Origins of Misconceptions

Students come into our classrooms with many misconceptions about science in general and astronomy in particular (see numerous papers and references in Novak, 1993 and Pfundt & Duit 1993). These beliefs evolve from a variety of sources throughout childhood and adolescence (Comins, 1993a, 1993b, 1995). I have found that directly addressing these incorrect beliefs in the context of their origins helps my students replace them with correct knowledge. By understanding the origins of their misconceptions students can screen information more effectively, i.e., they learn to think more critically. My purpose in this paper is to briefly identify origins of misconceptions and classroom techniques for replacing them.

I define misconceptions as deep seated beliefs that are inconsistent with accepted scientific information. Unless we directly address these incorrect ideas at their roots, most students cannot replace them with correct knowledge. Most students retain correct material only long enough to pass tests, and then lapse into believing their prior misconceptions.

In previous works (Comins, 1993a & 1995) I identified a heuristic set of origins that account for all the misconceptions I have identified. It is well worth noting that such a list is by no means unique and, given that I have since added another category, nor is it complete. Nevertheless, this set of origins is an extremely practical one, providing a significant set of tools for understanding and dissecting misconceptions and how these beliefs are used by different people. In an effort to make this set more tractable, I have now revised it to an even dozen (see Sections 1.1–1.12).

Introduction

The Star Centre is a national astronomy and space science base which

• facilitates public access to news and information

• promotes public awareness, interest, enjoyment and understanding.

The Star Centre meets these twin aims by providing an information service which can be accessed in a variety of ways and by offering a menu of public observing events.

The concept of a national astronomy base developed as part of the Centre for Science Educations growing portfolio of initiatives in both the formal education sector and the wider umbrella of the Public Understanding of Science. In December 1996 the Star Centre was launched with the aid of a Royal Society COPUS development grant and matching funding from Sheffield Hallam University.

This paper summarises the main activities of the Star Centre, gives some impression of the public response and outlines plans for future development.

The Star Centre in Context

The Star Centre reaches out directly to schools and the general public and is part of the growing network of long-term projects at the Centre for Science Education (CSE) within the School of Science and Mathematics as shown in Figure 1. The largest of these projects is the UK Research Council funded Pupil Researcher Initiative (PRI) in which school pupils in the 14–16 age range explore science topics through research briefs. The PRI provides resources, activities, strategies and support for science teachers and their pupils so that pupils will experience the excitement and relevance of science and engineering research and so develop a lasting interest and enthusiasm. All aspects of the research process are involved and there are opportunities for Science Fairs, Pupil Researcher Conferences and Roadshows.

The reader of this proceedings volume might ask why was it thought interesting to publish a few pages about the posters presented at IAU Colloquium 162? It had been decided that indeed the history of the meeting would not have been complete without some words about the poster presentations. The final success of the entire Colloquium depended on all presentations, either oral or poster.

The posters themselves have been different but it has been interesting to note that sometimes similar projects and ideas have been elaborated at very distant places in the world.

The basis of our teaching should be related to our roots; we ought to mention old traditions in our own country, such as the cosmological ideas of old Guarani Indians or the story of the first South American 18th century. Observatory of F. Buenaventura Suarez which have been shown by A. E. Troche Boggino of the University of Asuncion, Paraguay. However, I found most interesting the history of evolution of the human mind as depicted by the diagram of A. E. Troche Boggino showing chronological sequences of contemporary scientists, philosophers, writers, painters, sculptors and composers, from the times of Copernicus to the present day. It is easy to make a perpendicular cut or cross-section of the diagram at a given epoch, for instance that of Copernicus, and get to know what other famous persons have been living during his life-time.

In another part of the world, at the University of Glamorgan, UK, Mark Brake had been also in favour of a historical/cultural approach when telling his audience scientific facts, both when dealing with university students and with the general public.

