Alternative Conceptions of Astronomy: How Irish Secondary Students Understand Gravity, Seasons, and the Big Bang

Adriana Cardinot; Jessamyn A Fairfield

doi:10.29333/ejmste/10780

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Adriana Cardinot ¹ ^* , Jessamyn A Fairfield ¹

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¹ School of Physics, National University of Ireland Galway, H91TK33, IRELAND^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

To support the development of more robust conceptual knowledge, it is crucial to understand the alternative conceptions that students bring to the classroom, and how these can be considered and dealt with through instruction. In this study, we report the alternative conceptions of 498 students enrolled in secondary education in Ireland. A quasi-experimental design elicited student ideas about gravity, seasons, and the Big Bang. Our results show 15 alternative ideas held by students across all years, which are analysed with resource framework theory to identify conceptual resources used to explain each topic. Identification of these conceptual resources provided rich information about modes of hybrid understanding where students blended formal physics concepts with daily experiences. These results could support teachers in finding new instructional approaches to address preconceived knowledge held by students, given that even senior students held the same alternative ideas as first years.

Keywords

alternative ideas
astronomy
resources framework
secondary education

Supplementary Files

Diagnostic test
Interview protocol
Coding process flowchart

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, Volume 17, Issue 4, April 2021, Article No: em1950

https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/10780

Publication date: 18 Mar 2021

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Declaration of Conflict of Interest: No conflict of interest is declared by author(s).

Data sharing statement: Data supporting the findings and conclusions are available upon request from the corresponding author(s).

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How to cite this article

APA

Cardinot, A., & Fairfield, J. A. (2021). Alternative Conceptions of Astronomy: How Irish Secondary Students Understand Gravity, Seasons, and the Big Bang. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 17(4), em1950. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/10780

Vancouver

Cardinot A, Fairfield JA. Alternative Conceptions of Astronomy: How Irish Secondary Students Understand Gravity, Seasons, and the Big Bang. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2021;17(4):em1950. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/10780

AMA

Cardinot A, Fairfield JA. Alternative Conceptions of Astronomy: How Irish Secondary Students Understand Gravity, Seasons, and the Big Bang. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2021;17(4), em1950. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/10780

Chicago

Cardinot, Adriana, and Jessamyn A Fairfield. "Alternative Conceptions of Astronomy: How Irish Secondary Students Understand Gravity, Seasons, and the Big Bang". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 2021 17 no. 4 (2021): em1950. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/10780

Harvard

Cardinot, A., and Fairfield, J. A. (2021). Alternative Conceptions of Astronomy: How Irish Secondary Students Understand Gravity, Seasons, and the Big Bang. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 17(4), em1950. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/10780

MLA

Cardinot, Adriana et al. "Alternative Conceptions of Astronomy: How Irish Secondary Students Understand Gravity, Seasons, and the Big Bang". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, vol. 17, no. 4, 2021, em1950. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/10780