Background: Enjoyment and epistemic emotions are essential in education as they drive learners to actively and persistently engage with learning material. Augmented Reality (hereinafter referred to as AR) is an emerging educational tool that offers unique opportunities for immersive learning experiences. By incorporating AR into the learning…

Many people with strong religious beliefs in the United States struggle with trusting the pronouncements of scientists. This is primarily because they have come to believe that science offers a perspective on ultimate questions such as origins and life after death that conflicts with their own. Education and public outreach efforts by scientists…

The study of the electromagnetic spectrum, how light interacts with matter, and optical instruments such as lenses, mirrors, and gratings are important concepts in the Advanced Placement (AP) physics and introductory undergraduate physics and astronomy courses. The production, control, and analysis of light helps scientists to learn about the…

This article reports on a trace-based assessment of approaches to learning used by middle school aged children who interacted with NASA Mars Mission science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) games in "Whyville," an online game environment with 8 million registered young learners. The learning objectives of two games…

In this study, we propose to analyse students' drawings using the Semiotic Cultural Psychological Theory (SCPT), a socio-cultural psychological model that integrates semiotics with dynamic systems theory. According to the SCPT framework, students-generated drawings can be analysed in terms of generalised meanings, i.e., implicit assumptions about…

Cosmology concepts encompass complex spatial and temporal relations that are counterintuitive. Cosmology findings, because of their intrinsic interest, are often reported in the public domain with enthusiasm, and students come to cosmology with a range of conceptions some aligned and some at variance with the current science. This makes cosmology…

The paper describes an upper-division university course in Mars literature taught online since Fall 2013. The course readings comprise six novels relating to Mars. Authors include H.G. Wells, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Ray Bradbury, Phillip K. Dick, Greg Bear, and Kim Stanley Robinson. After an introduction, sections of the paper discuss course…

The nature and cause of the phases of the moon are widely misunderstood. Perhaps the problem is a general decline in scientific literacy, or maybe it is the loss of direct and regular observation of the moon in society generally. Many people do not see the moon as a half-illuminated sphere. Adults are often surprised to realize that the moon can…

Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) have been shown to provide students with a variety of learning benefits including better conceptual understanding, improved critical thinking and data literacy skills, and increased interest in pursuing scientific careers. Additionally, CUREs provide students with opportunities to participate…

Relying on the students' cultural background to teach mathematics may be a strong incitement for the learning process. This background can include artistic creations, items from the news, among others. Because of the strong presence of space related news (in particular the almost simultaneous launching of three spacecrafts towards Mars), we…

This paper examines the praxeology of informal educational practices (i.e. how participants produce setting-specific practices to make a tour happen) in the Geophysical and Astronomical Observatory of the University of Coimbra through close analysis of a video-recorded excerpt of a guided tour. Guided visits in informal science settings are…

Despite knowing physics and astronomy doctoral programs are laden with identity-based inequities, they continue to push minoritized students to the margins. This qualitative social network analysis of 100 women and/or lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and more (LGBT+) physics and astronomy Ph.D.'s explores how minoritized physics and…

The aim of this study was to describe the design process of an educational board game, the Planet-Dart. This board game design is based on the science curriculum and aims to enhance middle school students' basic concepts about solar system. The purpose of developing this educational game was to provide an entertaining way for learning science. A…

This study examined the impact of spatial ability on science achievement by distinguishing between domain-general and domain-specific spatial abilities, focusing on their relationship with the conceptual understanding of the apparent path of the sun. Additionally, the mediating effects of domain-specific spatial knowledge on the relationships…

The study investigates students' ability to analyze visual literacy and digital literacy through open-ended inquiry activities with astronomical observations and Heaven View application. The investigation consists of assignments for students to carry out six different variations of observational activities. Supervision is given in introductory…