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Alternative frameworks amongst University of Plymouth Astronomy Students

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 February 2018

Mike P.V. Broughton
Mike P.V. Broughton*
Affiliation:
Centre for Teaching Mathematics, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, PL4 8AA

Extract

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In recent years much research into conceptual understanding of science has been carried out. Oddly, Astronomy (one of the smallest sciences in terms of pupil numbers) is possibly one of the most widely studied subjects, with numerous papers being produced revealing the intuitive ideas of (usually) young school children. Within these papers it is generally recognised that if students cannot assimilate the fundamental concepts of a subject, then their own initial frameworks are altered accordingly, producing mis-conceptions.

Much of this research into pre/mis-conceptions, alternative frameworks etc, has been concerned with the knowledge of gravity or the shape of the Earth, the Sun and other such bodies. Another area heavily researched is that of phases/eclipses, and how the young children of today perceive these phenomena.

The research presented here takes the findings from earlier papers and extends it by assessing astronomy students at the University of Plymouth.

Type
Section Three
Information
International Astronomical Union Colloquium , Volume 162: New Trends in Astronomy Teaching , 1998 , pp. 111 - 117
Copyright
Copyright © 1996

References

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