Introduction

Comets and quasars, black holes and the big bang, pulsars and planets all feature in the media and excite people to find out more – astronomy might be described as the popular face of modern science. In the UK, recent changes in Advanced Level (A-level) physics courses mean that many students have the option of studying astrophysics to a depth beyond the merely descriptive. This option is proving popular with teachers and students, but presents particular challenges shared by few other areas of A-level physics courses.

Astrophysics within A-level physics

A-level courses are taken by students who choose to stay in education beyond the age of sixteen. Students typically study three subjects at A-level over the course of two years. A-level is approximately equivalent to 12th grade and the first year of a bachelors degree in the USA. Students are awarded grades for their A-level work which depend on their performance in external examinations and on evidence of experimental skills collected by their teachers. The examinations are set, and the grades awarded, by independent examination boards which specify the content on which students are to be examined and the skills for which teachers are required to provide evidence. For many students, A-levels are a preparation for more advanced study at university.

Fifty percent of the content of all A-level physics syllabuses is now defined nationally (School Curriculum and Assessment Authority, 1994), whereas previously the examinations boards had a greater degree of autonomy. Current syllabuses have been discussed and summarized by Avison, 1994; most consist of a compulsory element, with a menu of optional topics of which students must study (and be examined on) a specified number.

Introduction

The total solar eclipse of October 24, 1995, whose central line cut across the subcontinent of India, was only the second total solar eclipse visible from India in this century. The previous total eclipse visible from India occurred on February 16, 1980. At that time the print media filed widely varying reports on what the effect of seeing the eclipse would be, without much coordinated input from astronomers. With the new confused advice reinforcing old fears, almost the entire population literally hid indoors, fearing the worst. Many Indian astronomers silently resolved to themselves then, that public education must be taken up with the same level of seriousness as research programmes during the next eclipse.

The Background

The total solar eclipse of October 24,1995 was visible along some of the most populated parts of India and took place during a season of generally clear skies. Elsewhere in the country the eclipse would be partial. So nation-wide, our class was a mere 900 million strong!

Even in the last decade of this century, astronomy education in India is very sparsely serviced below the post graduate level. Several new planetaria have been built around the country since 1980. Clearly they would play a role in public education. So our 900 million strong class could be apportioned between them as far as public education was concerned. But the school, undergraduate and amateur sectors continue to suffer from lack of focussed attention. Here, however, the numbers involved would be much smaller. The Nehru Planetarium decided to use this opportunity to design activities not only for the general public, but also for specific groups of school students, undergraduates and amateurs.

What is the EADN?

In 1986, a group of university astrophysics institutes in eleven Western European countries established a federation known as the European Astrophysics Doctoral Network (EADN). The aims of the EADN, then and now, are to stimulate the mobility of postgraduate students in astrophysics within Europe, and to organize pre-doctoral astrophysics schools for graduate students at the beginning of their PhD research. The network has by now expanded to include about 30 institutes in 17 Western European countries, and ways are being actively sought for expanding the EADN even further to include Eastern and Central Europe. The coordinators have been Prof. Jean Heyvaerts (France) until 1992, Prof. Loukas Vlahos (Greece) 1992-1993 and myself since 1993. The network is financially supported by the European Union “ERASMUS” and the “Human Capital & Mobility” programmes as well as by national funds.

The Student Mobility Scheme

The Student Mobility Scheme has been designed to encourage postgraduate, or in some cases senior graduate, students to undertake part of their doctoral or diploma thesis research at an institute which is part of the network. It offers ERASMUS funded grants intended to cover student travel expenses and extra expenses encountered by the student caused by living away from their home institute. The grants are not full grants since it is expected that the student can retain the home grant while at the partner institute. The duration of the visit is usually anywhere between 3 and 12 months and must be preceded by contacts between the student's regular thesis advisor and the network partner advisor.

