U sing Research on How Students Learn Astronomy to Improve Teaching

1. Using Research on How Students Learn Astronomy to Improve Teaching Tim Slater University of Arizona Department of Astronomy Conceptual Astronomy and Physics Education Research (CAPER) Team http://caperteam.as.arizona.edu Project BETA – July 26, 2007 – NASA Goddard

3. UA Faculty Ph.D. StudentsJessie Antonellis Janelle Bailey * Erik Brogt Sanlyn Buxner Erin Dokter John Keller *Erika Offerdahl Julia Olsen * Stephanie Parker Delphine Perrodin Pebble Richwine * Andrew Shaner Mathew Wenger * Recently Completed Tim Slater Ed Prather Bruce Johnson Chris ImpeyChristopher Harris Ingrid Novodvorsky Post Docs, Staff Researchers, and Sabbatical Visitors Gina Brissenden Tom Olien Alex Storrs Jacob Noel-Storr

4. Overview • Recent RESULTS you need to know about how students learn astronomy • RESOURCES you can use to measure the impact of your programs • Pathways you can use to CONNECT with other people teaching astronomy topics

5. A Short Video Clip: State of the Union

6. How People Learn • Students enter the classroom with preconceptions about how the world works. If their initial understanding is not fully engaged, they may fail to grasp new concepts in meaningful ways that last beyond the purposes of an exam. • To fully develop competence, students must: (1) have a deep foundation of factual knowledge, (2) understand interrelationships among facts and concepts and (3) organize knowledge in ways that facilitate retrieval and application • A “metacognitive” approach to instruction can help students learn to take control of their own learning and monitor their own progress. [How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School (Expanded Edition), National Research Council, National Academy Press, 2000.]

7. In other words … Lectures from classroom teachers or visitors, no matter how enthusiastic or articulate have very, very, very limited impact BECAUSE Its not what the instructor does that matters; rather, it is what the students do! Learner-Centered Astronomy Teaching Slater & Adams, Prentice Hall Publishing, 2003

8. Lecture works… for some things • Can you teach someone to swim through lecture?

9. Lecture works… for some things • Can you teach someone to swim through lecture? • Can you teach someone astronomy through lecture? Bottom Line Depends on what you want them to learn

10. Which planet is the 3rd rock from the Sun? Which star is the brightest start in the sky? How many miles in an AU? What is the density of Saturn? Thank you for teaching me to fetch and roll over, but these are not skills that will help me in the long run. Declarative Meaningful Knowledge VS Understanding(FACTS) (CONCEPTS)

11. Which planet is the 3rd rock from the Sun? Which star is the brightest start in the sky? How many miles in an AU? What is the density of Saturn? How does spectral type impact a habitable zone? How would a star’s magnitude change if there was intervening dust? Which distance units make the most sense for things in the galaxy? Declarative Meaningful Knowledge VS Understanding(FACTS) (CONCEPTS) Can you have one without the other?

12. Which planet is the 3rd rock from the Sun? Which star is the brightest start in the sky? How many miles in an AU? What is the density of Saturn? How does spectral type impact a habitable zone? How would a star’s magnitude change if there was intervening dust? Which distance units make the most sense for things in the galaxy? Declarative Meaningful Knowledge VS Understanding(FACTS) (CONCEPTS) TASK: With two other people nearby, write out a list of three declarative FACTS andthree CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDINGS about black holes to share with the group. What does this mean about teaching? What’s the common difference?

13. What do students struggle with? The Big Three • Seasons • Moon Phases • Gravity A Review of Astronomy Education Research, Astronomy Education Review, 2(2), 2003. J.M. Bailey and T.F. Slater

14. What Causes the Seasons? A Private Universe – Pyramid Films

15. What Causes the Seasons?

16. What Causes the Seasons?

17. What Causes the Seasons? • New Technology Solutions http://astro.unl.edu/naap/motion1/animations/seasons_ecliptic.swf

18. What do students struggle with? The Big Three • Seasons • Moon Phases • Gravity A Review of Astronomy Education Research, Astronomy Education Review, 2(2), 2003. J.M. Bailey and T.F. Slater

20. Orbit of the Moon E A Earth B D C NOT TO SCALE Sun What Causes Moon Phases The diagram below shows Earth and the Sun as well as five different possible positions for the Moon. Which position of the Moon best corresponds with the phase of the Moon shown in the figure at the right?

