Preservice Elementary Teachers’ Knowledge of Observable Moon Phases and Pattern of Change in Phases

Trundle, Kathy Cabe; Atwood, Ronald K.; Christopher, J. E.

doi:10.1007/s10972-006-9006-7

Cited by 50 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…This study complemented Trundle et al (2006) as well as Bell and Trundle (2008) quite well, because it extended their findings to a younger age group and that it also found that using Starry Night© alone can result substantial gains in conceptual understanding of lunar phase concepts. also discovered that the LPCI overestimates conceptual understanding of lunar phases compared to the interview protocol because of student guessing with the forced-choice instrument.…”

Section: Computer Simulation Examples From Space Science Educationmentioning

confidence: 52%

“…There were ten studies that mostly investigated the conceptual change approach to lunar phase instruction. Trundle, Atwood, and Christopher (2007a), drawing on their previous work Trundle et al (2002Trundle et al ( , 2006 as well as the work of others such as Vosniadou et al (2004) develop perspective of conceptual change that moves beyond descriptive studies of alternative conceptions to using this knowledge of alternative conceptions to specifically address them during instruction. The researchers can now start making use of the conceptual change model along with an inquiry-based mode of instruction.…”

Section: Effectiveness Of Instructional Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These classes were chosen for this research because of their convenience as well as access to the specific instructor. These classes were also chosen because they are similar classes studied by Trundle et al (2002Trundle et al ( , 2006Trundle et al ( , 2007a and Bell and Trundle, (2006, 2008 because they are all groups of undergraduates preparing to be teachers. The treatments (A & B) were be randomly assigned to the two sections.…”

Section: Internal and External Validitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is apparent that college students generally do not hold a scientific view as to the causes of the phases of the moon when they begin an introductory astronomy course (Bell & Trundle, 2006, 2008Bisard, Aron, Francek, & Nelson, 1994;Kuethe, 1963;Lindell, 2003;Lindell & Sommer, 2003;Parker & Heywood, 1998;Schoon, 1992Schoon, , 1995Schoon & Boone, 1998;Trumper, 2000;Trundle et al, 2002Trundle et al, , 2006Trundle et al, , 2007a. The most prevalent alternative conception is that the lunar phases are caused by the Earth's shadow being cast on the moon (Trundle et al, 2002).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many of the studies considered non-content factors such as engagement of students (Barnett & Moran, 2002) or the thoughtfulness of student reflections (Abell et al, 2002). However Bell and Trundle (2006, 2008, Trundle et al (2002Trundle et al ( , 2006Trundle et al ( , 2007a, and Trundle and Bell (2010) have shown that inquiry-based, conceptual change instruction that addresses the student's alternative conceptions can be an effective approach to teaching lunar phase concepts. Keys and Bryan (2001) describe inquiry-based, conceptual change science instruction as including: students posing questions, designing and carrying out investigations, analyzing their own data, developing a model to interpret their data, and lastly communicating their findings.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Simulating Science: Using a Computer to Facilitate Conceptual Change for Moon Phases

Alexander¹

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The teaching of lunar phases to pre-service elementary teachers is important since lunar phases and the relationship of the earth-moon-sun system are specifically stated in the national science education reform documents. Moreover, Benchmarks for Science Literacy (Benchmarks) (American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1993), National Science Education Content Standards (NSES) (National Research Council, 1996), as well as Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) (National Research Council, 2013) give specific recommendations for making use of physical models to help students understand the geometry of the sun-earth-moon system that is critical for understanding phases of the moon. Each of these documents view concepts of lunar phases as foundational for understanding the sun-earth-moon system. Additionally, these national reform documents have been modified by many states to serve as a basis for their state science education standards.Pre-service elementary teachers' conceptions of shape, sequence, and scientific understanding of the cause of moon phases improve both statistically and substantively after inquiry-based, conceptual change instructional intervention based on a computer simulation. More specifically, planetarium software was found useful to facilitate a constructivist approach to science education where the students constructed their own understanding of lunar phases by the use of this inquiry-based, conceptual change approach. Gains in conceptual understanding were measured by a semi-structured interview protocol as well as the LPCI and an Abridged-LPCI that is a version of the LPCI that includes only the questions that align directly with the interview protocol.The Abridged-LPCI results correlate better than the LPCI with the semi-structured interview protocol. Although there were statistically significant correlations, they were not practically significant. Student interviews, as well as student daily written reflections, provided data that helped to illuminate the conceptual change process and are not available from forced-choice instruments.Additionally, there are no statistical or substantive differences in achievement between students who collect moon observation data in a whole class setting versus those who collect this data working with the computer simulation in pairs. In general, the factors measured from the writing of student reflections were not significantly correlated with measures of conceptual gains although they can provide insights into the learning process.And finally, the Styrofoam™ ball (scientific model) activity was found to be a significant instructional component that positively impacted improvement of scientific conceptions of moon phases. Only 2 of 12 possible correlations between student reflection and LPCI were statistically significantly positively correlated and none of the 12 possible correlations for the Abridged-LPCI were statistically significantly correlated with student reflections, although they were not practically significant.Moreover, ...

