Improvements in Teachers' Knowledge and Understanding of Basic Astronomy Concepts Through Didactic Games

Abstract

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

Is Peer Instruction in Primary School Feasible? : The Case Study in Slovenia

“…Trundle et al (2007), however, summarize research by many authors on basic astronomical concepts and show that the content on Moon phases is too complex to be introduced to the lower grades of primary school, as students are developmentally unable to assimilate complex phenomena. In a sense, the present results confirm the above and underline the role of the qualified teacher to present the content with embodiment (Geršak et al, 2020;Susman & Pavlin, 2020). It is a similar situation to the 9th graders, e.g.…”

Determining Pre-Service Teachers’ Astronomy-Related Self-Efficacy Belief Levels

“…Güneş' (2010) study on pre-service teachers showed a statistically significant relationship between academic achievement and self-efficacy belief in teaching astronomy. Moreover, Susman and Pavlin (2020) stated that in-service teachers expounded on how they felt uncomfortable teaching astronomy topics during the teacher training despite having worked on models of the solar system, moon phases, and eclipses. This result also supports the results from the current study.…”

Experiences of Slovenian In-Service Primary School Teachers and Students of Grades 4 and 5 with Outdoor Lessons in the Subject Science and Technology

“…Based on the students' short answers, it is not possible to deduce the extent to which they would like to continue with the given content, but in most cases it would be possible to incorporate the content into the existing curriculum and implement it outdoors. One exception is content on astronomy, especially on space and the stars, which always sparks the curiosity and interest of students of different ages (Susman & Pavlin, 2020). The students' responses do, however, show their interest in outdoor lessons.…”