Introduction

Informal and formal astronomy education is present through many channels: newspapers and TV; amateur associations; clubs and science associations; at school at any level. The teachers are not only the main agents of the educational process at school, but they are also very active in extra-curricular activities: they run clubs, educational projects etc.

These activities are present everywhere in the world, as can be seen from the reading of the National Reports published every 3 years by Commission 46 “Astronomy Teaching” of the International Astronomical Union and published in its Newsletter.

A quick look at these reports shows that there is a huge variety of educational systems from one country to another: some countries have a specific curriculum in astronomy, others are just beginning to develop it; in other places, astronomy has been considerably reduced in the newly created curricula. One more difference: in some countries, education has a national curriculum; in others the responsibility for teaching is left entirely to each Province, a term used here to refer to the local situation. Such a situation and its consequences was were depicted by Wentzel (Williamstown IAU Colloquium 105, 1986).

Why Astronomy in the curricula?

In spite of these differences, a general trend can be drawn: it is very rare that astronomy is considered as a separate subject; it is nearly everywhere part of the programme either of Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry or Natural Sciences.

Introduction

Astronomy is, inherently, a high-interest subject. However, at the high school level there is a tendency to teach astronomy using higher-level abstractions and complex mathematics. This teaching approach thus eliminates a large number of students who have difficulties with abstractions and complex mathematics, thereby restricting the study of astronomy to a rather select group of students.

The astronomy course offered since 1976 at Wauwatosa West High School was developed to reach a wide range of students with differing abilities. The prerequisite for this one-semester elective course is the successful completion of one year of high school science. Most of the students enrolled in this course are high school juniors and seniors, ages 16-18. Since algebra is not a prerequisite, the “math phobic” students have been attracted to the course. The higher ability students enjoy the challenges posed by astronomy and often take this course as a supplement to their physics classes. Students who normally have difficulty with science suddenly discover that they can succeed in astronomy, and we have introduced a whole new group of students to this high-interest subject.

Activities

Our astronomy course focuses on hands-on activities, which can illustrate higher-level abstractions in a more concrete manner. In particular, we use Project STAR activities, which were developed at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Our text is also the Project STAR textbook (Coyle, et al, 1993). The following subsection will illustrate some of these hands-on activities.

Orientation: Celestial Sphere

[Slide: exterior of Wauwatosa West High School] Wauwatosa West High School is located in a suburb of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on the western shore of Lake Michigan.

Imagine trying to teach reading to students who do not know the alphabet or driving to someone who does not know the purpose of the brake. As teachers, we have a view of what the fundamental ideas that our field are and make decisions about their coverage and order in our courses. Yet, research shows that students rarely have the foundation that we expect; they hold misconceptions about the physical world that actually inhibit the learning of many scientific concepts. Moreover, the metaphors that we employ for building student understanding: reliving the historical development of the field, journeying from the closest to farthest reaches of the universe, and observing the objects in the sky, are only based on our own beliefs in their effectiveness. Empirical evidence shows that they are of little value; there is rarely any lasting change in students’ conceptual understanding in science. Yet, by testing large populations, one can tease out the relative difficulty of astronomical conceptions, which misconceptions inhibit understanding of scientific ideas, and which concepts are prerequisites for others. These relationships allow the determination of an intrinsic structure of astronomical concepts, the way in which novices to experts appear to progress naturally through to an understanding of the field. Such a structure has application in the classroom. Certain ideas appear to be so fundamental to understanding light, scale, and gravity that no headway can be made until they are mastered. If we learn to set realistic goals for our students and teach the prerequisite notions prior to the more exotic ones, we may be able to optimize student learning and build understanding that outlasts the final exam.

Introduction

The status of teaching Astronomy in European countries is variable. Sometimes Astronomy appears as a compulsory subject or as an optional subject, but on many occasions Astronomy appears within another subject, depending on the country. It is even possible for Astronomy not to appear anywhere in the curriculum. But of course the position here is better than in other less developed places. In Europe there are various topics which can be organized into two main groups: aspects related to relative motions and aspects related to properties of light. Some examples of teaching activities and materials in various countries will be described.

