Student ideas about the moon and its phases and the impact of a real 3D model of the SunEarthMoon sy

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Student ideas about the moon and its phases and
the impact of a real 3D model of the
Sun/Earth/Moon system in an introductory
astronomy laboratory course

• by
• James Cohen
• B.A. Physics, University of Maine, 2003
• A THESIS DEFENSE
• Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the
• Requirements for the Degree of
• Master of Science
• (in Teaching)

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

• My thanks to the following people
• My thesis committee Neil Comins, Advisor
• David Batuski
• John
  Thompson
• Everyone in the UMaine Physics and Astronomy
  Department
• My family

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REASONS FOR STUDY

• Study student ideas about the Moon and its phases
• Determine the effectiveness of a general
  education astronomy laboratory curriculum
• Determine the impact of a real 3D model of the
  Sun/Earth/Moon system on student learning
• Investigate conceptual change as the result of
  instruction on the phases of the Moon

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A REVIEW OF RELEVANT RESEARCH

• Baxter found a majority of research subjects ages
  9-14 believed the Moons phases are caused by
  Earths shadow (Baxter, 1989).
• Stahly, et. al., studying conceptual change among
  third grade students found that student ideas
  about the Moons phases could be changed with
  proper instruction but often the non-scientific
  ideas that existed before instruction remained
  (Stahly, et. al., 1999).
• Trumper, researching ideas about astronomy among
  college students, found that 31.6 believed the
  phases are caused by Earths shadow.

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A REVIEW OF RELEVANT RESEARCH (continued)

• Barnett and Moran researched conceptual change
  about the Moons phases with 5th graders.
  Instruction utilized a virtual 3D model and a
  constructivist approach. Results showed that
  within an ideal setting, students can develop
  complex ideas about the Moon and its phases
  (Barnett and Moran, 2002).
• Lindell developed a survey instrument called the
  Lunar Phases Concept Inventory (LPCI).
• Barab, et, al., developed the Virtual Solar
  System project (VSS), an inquiry based astronomy
  course utilizing software to simulate the
  Sun/Earth/Moon system.

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A REVIEW OF RELEVANT RESEARCH (continued)

• McDermott developed Physics By Inquiry containing
  a unit called Astronomy by Sight. This unit uses
  a guided inquiry approach to teaching the phases
  of the Moon.
• Fanetti hypothesized that an understanding of
  scale of the Earth/Moon system affects student
  ideas about the cause of the phases. Her research
  found no statistical connection to these two
  concepts.

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HYPOTHESES

• Students who believe that the Earths shadow
  causes the phases also believe that the Moon is
  only visible at night time.
• Students who are aware of the true cause of the
  Moons phases are also aware that the Moon can be
  up during the day and during the night.
• A real 3D model of the Sun/Earth/Moon system will
  have an effect on student learning.

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METHODOLOGY

• Utilization of existing curriculum structure in
  AST 110 Introduction to Astronomy Laboratory
• Mini-quizzes taken by students before each lab
  session enabled the use of survey questions as
  both pre and post lesson questions.
• Survey questions were used to inventory student
  ideas about the Moon during three different
  semesters in both live and online courses before
  instruction.
• Same survey questions were used as post lesson
  questions to assess impact of 3D model

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THE SURVEY QUESTIONS
Question 4 (1 point) I__________ notice that the
Moon appears in different shapes at different
times. a. Often b. Sometimes c. Rarely
d. Never e. I have never seen the moon.
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• Question 5 (1 point)
• The Moon is most likely to be high in the sky
  at_________.
• a. 600 AM
• b. 600 PM
• c. the North Pole
• d. midnight
• e. noon
• f. anytime day or night

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• Question 6 (1 point)
• The Moons different shapes at different times
  are caused by
• a. clouds blocking our view of the entire Moon.
  
• b. the Moon deflating and then inflating again.
  
• c. Earths shadow falling on the Moon.
• d. the fraction of the Moon that is lit by the
  Sun.
• e. the position of the Moon in its orbit around
  Earth.
• f. Earths gravity pulling the moon into
  different shapes.

