Development and Validation of a Learning Progression for Change of Seasons, Solar and Lunar Eclipses, and Moon Phases

Autor/inn/en	Testa, Italo; Galano, Silvia; Leccia, Silvio; Puddu, Emanuella
Titel	Development and Validation of a Learning Progression for Change of Seasons, Solar and Lunar Eclipses, and Moon Phases
Quelle	In: Physical Review Special Topics - Physics Education Research, 11 (2015) 2, S.020102-1 (22 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1554-9178
DOI	10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.11.020102
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; Secondary School Students; Questionnaires; Item Response Theory; Learning Processes; Astronomy; Scientific Concepts; Measures (Individuals); Statistical Analysis; Italy + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; Sekundarschüler; Fragebogen; Item-Response-Theorie; Learning process; Lernprozess; Astronomie; Messdaten; Statistische Analyse; Italien
Abstract	In this paper, we report about the development and validation of a learning progression about the Celestial Motion big idea. Existing curricula, research studies on alternative conceptions about these phenomena, and students' answers to an open questionnaire were the starting point to develop initial learning progressions about change of seasons, solar and lunar eclipses, and Moon phases; then, a two-tier multiple choice questionnaire was designed to validate and improve them. The questionnaire was submitted to about 300 secondary students of different school levels (14 to 18 years old). Item response analysis and curve integral method were used to revise the hypothesized learning progressions. Findings support that spatial reasoning is a key cognitive factor for building an explanatory framework for the Celestial Motion big idea, but also suggest that causal reasoning based on physics mechanisms underlying the phenomena, as light flux laws or energy transfers, may significantly impact a students' understanding. As an implication of the study, we propose that the teaching of the three discussed astronomy phenomena should follow a single teaching-learning path along the following sequence: (i) emphasize from the beginning the geometrical aspects of the Sun-Moon-Earth system motion; (ii) clarify consequences of the motion of the Sun-Moon-Earth system, as the changing solar radiation flow on the surface of Earth during the revolution around the Sun; (iii) help students moving between different reference systems (Earth and space observer's perspective) to understand how Earth's rotation and revolution can change the appearance of the Sun and Moon. Instructional and methodological implications are also briefly discussed. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01