It is also necessary to emphasize several initiatives such as the review of Astronomy curricula, the publication of general books on Astronomy for secondary schools and the organisation of new journals to promote Astronomy in schools.

It is essential to mention the new European Association for Astronomy Education (EAAE) founded last November in Athens. This meeting was attended by 100 teachers and astronomy professionals from 17 European countries. It is hoped that this, in conjuntion with the other initiatives, will do much to encourage the study of Astronomy.

Relative Motions.

In this field, as in others, there is some very interesting material promoted by the Comite de Liaison Enseignants et Astronomes (CLEA) in France. Denise Wacheux has produced a special umbrella which is used to study the movement of the Sun and celestial sphere in relation to the horizon, and which has very interesting didactic applications in secondary schools. It is possible to change the latitude and to move the umbrella around its axis.

Students, young and old, find the existence of extraterrestrial life one of the most intriguing of all science topics. The theme of searching for life in the universe lends itself naturally to the integration of many scientific disciplines for thematic science education. Based upon the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), the Life in the Universe (LITU) curriculum project at the SETI Institute developed a series of six teachers guides, with ancillary materials, for use in elementary and middle school classrooms, grades 3 through 9. Lessons address topics such as the formation of planetary systems, the origin and nature of life, the rise of intelligence and culture, spectroscopy, scales of distance and size, communication and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Each guide is structured to present a challenge as the students work through the lessons. The six LITU teachers guides may be used individually or as a multi-grade curriculum for a school.

Integral to the development process was the collection of evaluation data on draft materials from field test teachers, students, and scientists. These data led to revisions and further field tests. Responses indicate that the objectives for the materials were achieved, and that the materials were well received. The LITU project was conducted by the SETI Institute in Mountain View, CA; the project was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The LITU Series is being published by Teachers Ideas Press, a division of Libraries Unlimited, Englewood, Colorado, USA.

Goals

Early in this century, many cities and universities could support telescopes large enough to do serious research. There were significant observatories even in the less accesable parts of the world. Astronomy was very much an international science, and the IAU was founded to aid this international outlook.

In the middle of this century, astronomy changed in two ways. First, the frontier research turned to new topics. It needed telescopes too expensive for most small and many large countries. Second, physics became a more prominent part of astronomy. That left many of the existing small observatories scientifically isolated, especially in developing countries. The scientifically lonely astronomers there needed new alliances to survive.

Simultaneously, the new prominence of physics led to astronomers appearing in physics departments of developing countries. These new astronomers were also isolated and they also needed to build alliances to survive.

Since the 1960s, the IAU has tried to support astronomy in developing countries, especially the lonely astronomers, by several teaching-related projects, supervised by IAU Commission 46. I shall tell you the more formal aspects of these projects, and then I want to summarize some of the successes and difficulties. But first I want to emphasize an important principle for each of these projects:

Any country or university where the IAU helps to develop astronomy must contribute significantly to this project. The more usual alternative has been tried by other scientific societies. Typically, they donated a piece of research equipment. Far too often several years later, the equipment has been found rusting in some corner. Those of you familiar with tropical countries know that rust destroys neglected equipment very rapidly.

This project had two principal objectives: to communicate safe methods to observe the Sun, so as to prevent ophthalmological accidents to people during the total solar eclipse of 3rd November 1994, and to collaborate with the primary school teachers in the science classroom, illustrating the classes, motivating the students to observe sky phenomena.

Introduction

In January 1993, a commission called “ECLIPSE 94” Executive Commission, of the Brazilian Astronomical Society was created to coordinate assistance with arrangements for observing the total solar eclipse of 3rd November 1994, that in Brazil was total in the western part of Parana State, in Santa Catarina State and in a Rio Grande do Sul zone. Professional astronomers from Brazil and from several parts of the world were mobilized to observe this eclipse. The biggest interest in this phenomenon was because the next one of this type, in Brazil, will only occur in the year 2046, and will be visible in Paraiba State. The general coordination was done by Prof. Dr. Oscar Matsuura, from the Astronomical and Geophysical Institute of University of São Paulo.

