Time is a central concept for astronomy, yet how it is communicated in educational contexts has received insufficient attention in the literature. This study explores how time-related concepts are communicated in the planetarium, by analyzing 34 different planetarium sessions held in a diversity of Portuguese institutions. Sessions were video and…

The 2018 Cleveland conference screened a documentary film titled "Symbiotic Earth: How Lynn Margulis Rocked the Boat and Started a Scientific Revolution." NAMTA conference participants enjoyed this memorable premier event in honor of Lynn Margulis, her symbiotic worldview, and her intimate community of scientific stars. This article is…

An astronomy "experiment" composed of three parts is described in the article. Being given necessary data a simple model of inner planets of the solar system is made in the first part with planets' circular orbits using appropriate scale. In the second part revolution of the figurines used as model representations of the planets along…

Scientific inquiry is both theoretical and empirical. It succeeds by bringing thought into productive harmony with the observable universe, and thus, students can attain a robust understanding of the nature of science (NOS) only by developing a balanced appreciation of both these dimensions. In this article, I examine naïve empiricism, a teaching…

In this paper, we report about the development and validation of a learning progression about the Celestial Motion big idea. Existing curricula, research studies on alternative conceptions about these phenomena, and students' answers to an open questionnaire were the starting point to develop initial learning progressions about change of seasons,…

Recently, powerful new observations and advances in computation and visualization have led to a revolution in our understanding of the structure of the Universe. As the field of cosmology advances, it is of interest to study how student ideas relate to scientific understanding. In this paper, we examine in-depth undergraduate students' ideas on…

Trillion Theory (TT), a new theory, estimates the cosmic origin at one trillion years. This calculation of thousands of eons is based upon a growth factor where solar systems age-out at a max of 15 billion years, only to recycle into even larger solar systems, inside of ancient galaxies that are as old as 200 billion to 900 billion years. TT is a…

How can we begin to imagine a post-modern rendering of science education when the disciples of science continue to cling so firmly to a creation myth in which Science, like Botticelli's Venus stepping forth from a clam shell, breaks away from the pre-modern metaphysical commitments of religion, magic and the superstition in a singular event called…

The study of conceptual change traces its heritage to the notions of paradigm (networks of shared beliefs, concepts, practices) and paradigm shift made famous by Thomas Kuhn in his book, "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions". Kuhn's work was quickly linked to developmental psychology (how knowledge develops) and to science education (teaching…

This paper examines how the revolution in human thinking, with the smaller revolution in astronomy begun by Nicolus Copernicus, has plunged science educators into the new Age of Information. Examples which illustrate this development and change in human thinking (from Copernicus' time to the present) are provided from such disciplines as…

We constructed a simple demonstration setup to simulate an extrasolar planet and its star revolving around the system's centre of mass. Periodic dimming of light from the star by the transiting planet and the star's orbital revolution simulate the two major ways of deducing the presence of an exoplanet near a distant star. Apart from being a…

This unit is one of a series that presents specific moments in history from which students focus on the meanings of landmark events. The purpose of this unit is for the student to explore the advances in scientific knowledge made in Europe in the mid-sixteenth to mid-seventeenth centuries. These advances, beginning with Copernicus, radically…

Discusses an astronomy simulation activity introducing the concepts of rotation, revolution, and retrograde motion. Describes the activity procedures in classrooms. (YP)

Stresses the importance of our early scientific contributions in affecting the later course of American science. (Editor)

This interdisciplinary guide provides activities, discussion questions, and information to help teachers use the series of five special PBS programs entitled "A Science Odyssey" in the classroom. For each Science Odyssey program, the guide features: (1) an overview of the program; (2) a summary of program contents and story segments; (3) a…