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Question 7 (1 point) A moon in the phase shown
below would_________.
a. set before sunset b. rise after sunset c.
neither rise nor set d. set after sunset e. rise
at sunset
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THE 3D MODEL
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3D MODEL SIMULATIONS
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SURVEY QUESTION RESULTS
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PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION FOR ALL RESPONSES
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RELATIONSHIP OF QUESTION 6 ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS 5
AND 7 ANSWERS

• On questions 5 and 7, students who believe the
  phases are caused by Earths shadow did not have
  statistically significant different responses
  from the total of all responses for all
  semesters.
• On questions 5 and 7, students who believe the
  phases are caused by the fraction of the Moon lit
  by the Sun did not have statistically significant
  different responses from the total of all
  responses for all semesters.
• On questions 5 and 7, students who believe the
  phases are caused by the position of the Moon in
  its orbit did did not have statistically
  significant different responses from the total of
  all responses for all semesters.

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QUESTION 5 PRE AND POST LESSON RESULTS
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QUESTION 6 PRE AND POST LESSON RESULTS
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QUESTION 7 PRE AND POST LESSON RESULTS
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3D MODEL ANALYSIS

• There was no statistically significant difference
  between the way the questions were answered
  before the lesson and after the lesson in either
  semester, except for Question 7 in the fall, yet
  there was no improvement over conceptual
  knowledge compared to the spring.
• There was no difference in the way the post
  lesson questions were answered between semesters.
• There was no statistically significant difference
  between semesters on lesson performance.

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TRACKING CONCEPTUAL CHANGE

• For the fall 2004 semester, on Question 6 there
  was actually an increase in students choosing the
  fraction lit answer after the lesson.
• This amounted to a net loss of 8.2 for correct
  responses. The spring 2004 semester had a net
  gain of 1.7 on Question 6.
• On Questions 5 and 7, there was little difference
  between semesters in percentage of correct
  responses.

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IMPLICATIONS

• Did the 3D model have a negative impact?
  Utilizing the 3D model without reading and
  following lesson tutorial could cause students to
  adopt fraction lit concept. This needs to be
  studied further.
• Integrate lab quiz into lesson tutorial so that
  students cannot take the quiz without reading the
  lesson.
• Improve TA student communication. Have TA be
  active in learning process.

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LIMITATIONS OF STUDY

• Limited number of survey questions
• Student TA language barrier
• Conceptual change tracking limited to answer
  choices. Interviews with students and video
  monitoring of labs would have been beneficial.

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CONCLUSIONS

• Student ideas about the Moon and its phases are
  often unscientific. Students do not make any
  connection between the Moons phase and the time
  it is visible.
• Conceptual change from non-scientific concepts to
  scientific concepts requires the student to
  accept the scientific concept as a better, more
  satisfying explanation for a natural phenomenon.
  This is hard to achieve in a classroom.
  Interactive instruction using models that require
  the use of the senses should improve learning.
  Unfortunately, this study did not show that as
  hoped.

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This is the current phase of the Moon for July
22, 2005. It will rise at 934 PM and set at
613 AM, July 23, 2005.
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REFERENCES

• http//www.almanac.com/rise/index.php
• http//tycho.usno.navy.mil/vphase.html
• Barab, S., Hay, K., Squire, K., Barnett, M.,
  Schmidt, R., Karrigan, K. Yamagata-Lynch, L.
  Johnson, C. Virtual Solar System Project
  Learning through a Technology-Rich,
  Inquiry-Based, Participatory Learning
  Environment, accepted for publication, Journal
  of Science Education and Technology, 1999,
  http//it.usu.edu/bshelton/courses/immersive/read
  ings/keating99virtual.pdf, 9/16/2004
• Barnett, M. Moran, J. Addressing childrens
  alternative frameworks of the Moons phases and
  eclipses, International Journal of Science
  Education, 24(8), 2002, 859-879
• Baxter, J. Childrens understanding of familiar
  astronomical events, International Journal of
  Science Education, 22, 1989, 502-513
• Fanetti, T. M. The relationships of scale
  concepts on college age students misconceptions
  about the cause of the lunar phases, Thesis
  submitted, Ames Iowa State University, 2001
• Lindell, R. Moon Concept Inventory,
  www.phys.ksu.edu/perg/www/pdf/moon.pdf, 2/4/2004
• McDermott, L. Astronomy by Sight the sun, moon
  and stars, Physics By Inquiry, John Wiley
  Sons, Inc.
• Stahly, L., Krockover, G., Shepardson, D., Third
  Grade Students Ideas about the Lunar Phases,
  Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 36(2),
  1999, 159-177
• Trumper, R. University students conceptions of
  basic astronomy concepts, Physics Education,
  35(1), 2000, 9-14