Following the suggestion of the Working Group on Eclipses of the International Astronomical Union, this commission decided to amplify their action, assuming the articulation of a large publicity campaign about eclipses, close to the common people. Such a campaign was aimed at giving technical and astronomical information and at preventing ophthalmological accidents to people during the total solar eclipse of November 3, 1994. Utilising this fact, we decided to use this campaign to collaborate with the teachers, principally in high school, illustrating science classes, and motivating the students to observe sky phenomena.

I discuss the burgeoning World Wide Web and how it can be used to aid astronomy teaching. I supply a list of a variety of useful Web sites.

The World Wide Web was invented 5 years ago at CERN, which is now translated as the European Laboratory for Particle Physics, as a way of aiding access to information from remote sites. The invention of graphic interfaces, notably Mosaic by a group at the National Supercomputer Center in Illinois and then Netscape Navigator as a private development by many of the original Mosaic people, led to an explosion in use of the Web. Millions of people around the world are now able to access information from over 100,000 Web sites.

There is much astronomical information on the Web, though that information make up only a small fraction of all the information available through this medium. The astronomical information is of many varied types, from images of observations to tables of data to lesson plans to journal articles. The question for us to address here is how best to make use of this information for astronomy teaching. Even with the increased resources available at our desktops, the individual teacher remains an important part of the educational enterprise.

One set of alternatives deals with whom the Web information is aimed at. To present new Web data in class, it is useful to have a means of projecting computer information on a screen, which is most often done with an LCD projector panel.

Background

For the teaching of astronomy there can be no alternative to the hands-on experience of using instruments on a real telescope observing on a clear dark night. Such experience is not possible for millions of students who are excited by the ideas of astronomy. It is not merely one of cost. The logistics of assembling a class of students after school hoping for clear skies destroys the possibilities of real observing for the majority of students. Robot telescopes change all that.

In educational terms a robot telescope can provide a range of experiences of observational astronomy. The development of CD-ROM and the Internet to support classroom learning have produced the concept of REAL(Dunlap 1996): a Rich Environment for Active Learning as an appropriate framework on which to develop the classroom response to these technologies. The Bradford Robot Telescope has demonstrated student centred experiences to generate a Rich Environment for Active Learning(REAL), for astronomy. It is based on a massive extension of the library and experiential resource available to the teacher over the Internet, the opportunity for the student to develop and answer questions associated with the learning programme and access to a robot telescope which provides two modes of operation: service observing and eavesdropping. In the concept of REAL the students are:-

• Allowed to, and taught to, determine what they need to learn through questioning and goal setting

• Provided with sufficient scaffolding in the environment to help students with prompts, examples, modelling and collaborative support

• Enabled to manage their own learning activities

• Enabled to contribute to each others’ learning through collaborative activities.

Introduction

Sometimes I find my self in a society in the middle of The Global Village and sometimes in a society in a little state with a large number of computers not speaking the language I usually talk. When a prevailing part of the population are working in one area the society is named after that area, allthough a lot of other things can characterize the society. The latest societies are:

• Agricultural society

• Industrial society

• Information society

The agricultural and industrial societies have come to an end. When a society comes to an end, it is usually because the efficiency of production reaches a level higher than necessary, to keep all the workers busy. Many of the workers are attracted to other kinds of work, which gives rise to the next culture.

We must imagine a similar over production of information, so that the number of people occupied by producing information will start to decline. Some say that we have reach the end point already, because we have access to information from all over the world through computers, Internet and World Wide Web in an amount larger than we can handle. But that may not be true because we are waiting for large numbers of the population to learn to utilize all that information. The demand may increase for some time to come.

