Children's Linguistic Ability and Knowledge of Elementary Astronomy (original) (raw)

Children's knowledge of astronomy and its change in the course of learning

Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 2007

This study examined the nature of 5-, 6-, and 7-year-old children's (n = 113) knowledge of astronomy and the process of knowledge change during learning. Children's pre-existing knowledge was assessed by questions and drawing tasks. About half of the children were taught elementary concepts of astronomy in small groups and afterwards all participants' knowledge was assessed again. Most children could be categorized as having fragmented astronomy knowledge and the proportion of non-scientific models first proposed by . Mental models of the Earth: A study of conceptual change in childhood. Cognitive Psychology, 24, was no greater than could be expected by chance. Children seemed to acquire factual information rather easily and therefore early instruction should introduce the core facts related to the topics. Some children over-generalized new knowledge very easily, indicating that the materials used in teaching may promote the development of non-scientific notions and that those notions must be addressed promptly to avoid the development of coherent non-scientific models.

Turkish Students' Understandings about Some Basic Astronomy Concepts: A Cross-Grade Study

2012

In the present study, students' ideas concerning some basic astronomy concepts are investigated. One hundred and sixty-two Turkish students at different grades (from primary and secondary school levels) participated in this study. Data of the study were gathered using a test, which required participants to present their answers by both writing and drawing. The results revealed that participants at all grades were not sufficient at written and visual responses, including many alternative ideas. It is thought that the results of this study will extend the related literature and make contribution to the development of astronomy education.

Alternative Conceptions of Elementary school students in Astronomy

EPRA International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research (IJMR), 2021

Students do not come into formal instruction without any pre-instructional knowledge or beliefs about the phenomena and concepts to be taught in astronomy. Besides, Children develop their everyday concepts about the world based on daily observations, from text books and conversations with adults. During the process of acquisition of this knowledge, learners may view the world in the form of weird concepts which are deviant from accepted notion of knowledge, termed as alternative conceptions or alternative frameworks or misconceptions. The acquired knowledge of elementary astronomy is a part of basic scientific literacy. Alternative conceptions in astronomy are a road block to new scientific learning. If the alternative conceptions are not addressed at the elementary level, the probability of sustaining the alternative conceptions may continue at higher learning as well. Therefore, it is important for teachers to have a clear understanding of the alternative conceptions that students bring with them into the science classroom. This research paper attempts to identify alternative conceptions of elementary school students in certain astronomical topics like apparent motion of sun and moon, day and night, seasons, phases of the moon etc. The sample consists of 56 seventh grade students from a school in Hyderabad. An Astronomy test consisting of six open ended questions prepared by the researcher was administered to the students. Students’ responses were analysed to elicit information about their knowledge and understanding of astronomical phenomena and to identify any alternative conceptions held by them. Results showed that students exhibited many alternative conceptions about these astronomical phenomena. Implications and recommendations were made for teachers to integrate well – constructed pedagogical design in the teaching - learning process, so that alternative conceptions in elementary astronomy could be redirected to conceptual change among learners.

Middle School Students’ Misconceptions about the Concepts of Astronomy

International Education Studies, 2018

The purpose of the current study is to conduct developmental comparison of the middle school students’ misconceptions about the concepts of astronomy. The sampling of the study is comprised of middle school students attending a private school located in the west of Turkey. A total of 144 students participated in the study. In order to determine the students’ perceptions of the concepts of astronomy, a data collection tool consisting of five open-ended questions was developed by the researchers. The data collected through this data collection tool was subjected to content analysis; on the basis of the analysis of the students’ responses, codes were determined and on the basis of these codes, themes were constructed. The results are presented as percentages and frequencies. When the findings of the study were generally evaluated, it was concluded that the students have misconceptions about the concepts of astronomy.

Exploring teachers' understanding of basic astronomical concepts and phenomena

This study investigates in-service teachers' comprehension of basic astronomical concepts and phenomena. For this purpose a questionnaire about the seasons, Moon's phases and the solar system was developed. The study involved 41 teachers who were at the time attending the Teachers College of Thessaloniki. The results (percentage of correct answers: 45%) revealed misconceptions, low ability to use logical reasoning as a tool of finding answers, lack of observational experience and vague phrasing.

University Students’ Understanding on Selected Astronomy Concepts

The foregoing study was an attempt to examine university students’ understanding on selected astronomy concepts. Its general aim was to establish the status of astronomy education specifically along the scientific literacy of students. Among the concepts examined included students’ reasoning on the occurrence of day and night, seasons, eclipses and tides. Moreover, it established their ideas on moon’s source of light, sun’s source of energy, black hole, colors and temperature, the concept of light year and the planets of the solar system and its sequence. The responses of fifty 3rd year Bachelor of Elementary Education students in a researcher-compiled conceptual evaluation were done using the simple Collaizi method. Results showed that university students possess variety of alternative conceptions along the above-mentioned phenomena and concepts. They hardly explain the occurrence of several natural phenomena and events even if they experience it every day and even after undergoing formal instruction in elementary science, integrated science and physical science. As a whole, this study evidently showed that despite the antiquity of astronomy as among the field in science, still there exist a big gap in terms of understanding its various concepts.

Small Astronomers (science education in early childhood)

Children are inherently curious about science subjects, and astronomy offers an interesting theme within these subjects. In this context it is thought that understanding the preschool child's knowledge about astronomy may be a starting point for astronomy education at a young age. The purpose of this research is to investigate children's knowledge about the basic astronomy concepts. The study was undertaken with 103 children aged 4-6 years, attending various lower and upper socioeconomic level public and private preschools. The data of the study were collected using the AKTPC test created by the researchers, and analyzed using ANOVA and T-test. At the end of study, age and gender variables didn't lead to a significiant difference in terms of the astronomy knowledge of the children, whereas there was a significiant difference in favor of children at the upper socioeconomic level. Also, it was seen that children were aware of basic astronomy concepts, and they used their ability in terms of the scientific process to explain astronomic events.

Exploring Children's Creative Imagination in Conceptual Understanding of the Astronomical World

Journal of Indian Education (NCERT), 2022

One of the fascinating traits is that children have inborn potentials and intrinsic qualities that often make them wonder about the terrestrial and celestial worlds and continuously explore the world they experience. Astronomy and space science can a strongly appeal to children. Astronomy is one of the best ways to introduce the spirit of science and creative imagination to children. The current study aims to examine how children's creative imagination contribute to their understanding of astronomical phenomena. The sample consisted of 36 Grade 9 students from a high school located in Hyderabad, India. An instrument called 'Test of Creative Imagery Abilities' (TCIA) was administered to assess children's ability to draw creative images. To test their knowledge of astronomy, 30 probes on different astronomical topics were administered. Children's explanations to the probes were categorised as naive, synthetic and scientific. The research was quantitative in nature. Correlational research has shown that children's conceptual understanding of astronomy is significantly correlated to their creative imagination. The correlation coefficient of the overall score of creative imagination and conceptual understanding in astronomy was found to be 0.482 (p < .05). Though this study had established a moderate but positive relationship between creative imagination and astronomy understanding, the researcher suggests that the introduction of visual creative imagination exercises allow students to gain a better understanding of abstract astronomical phenomena, and teachers should develop strategies that enhance children's imagination.