Game-Based Learning to Engage Students With Physics and Astronomy Using a Board Game

In this research article, the authors developed a novel astronomy board game and examined how this approach could facilitate the learning and teaching of astronomy topics covered in the new Irish Science Syllabus. A total of 119 post-primary students took part in the pilot trial across Ireland. Data was collected via feedback questionnaires, systematic observations and pre and post-test surveys. Results indicate that this astronomy board game significantly enhances students' knowledge of astronomy concepts and perceptions of scientists. Furthermore, teachers showed positive attitudes towards this approach for teaching astronomy. Additionally, the game was demonstrated as a useful learning tool and as an activity to promote social skills. The findings offer a promising basis for further exploration of the integration of game-based approaches to physics education to promote active participation and interaction, balancing the learning objectives with play.

IMPROVEMENTS IN TEACHERS' KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF BASIC ASTRONOMY CONCEPTS THROUGH DIDACTIC GAMES

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 the implementation of the didactic games. The research included 24 in-service primary school teachers. The data were collected through the knowledge test (pre-post design) and questionnaires for each didactic game. The results showed that the teachers evaluated the didactic games as suitable for use in the classroom as they emphasized that they are educational, explicit and interesting. The implementation was identified as effective because the median for fractional gains was 0.54 and showed the medium gain in teachers’ knowledge and understanding of selected astronomy contents. It was recognized that in-service primary school teachers do not feel competent for introducing complex astronomical contents to their students. However, the presented approach could encourage in-service primary school teachers to deepen their knowledge and to teach astronomy contents with a method that is closer to their students. University teachers could point out the advantages and disadvantages of didactic games in astronomy content and discuss them with pre-service primary school teachers. Keywords: astronomy education, didactic games, in-service primary school teachers, Moon phases

Escape the Planet: Empowering Student Designers to Create a Science-Based Escape Room with Augmented Reality

The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York City implemented a science-based curriculum pairing augmented reality (AR) with a student-designed escape room experience to support astronomy learning. AR has the potential to simplify complex systems into digestible concepts. Designing an escape room experience provided students with an exciting opportunity to apply their understanding of astronomy concepts. This paper (1) presents a background of the curriculum, our development process, and describes the student-design framework, (2) describes the design of the escape room and the activities to facilitate science learning, (3) discusses how we utilized augmented reality in the course (4) presents design issues and revelations, and (5) proposes future changes.

Teacher’s misconception in curricular astronomy

Misconceptions about astronomy concepts are found quite regularly in students, even after they have taken astronomy courses. There are numerous reasons for this [1, 2]. The authors in this paper have focused on the possibility that the existence of these misconceptions could be attributed to the misconceptions of the teacher-instructor and its transmission down to the students that he/she has been teaching. Keeping this in mind, the authors have prepared a questionnaire consisting of assertions split into 5 sections. The teacher-instructors were asked to gauge the truthfulness of the assertions in a survey. The responses to the section on Calendars and the section on Sun and Moon are covered in this article. It was concluded that the respondents of the survey face serious skill deficits in imparting conceptually correct astronomical knowledge to their students. This deficit in skill is not only due to a lack of information on the subject but also due to an inability/unwillingness of the teacher-instructor to make logical inferences/extensions from the knowledge he/she does possess on the topic.

Impact of a didactic sequence on basic Astronomy concepts for graduates in Physics of online and classroom modalities

The purpose of this paper is to present the results obtained with the execution of a course of basic subjects in Astronomy for university students of Physics in face to face and in distance learning courses that were organized through Potentially Significant Teaching Units (PSTU). It is an applied and descriptive research, and the technical procedures adopted were survey (pre-test, post-test and qualification questionnaire) and technical action research (application of the course through the PSTU). Through statistical analysis the results show that the difference of the means (before and after the course) of the students is statistically significant, indicating a possible evolution in the basic knowledge of these in relation to the themes of Astronomy proposed in the didactic sequences. In addition, according to the qualification test the activities developed in the course administered, created a favorable climate for learning, thus indicating the success of the same.

