The number of both astronomy bachelor's degrees and PhDs awarded in the class of 2016 represent all-time highs. Astronomy bachelors have been increasing steadily for the last 15 years, with 469 degrees awarded in the class of 2016. With undergraduate astronomy enrollments continuing to grow, the trend is expected to continue for at least the next…

Virtual reality (VR) has a high potential to facilitate education. However, the design of many VR learning applications was criticized for lacking the guidance of explicit and appropriate learning theories. To advance the use of VR in effective instruction, this study proposed a model that extended the cognitive-affective theory of learning with…

This book has been prepared to introduce common technological tools that can be used in science education in the distance education process. Although most of the applications introduced in the book are used in face-to-face education, this book focuses on their use in the distance science education process. In the Introduction part of the book, the…

The aim of the present study is to determine pre-service teachers' mental models related to basic astronomy concepts. The study was conducted using a survey method with 293 pre-service teachers from 4 different departments; physics education, science education, primary teacher education and early childhood education. An achievement test with…

Effective faculty professional development must be participant centered; tailored to the needs and interests of the faculty who engage in it. In order to better understand those needs and interests, we investigate how knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and teaching practice vary among new physics faculty, using surveys of a large sample (n = 442) of…

Literature review shows that many primary school teachers have poor understanding of basic astronomy contents. Therefore, the aim of the study was to introduce specific astronomical content to in-service primary school teachers through two didactic games, to evaluate the didactic games and the teachers' knowledge and understanding before and after…

Teachers face many difficulties in the motivation, engagement, and improvement of learning outcomes for students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). In this paper, we present a research study on the learning experience of a new interactive educational 3D video game called Final Frontier, designed for primary school…

The purpose of this study was to investigate not only the effectiveness of dynamic versus static visualizations on learning star motions but also the influence of students' spatial abilities with these two types of visualizations on their learning. We assigned 155 fifth-grade students to either a dynamic or a static condition. We used a science…

This research aims to analyse the process of grasping the Solar System by the students during their learning activities in which we used an animation film and other educational means (geographic globe, schematic drawings, 3D model, etc.), as well as the results obtained. In order to achieve this goal, we organized an action-research within…

The aim of this research was to examine the effects of the Augmented Reality (AR)-supported teaching activities on the academic success, motivation of students towards science learning and attitudes of students towards AR application, in the scope of the seventh grade science course, "Solar System and Beyond" unit. For this purpose,…

The Human Orrery is a representation of the Solar System at a human scale, on which positions of planets over time are symbolized by different discs. Learners can then walk along the orbits of the planets with the right pace. This pedagogical tool uses the principles of enacted cognition to promote a better understanding of the scientific laws of…

This study investigated ways to foster positive science attitudes among newcomer first-year middle school English learners (n = 79) under two conditions: (1) "Extended Science + Extended Literacy" (planetarium-based visualisations + vocabulary + comic and trade books) and (2) "Extended Science + Literacy" (planetarium-based…

Details of the London pilot of the "Discovery Project" are presented, where university-based astronomers were given the chance to pass on some real and applied knowledge of astronomy to a group of selected secondary school pupils. It was aimed at students in Key Stage 3 of their education, allowing them to be involved in real…

This paper describes the formation of a circumzenithal arc for the purpose of teaching light and optics. A circumzenithal arc, an optic formation rarely witnessed by people, is formed in this study using a water-filled cylindrical glass illuminated by sunlight. Sunlight refracted at the top and side surfaces of the glass of water is dispersed into…

In this article Dave Vernier describes how he turned the total eclipse on August 21, 2017 into a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) lesson by taking data. He asked teachers and former teachers to join in collecting data and to share it. The most frequently monitored parameters were illuminance (a measure of light brightness as…