EVALUATION OF CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORKS IN ASTRONOMY
Journal Title: Problems of Education in the 21st Century - Year 2016, Vol 69, Issue 2
Abstract
Even though astronomy is the oldest science, it is still an open question how to evaluate students’ understanding in astronomy. In spite of the fact that some methods and evaluation tools have been developed for that purpose, the sources of students’ diffculties in astronomy are still unclear. This paper presents an investigation of the changes in conceptual frameworks in astronomy among 50 engineering students as a result of learning a general course in astronomy. A special tool called Conceptual Frameworks in Astronomy (CFA), which was initially used in 1989, was adopted to gather data for the present research. In its new version, the tool includes 23 questions and fve to six optional answers to each question. Each of the answers characterizes one of the four conceptual frameworks: pre-scientifc, geocentric, heliocentric and sidereal. These four conceptual frameworks act as a taxonomical system that enables us to evaluate astronomical understanding. The paper describes the background of the CFA, its development, and discusses its validity and reliability. Using the CFA we were able to: (1) identify the students’ conceptual frameworks at the beginning of the course and at its end, (2) to evaluate the students’ paradigmatic change following the course. It was found that the measure of the students’ improvement (gain index) was g = 0.37. Approximately 45% of the students in the course improved their conceptual frameworks in astronomy and 26% deepened their understanding of the heliocentric or sidereal conceptual frameworks. The CFA can also be applied as an evaluation tool in all schools and institutions that teach astronomy.
Authors and Affiliations
David Pundak
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP35422
- DOI -
- Views 359
- Downloads 0
FIGHTING FOR PEACE IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN CLASSROOM: PEACE EDUCATION THE MISSING LINK?
The post-apartheid education in South Africa is based on the Constitution of the Republic (Act 108 of 1996). Among its aims are to heal the divisions of the past and improve the life of all citizens. The policy is also...
EDUCATIONAL CHALLENGES ARISING FROM STUDENT PERCEPTION OF ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION
Contemporary students and instructors have differing views about communication technologies that can impact their learning relationship. We have found that although e-mail is students’ primary method for contacting ins...
EFFECTS OF GENDER ROLE PORTRAYAL IN TEXTBOOKS IN KENYAN PRIMARY SCHOOLS, ON PUPILS ACADEMIC ASPIRATIONS
The researcher aims to investigate the effect of gender role portrayal in selected textbooks in Kenyan primary schools on pupils’ academic aspirations. The study explored participants’ perceptions of what academic levels...
AN INVESTIGATION OF VARIOUS VARIABLES’ EFFECTS ON MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS’ SKILLS OF RECOGNIZING FIGURE PATTERNS
The purpose of this study was to investigate the middle school students’ skill of determining fgure patterns in terms of the variables of gender, grade, and mathematics achievement. Being descriptive in nature, this st...
SCIENCE EDUCATION AND STUDENTS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY: TEACHING APPROACHES AND IMPLICATIONS
This literature review aims at discussing current educational perspectives in the specifc feld of science teaching to students with mild to moderate intellectual disability. The present critical approach focuses on the...