Game-Based Learning to Engage Students With Physics and Astronomy Using a Board Game

In this research article, the authors developed a novel astronomy board game and examined how this approach could facilitate the learning and teaching of astronomy topics covered in the new Irish Science Syllabus. A total of 119 post-primary students took part in the pilot trial across Ireland. Data was collected via feedback questionnaires, systematic observations and pre and post-test surveys. Results indicate that this astronomy board game significantly enhances students' knowledge of astronomy concepts and perceptions of scientists. Furthermore, teachers showed positive attitudes towards this approach for teaching astronomy. Additionally, the game was demonstrated as a useful learning tool and as an activity to promote social skills. The findings offer a promising basis for further exploration of the integration of game-based approaches to physics education to promote active participation and interaction, balancing the learning objectives with play.

Student opinions on teaching astronomy with hands-on modelsFiziksel modellerle astronomi öğretimine ilişkin öğrenci görüşleri

In this study, it was aimed to determine the opinions of the students on the teaching astronomy with models (TAM) by teaching the astronomy concepts in the "Solar System and Beyond" unit of the Science curriculum with hands-on models. Six different "hands-on" models have been developed in this direction. The study group of the study constitutes a total of 40 middle school seventh grade students who are studying in one of the state schools affiliated to the Ministry of National Education in Samsun province. In the study, case study method was used among qualitative research methods. The data of the study were gathered using the Teaching Astronomy with Models Assessment Form (TAMAF) and analyzed using the content analysis technique. As a result of the analysis, students stated that they think that they comprehend the subjects easier and better by using “hands-on” models and therefore make the learning permanent. Besides, the visuality of the models are liked by the students and also the lessons thought with the models are observed to be entertaining and enjoyable. Finally, it was determined that the most favourite models of students are constellations and eclipses. Based on these results, it is proposed to extend and popularize the teaching using the “hands-on” model and to support the curriculums and schools using “hands-on” models.Extended English abstract is in the end of Full Text PDF (TURKISH) file. ÖzetBu çalışmada Fen Bilimleri öğretim programında yer alan “Güneş Sistemi ve Ötesi” Ünitesi içerisindeki astronomi kavramlarının fiziksel modeller yardımıyla öğretilmesi sonucu öğrencilerin modellerle astronomi öğretimine (MAÖ) ilişkin görüşlerini belirlemek amaçlanmıştır. Bu doğrultuda altı farklı “hands-on (fiziksel model[1])” model geliştirilmiştir. Araştırmanın çalışma grubunu Samsun ilinde Millî Eğitim Bakanlığına bağlı devlet okullarından birinde öğrenim gören toplam 40 ortaokul 7. sınıf öğrencisi oluşturmaktadır. Araştırmada nitel araştırma yöntemlerinden durum çalışması (örnek olay incelemesi) yöntemi kullanılmıştır. Çalışmanın verileri Modellerle Astronomi Öğretimi Değerlendirme Formu (MAÖDF) kullanılarak elde edilmiş olup, içerik analizi tekniği kullanılarak analiz edilmiştir. Analizler sonucunda öğrenciler, fiziksel modeller sayesinde konuları daha kolay ve iyi kavradıklarını, buna bağlı olarak da kalıcı öğrenme gerçekleştirdiklerini düşündüklerini ifade etmişlerdir. Bunun yanı sıra modellerin görselliğinin öğrenciler tarafından beğenildiği, modellerle yapılan derslerin de eğlenceli ve keyifli geçtiği belirtilmiştir. Son olarak öğrencilerin en çok beğendikleri modellerin takımyıldızları ve tutulmalar modelleri oldukları saptanmıştır. Bu sonuçlardan yola çıkarak, fiziksel model kullanılarak yapılan öğretimin yaygınlaştırılması, bunun içinde öğretim programlarının ve okulların fiziksel modellerle desteklenmesi önerilmiştir.