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Section: Computer Simulation Examples From Space Science Educationmentioning

confidence: 52%

Section: Effectiveness Of Instructional Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Internal and External Validitymentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Simulating Science: Using a Computer to Facilitate Conceptual Change for Moon Phases

Alexander¹

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The use of a computer simulation to promote scientific conceptions of moon phases

2007

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This study described the conceptual understandings of 50 early childhood (Pre‐K‐3) preservice teachers about standards‐based lunar concepts before and after inquiry‐based instruction utilizing educational technology. The instructional intervention integrated the planetarium software Starry Night Backyard™ with instruction on moon phases from Physics by Inquiry by McDermott (1996). Data sources included drawings, interviews, and a lunar shapes card sort. Videotapes of participants' interviews were used along with the drawings and card sorting responses during data analysis. The various data were analyzed via a constant comparative method in order to produce profiles of each participant's pre‐ and postinstruction conceptual understandings of moon phases. Results indicated that before instruction none of the participants understood the cause of moon phases, and none were able to draw both scientific moon shapes and sequences. After the instruction with technology integration, most participants (82%) held a scientific understanding of the cause of moon phases and were able to draw scientific shapes and sequences (80%). The results of this study demonstrate that a well‐designed computer simulation used within a conceptual change model of instruction can be very effective in promoting scientific understandings. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 45: 346–372, 2008

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Early elementary students' development of astronomy concepts in the planetarium

Plummer

2008

J Res Sci Teach

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The National Science Education Standards [National Research Council (1996) National science education standards. Washington, DC: National Academy Press] recommend that students understand the apparent patterns of motion of the sun, moon and stars by the end of early elementary school. However, little information exists on students' ability to learn these concepts. This study examines the change in students' understanding of apparent celestial motion after attending a planetarium program using kinesthetic learning techniques. Pre-and post-interviews were conducted with participants from seven classes of first and second grade students (N ¼ 63). Students showed significant improvement in knowledge of all areas of apparent celestial motion covered by the planetarium program. This suggests that students in early elementary school are capable of learning the accurate description of apparent celestial motion. The results also demonstrate the value of both kinesthetic learning techniques and the rich visual environment of the planetarium for improved understanding of celestial motion. This study investigates instruction designed to help improve children's understanding of apparent celestial motion: the observable patterns of motion of the sun, moon and stars that occur on a daily, monthly and yearly pattern. Observing and learning the patterns of motion of apparent celestial objects pose a number of challenges. First, all of these motions occur over long periods of time: hours in the case of the daily motion of the sun, moon and stars; daily for the shift in the moon's appearance and rise/set time; monthly for the slow change in the sun's path across the seasons and the change in the constellations we see each night. Second, tracking these motions requires effort to notice and recall positions with respect to landmarks on the horizon. Third, these changes are often occurring when many people are not outside observing the sky such as at night or during inclement weather. Therefore, it is unlikely that most children will learn the details of apparent celestial motion on their own.Children may benefit from learning about apparent celestial motion in elementary school because it will provide a reason to learn the unobservable motions that explain these phenomena. In school, most instruction fails to make the connections between the observed motions in the sky and the deduced motions of the planets, sun and moon from a heliocentric (sun-centered) perspective (Nussbaum, 1986). Instruction that primarily focuses on the heliocentric motions is not only unlikely to improve knowledge of geocentric motion, but it may also facilitate students' in creating non-normative ideas about celestial objects and their motion (Plummer, in press). Learning about the apparent motion of the sun and moon may also help students understand other important topics such as the seasons (Trumper, 2006) and phases of the moon (Kavanagh,

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Preservice Elementary Teachers’ Knowledge of Observable Moon Phases and Pattern of Change in Phases

Cited by 50 publications

References 21 publications

Simulating Science: Using a Computer to Facilitate Conceptual Change for Moon Phases

Simulating Science: Using a Computer to Facilitate Conceptual Change for Moon Phases

The use of a computer simulation to promote scientific conceptions of moon phases

Early elementary students' development of astronomy concepts in the planetarium

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