21. Orbit of the Moon E A Earth B D C NOT TO SCALE Sun What Causes Moon Phases The diagram below shows Earth and the Sun as well as five different possible positions for the Moon. Which position of the Moon best corresponds with the phase of the Moon shown in the figure at the right? • Before Lecture (N=42): 5% correct

22. Some New-Untried Technology • http://astro.unl.edu/naap/lps/animations/lps.swf

23. What do students struggle with? The Big Three • Seasons • Moon Phases • Gravity

24. The Big Three • Seasons • Moon Phases • Gravity Learning About the Earth's Shape and Gravity: A Guide for Teachers and Curriculum Developers, Lori Agan, Wheaton College, and Cary Sneider, Museum of Science, Boston., Astronomy Education Review, 2(2), 2003.

25. The Big Three Seasons Moon Phases Gravity Modern Topics Too Stellar Formation Cosmology Astrobiology What do students struggle with? A Review of Astronomy Education Research, Astronomy Education Review, 2(2), 2003. J.M. Bailey and T.F. Slater

26. An Example on Star Formation

27. Pumbaa : Ever wonder what those sparkly dots are up there?Timon : Pumbaa, I don't wonder. I know.Pumbaa : Oh. What are they?Timon : They're fireflies. Fireflies that, uh... got stuck up on that big bluish-black thing.Pumbaa : Oh. Gee.... I always thought that they were balls of gas, burning billions of miles away. [Laughter …….] Timon : Pumba with you everything is gas. Preliminary ResultsQ1: Describe what you think a star is. (N = 120) • 74% said something like “a ball of gas” or “a ball of gas and dust” • N = 5 made references to The Lion King!

28. The “Complete” Response Q2:Describe where you think stars come from.Q3: Describe how you think a star is formed.(Ntotal = 203) If we asked this on a final exam, what might a complete response have to included? • Region of gas or gas/dust • Gravitational collapse of material in the region • Temperature & Pressure increase • Fusion begins  And now we have a star!

29. Preliminary ResultsQ2:Describe where you think stars come from.Q3: Describe how you think a star is formed.(Ntotal = 203) Answer Component #1: Region of gas or gas/dust • 55% of the students said something about a region of gas or gas/dust • Example: “I think stars start from gas and dust. The gas and dust starts in a cloud. The cloud starts out kind of loose and spread out….” Early work comprising part of Janelle Bailey’s PhD dissertation

30. Preliminary ResultsQ2:Describe where you think stars come from.Q3: Describe how you think a star is formed.(Ntotal = 203) Answer Component #2: Collapse - Matter comes together in some way • 48% included some sort of volume reduction of matter • Only 19% of the total specifically include gravity • Example:“Stars are formed when there is a large force of gravity somewhere in space that pulls a bunch of little space particles together and they all collide somewhere in the middle of all this gravity and wham bam. .” Early work comprising part of Janelle Bailey’s PhD dissertation

31. Preliminary ResultsQ2:Describe where you think stars come from.Q3: Describe how you think a star is formed.(Ntotal = 203) Answer Component #3: Temperature increase • Only 11% clearly define a temperature increase • Enormous difficulty in distinguishing responses because of how temperature and heat are misused • Example:“…These gasses, over a period of time, contract to form a with (sic) high density. After this, as the mass keeps contracting, the temperature becomes hot enough for nuclear fusion to take place….”

32. Preliminary ResultsQ2:Describe where you think stars come from.Q3: Describe how you think a star is formed.(Ntotal = 203) Answer Component #4: Fusion or nuclear reactions occur • Only 8% include fusion in response • Example:“From a collection of a large amount matter and gasses enough to cause a chain reaction starting the fusion process (sic). Once that has begun the process will continue until the star runs out of fuel in billions of years.”

33. Preliminary ResultsQ2:Describe where you think stars come from.Q3: Describe how you think a star is formed.(Ntotal = 203) • Other common categories found include: • 25% describe explosions, fire, and/or burning to describe emission heat, light, and/or energy-not a star’s formation • BOTTOM LINE: Students think stars are spherical burning clouds of soup Early work comprising part of Janelle Bailey’s PhD dissertation

34. An Example on Life in the Universe An astrobiology elective course for science majors emphasizing scientific communication.Journal of College Science Teaching. Offerdahl, E.G., Slater, T.F., & Prather, E.E. (2005).

