Development and Research on Engaging Smartphone Simulations in Introductory College Astronomy

University Of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln NE

Investigators

Abstract

This project aims to serve the national interest by improving students’ understanding of astronomy concepts. Each year over 300,000 students take introductory college astronomy, many of whom are not STEM majors. It is important for these students to understand the vital role that science plays in society. Active learning experiences using a set of twelve new smartphone simulations will be developed, focusing on topics commonly taught in introductory astronomy that are well suited for visualization. The simulations will contain embedded questions that instructors can assign to students. The project team will observe and characterize student usage of the simulations, solicit feedback from the students, and use the results to refine the simulations. Extensive research will be conducted to evaluate the impact of the simulations on students’ content knowledge and attitudes toward science. The simulations and project results will be widely disseminated through the astronomy education website at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, journal articles, and workshops at professional conferences. All simulations will include Creative Commons licenses and made publicly available via the UNL astronomy education website. The goal of this project is to help students learn astronomy concepts using simulations designed for their smartphones. The topics will include seasons and daylight hours, lunar phases, absorption spectra, blackbody spectra, sunspot rotation, star brightness, stellar evolution, spectroscopic binary stars, galactic rotation curves, the condensation sequence, tidal heating, and nuclear fusion in the sun. The project will address three research questions: 1) how does the use of smartphone simulations influence undergraduate students’ attitudes related to astronomy (and science in general)? 2) how does the use of smartphone simulations influence undergraduate students’ conceptual understanding related to astronomy? and 3) what affordances and constraints of smartphone-based simulations impact undergraduate students’ attitudes and conceptual understanding related to astronomy? The research will use a sequential embedded mixed methods design, where the quantitative phase will serve as the primary source of data collection, informing the qualitative phase. In the initial quantitative phase, surveys will be given early in the semester assessing student content knowledge garnered from simulation use and their attitudes toward astronomy and science in general. This data will establish baseline conceptual understanding and student attitudes towards astronomy. Analysis of these data will guide the subsequent qualitative data collection by informing the selection of participants for interviews. The interview protocol will focus on student attitudes towards astronomy and the value and relevance of using smartphone-based simulations while learning astronomy. The project team will develop a coding scheme to characterize the specific and general ideas contained within the data, analyze students’ coded responses, include collected classroom observations, and create hypothetical cases representing archetypes of various student viewpoints. The NSF IUSE: EHR Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.