We can see the extremly high impact computers have on politicians, compared to their previous interest in libraries. In Denmark more money has been put into school computers during the last five years, than have ever been used for school library books.

Introduction

The objective of this work is to make known the astronomical activities in the region of Campinas, the process of developing municipal cooperation and the general conclusions that reflect this process.

This research has been done by means of interviews with people related to the creation of astronomical centers in the region of the city of Campinas that is located in the state of São Paulo in Brasil (Fig. 1 and 2).

The conditions studied are related with this region but many ideas could be used in developing countries or others.

Nowadays there are works in the areas of research, teaching and popularization in many institutions besides the individual efforts of teachers and amateur astronomers in general. At two local universities (Unicamp and Puccamp) the discipline of astronomy at the graduate level is still optional. There are no groups or departments of astronomy but various students have obtained the MSc degree in areas such as black holes, active galactic nuclei, cosmology and teaching of astronomy. There is also a small planetarium, a naked eye observatory, some astronomy clubs as well as various amateur astronomers who contribute with systematic observations of the sky in many fields such as Sun, planets, occultations, comets, astrophotography, CCD astronomy and even with the use of spectroheliograph, coronograph and a Schmidt camera. Some teachers conduct astronomical activities in many schools of the region within disciplines like sciences or physics as well as lectures, exhibits and observations of the sky. There are six municipal observatories (Campinas, Americana, Itapira, Piracicaba, Diadema and Amparo), with continuing activities of observational programs, public observation, exhibits, and other activities directed to students.

Introduction

A European Initiative

Astronomy knows no geographical borders – the sky is the same over all countries. However, while professional astronomers have long established bi- and multilateral collaborations, many of which take place under the auspices of the IAU, few similar schemes exist within astronomy education.

Now, following the establishment in 1995 of the European Association for Astronomy Education (EAAE), this situation is about to change on that continent. This new association offers an efficient platform for astronomy educators at various levels – in particular at the approx. 7000 secondary schools in this geographical area – to interact in all related matters, e.g. curricula, all kinds of teaching materials, student exchanges and other events. Together with the European Commission and some of the professional institutes, EAAE is now planning a major, international event in November 1996.

Geographical disparity

Astronomy is taught at secondary school level in most European countries, but there are enormous differences from area to area. In some places astronomy plays an important role within the physics curriculum, in other places CCD-equipped telescopes of medium size are available for observational studies, and in some places astronomy is barely visible or the connected matters are spread over many different subjects. With some notable exceptions, it cannot be said that the teaching of astronomy in Europe is satisfactory, and it would appear that the great potential inherent in this science with so many connections and of such an outspoken interdisciplinary nature is very poorly exploited.

The data, scientific results, and expertise from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and other NASA Missions are being integrated into programs that support innovative and experimental methods to improve content in science and math education. Partnerships with science museums, teachers, other educators, community colleges, universities and other key organizations integrate unique and cutting edge science data and the associated satellite technology into resources which have the potential to enhance science, math and technical learning. The inspiring nature of astronomical data and the technology associated with the HST and other missions can be used by teachers to engage students in many inventive activities. The resources created through collaborative teaming will be discussed, as well as the process for creating partnerships to benefit the education community. Many NASA supported programs encourage electronic access and distribution of multi-media interactive activities and curriculum support materials distributed across the Internet. Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), in particular, is endeavoring to make the science results announced through the news media and through public information channels particularly relevant to a broad audience, including through resources for pre-college classrooms and informal science centers.

Introduction

Background: NASA Involvement

The science divisions within NASA have a specific charter to provide unique and often new technology instrumentation in orbit for the purpose of conducting top rank science research in the Earth, Space, Planetary and Astrophysical Sciences. The expense of commissioning useful orbiting observatories necessitates that excellent research be efficiently accomplished with the facilities.