5 - A contemporary review of K–16 astronomy education research

Summary

Abstract: Despite astronomy's widespread inclusion in curricula prior to the twentieth century, educational research in astronomy is a relatively new endeavor. As the field of astronomy education research grows, many may find it useful to know what has been done so far. Starting with and expanding beyond the SABER database, a systematic review and classification of the K-12 and higher education literature was performed. Some of the research themes that emerged include: student beliefs and misconceptions; collaborative learning; the large lecture classroom; and education in planetariums. Key studies in these areas are described and a bibliography is presented.

Astronomy education research (AER) uses the systematic techniques honed in science education and physics education research to understand what and how students learn about astronomy, and determine how instructors can create more productive learning environments for their students. As the field of AER grows - and it is doing so vigorously - many readers may find it useful to have a concise summary of what has been published to date. The purpose of this paper is to summarize and categorize the various research projects in astronomy education in order to set the stage for subsequent efforts. In researching the field, a number of information sources were consulted. Three electronic resources served as the starting point for the review: the SABER (Searchable Annotated Bibliography of Education Research) database, the American Astronomical Society's education bibliography (http://www.aas.org/education/biblio list.html), and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific's education bibliography (Fraknoi, 1998). Further references were found in a variety of journals, often through a “snowballing” technique of looking through an article's references for new articles.