Astronomy: learning theories applicable for education in planetarium environment

Abstract

How do people learn in general and study astronomy in particular? To develop a coherent educational policy we need an appropriate theory. Does learning consist of the incremental addition of individual “bits” of information into the mind? Or is learning an active process that transforms the mind of the learner? Among different theories on how people learn are: Behaviorism, Neuroscience, Right Brain vs. Left Brain, Communities of Practice, Control Theory, Observational Learning (Social learning theory), Vygotsky and Social Cognition, Learning Styles, Piaget's theory, Constructivism, Brain-based Learning, Multiple Intelligences. These theories are described in brief. All of the above mentioned learning theories may be applicable to some extent in the case of astronomy education in a planetarium environment. Especially the Multiple Intelligences theory can be tested perfectly while teaching in Planetarium and thus should be taken into more thorough consideration. It is discussed what a planetarium may offer to the audience with different types of intelligences, according to the Multiple Intelligences approach.

Perceptions of the European Space Sector: Youth Engagement With Space Education Events

“…Despite the growing number of large-scale space education programmes (Roche et al, 2021a), there remains some debate over the theories of learning underpinning astronomy and space education in informal environments (Kovalenko, 2019;Anjos and Carvalho, 2020). Constructivism is one of the most common theories of learning that provides the theoretical foundation for events where public audiences engage with science (Stocklmayer et al, 2010;McCauley et al, 2018), and for young people engaging in space and astronomy in informal learning environments, social constructivism-whereby learning is mediated through social interaction with teachers, educators, and peers-is often the learning theory that underpins the activities (Vygotsky, 1978;Kallery, 2011).…”

Digital Hilal Observation: Evaluating the Authenticity of Hilal Testimonials in Indonesia Using the Digistar-6 Planetarium System

“…A study conducted by Kovalenko (2019) titled 'Astronomy: Learning Theories Applicable for Education in Planetarium Environment'. This research concluded that in an educational activity, there are important theories to be taught to learners, such as environmental science, neuroscience, left and right brain, community of practice, control theory, social learning theory, Vygotsky and social cognition, learning styles, Piaget's theory, constructivism, brain-based learning, multiple intelligences theory.…”

A teoria das Inteligências Múltiplas contextualizada com Educação, Neurociência e Pensamento computacional: uma revisão de literatura

“…Este sistema inteligente usa tecnologias da informação criando um aprendizado adaptativo real. De forma esquematizada, foram propostas cinco dimensões e um número variável de táticas para cada dimensão.Na Ucrânia,Kovalenko (2019) defende que um planetário pode oferecer ao público, com diferentes tipos de inteligências, uma abordagem diferente usando as IM. Por exemplo, para a inteligência lógico-matemática cálculos, fórmulas, números e atividades de resolução de problemas.…”