35. An Example on Life in the Universe

36. Hundreds of Extra-Solar Planets G. Marcy and P. Butler

37. Question probing students’ beliefs about limiting environments on Earth Describe an environment on Earth that would NOT ALLOW ANY form of life to exist. Cite specific examples and explain why these environments cannot support life. Student Beliefs and Reasoning Difficulties in Astrobiology, Astronomy Education Review, 2(1), 5-27, 2002, E.G. Offerdahl, E.E. Prather, T.F. Slater

38. Limiting Environments on Earth Student Beliefs and Reasoning Difficulties in Astrobiology, Astronomy Education Review, 2(1), 5-27, 2002, E.G. Offerdahl, E.E. Prather, T.F. Slater

39. Question probing students’ beliefs about necessary elements for life What elements are the most important for the existence of life? Explain your reasoning. Student Beliefs and Reasoning Difficulties in Astrobiology, Astronomy Education Review, 2(1), 5-27, 2002, E.G. Offerdahl, E.E. Prather, T.F. Slater

40. Necessary Elements for Life Student Beliefs and Reasoning Difficulties in Astrobiology, Astronomy Education Review, 2(1), 5-27, 2002, E.G. Offerdahl, E.E. Prather, T.F. Slater

41. Summary of students’ ideas Most students correctly identify that life can exist without sunlight & in extreme temperatures and that life requires at least intermittent liquid water. Many students believe that life cannot exist without oxygen. Students largely failed to cite high concentrations of salt, extreme pH, or extreme cold temperatures as limiting conditions for life. Students most often cited complex organisms (such as plants, animals, and humans) rather than the more ubiquitous microorganisms. Student Beliefs and Reasoning Difficulties in Astrobiology, Astronomy Education Review, 2(1), 5-27, 2002, E.G. Offerdahl, E.E. Prather, T.F. Slater

42. 10-44sec 10-35sec 10-32sec 10-10sec 300 sec 3x105yr 1x109yr 15x109yr Radiation Era GUT Era Inflation Era Electro-weak Era Particle Era Recombination Era Galaxy and Star Formation Present Era An Example on the topic of Cosmology – The Big Bang

43. An Example on the Topic of Cosmology – The Big Bang Initial Question • Have you ever heard of the Big Bang? • Describe what you think it is, and provide a sketch, if possible, to illustrate your answer. Follow-up Questions Describe what you think existed or was occurring just before the Big Bang. Describe what you think existed or was occurring during the Big Bang. Hints of a Fundamental Misconception in Cosmology, Astronomy Education Review, 1, (2), 2002 , Edward E. Prather, Timothy F. Slater and Erika G. Offerdahl

45. Summary of Students’ Pre-instruction Ideas on the Big Bang • 86% of students (N=167) report that they have heard of the Big Bang. Only 54% of these students describe the Big Bang as a theory about the creation of the universe. • 69% of students (N=133) describe some configuration of matter existing in the universe prior to the Big Bang. • 49% of students (N=133) describe the Big Bang as an explosion that distributes matter throughout the universe. • 17% of students (N=133) describe the Big Bang as event that combined matter together to form objects in the universe.

46. What’s wrong with these students? Hints of a Fundamental Misconception in Cosmology, Astronomy Education Review, 1, (2), 2002 , Edward E. Prather, Timothy F. Slater and Erika G. Offerdahl

47. Two Models Of Students’ Understanding Primitives Model Misconception Model Adapted from a slide by Rachel Scherr, University of Maryland

48. Two Models Of Students’ Understanding Primitives Model Misconception Model Adapted from a slide by Rachel Scherr, University of Maryland

49. FACETS of knowledge(similar to Minstrell, 1989) Phenomenological PRIMITIVES(similar to di Sessa, 1993) Students enter your lecture hall with preconceptions about how the world works. If their initial understanding is not engaged, they may fail to grasp the new concepts and information that are taught, or they may learn them for the purposes of a test but revert to their preconceptions outside the classroom. • When children touch something on the stove, they learn that temperature increases with decreasing distance • When children hear a car’s horn, they learn that sound intensity increases with decreasing distance • When children see a bright flashlight, they learn that brightness increases with decreasing distance •  CLOSE MEANS MORE

50. How Do “Primitive-like” Ideas Impact Teaching and Learning Astronomy?