetary science/astrophysics research. In the first research effort, we investigate college students' conceptual and reasoning difficulties on the topic of planet formation pre-instruction. Through an analysis of over 1,000…

Throughout development, children undergo moments of abrupt conceptual transitions, often replacing intuitive knowledge with grounded scientific theories. This typically also creates a situation of social conflict, as different children may hold at the same time substantially different theories and explanations about the same phenomenon. The main…

[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…

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of virtual reality (VR) enhanced learning environment on the 7th-grade students' academic achievements in reading and writing in English. Within the scope of the experimental application of the research, the "planets" unit topic was selected from the 7th-grade syllabus of the 2018…

The aim of this research is to investigate the effects of outdoor learning environments such as space camp on the perceptions of secondary school students about astronomy, career choices, and development of 21st century skills. Izmir space camp trip was organized in 2019. Qualitative study was conducted with secondary school 5th grade students…

This study aims to analyse the potentialities of using Personal Meaning Maps to assess school children's learning in a visit to a Planetarium. A total of 123 primary students were involved. They were asked to create a PMM, and a drawing, before and after the visit. The results suggest that the visit enhanced the degree to which students generate…

The topic of women in graduate education has been central to many calls for action in increasing diversity and inclusion in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The field of physics has been particularly resistant to change in the significant overrepresentation of men, while also being similar to the field of astronomy which has a…

In a recent "AstroNote," I described a simple exercise on the mass-luminosity relation for main sequence stars as an example of exposing students in a general education science course of lower mathematical level to the use of quantitative skills such as collecting and analyzing data. Here I present another attempt at a meaningful…