Lena Danaia

Space to Grow: LCOGT.net and Improving Science Engagement in Schools

Space to Grow is an Australian Research Council Grant that engages high school students in real science and supports their teachers in implementing inquiry-based approaches using astronomy as the focus. Currently, Grade 9–12 students and their science teachers from three educational jurisdictions in one Australian state are acquiring, and making scientific use of, observational data from the 2-m Faulkes Telescopes owned by Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network. Data are being collected to investigate the impact of the project on students and teachers. Some investigations have led students to work with astronomers to publish their results in the astronomical literature.

Common alternative astronomical conceptions encountered in junior secondary science classes: Why is this so?

This article investigates students’ conceptions of certain astronomical phenomena. The 1,920 participants were drawn from junior secondary science classes in four Australian educational jurisdictions. Participants completed a modified version of the Astronomy Diagnostic Test to elicit information about their knowledge and understanding of certain astronomical phenomena and to identify any alternative conceptions that they held. Results showed that students exhibited many alternative conceptions about concepts that they should have covered in elementary school or in the first year of high school. Discussion centers on the extent to which school science takes account of the important construct of pedagogical content knowledge.

A review of high school level astronomy student research projects over the last two decades.

Since the early 1990s with the arrival of a variety of new technologies, the capacity for authentic astronomical research at the high school level has skyrocketed. This potential, however, has not realized the bright-eyed hopes and dreams of the early pioneers who expected to revolutionise science education through the use of telescopes and other astronomical instrumentation in the classroom. In this paper, a general history and analysis of these attempts is presented. We define what we classify as an Astronomy Research in the Classroom (ARiC) project and note the major dimensions on which these projects differ before describing the 22 major student research projects active since the early 1990s. This is followed by a discussion of the major issues identified that affected the success of these projects and provide suggestions for similar attempts in the future.

K 1-6: An Asymmetric Planetary Nebula with a Binary Central Star

We present new imaging data and archival multiwavelength observations of the little-studied emission nebula K 1-6 and its central star. Narrow-band images in Hα (+[N II]) and [O III] taken with the Faulkes Telescope North reveal a stratified, asymmetric, elliptical nebula surrounding a central star which has the colours of a late G or early K-type subgiant or giant. GALEX ultraviolet images reveal a very hot subdwarf or white dwarf coincident in position with this star. The cooler, optically dominant star is strongly variable with a period of 21.312 ± 0.008 days, and is possibly a high-amplitude member of the RS CVn class, although an FK Com classification is also possible. Archival ROSAT data provide good evidence that the cool star has an active corona. We conclude that K 1-6 is most likely an old bona fide planetary nebula at a distance of ~1.0 kpc, interacting with the interstellar medium, and containing a binary or ternary central star. The observations and data analyses reported in this paper were conducted in conjunction with Year 11 high school students as part of an Australian Research Council Linkage Grant science education project, denoted Space To Grow, conducted jointly by professional astronomers, educational researchers, teachers, and high-school students.

The PULSE@Parkes Project: a New Observing Technique for Long-Term Pulsar Monitoring

The PULSE@Parkes project has been designed to monitor the rotation of radio pulsars over time spans of days to years. The observations are obtained using the Parkes 64-m and 12-m radio telescopes by Australian and international high school students. These students learn the basis of radio astronomy and undertake small projects with their observations. The data are fully calibrated and obtained with the state-of-the-art pulsar hardware available at Parkes. The final data sets are archived and are currently being used to carry out studies of 1) pulsar glitches, 2) timing noise, 3) pulse profile stability over long time scales and 4) the extreme nulling phenomenon. The data are also included in other projects such as gamma-ray observatory support and for the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array project. In this paper we describe the current status of the project and present the first scientific results from the Parkes 12-m radio telescope. We emphasise that this project offers a straightforward means to enthuse high school students and the general public about radio astronomy while obtaining scientifically valuable data sets.

RR Lyrae Stars in the Globular Cluster NGC 6101

V- and I-band observations were taken over 9 months to study the RR Lyrae population in the metal-poor diffuse globular cluster NGC 6101. We identify one new variable, which is either a potential long-period red giant variable or eclipsing binary, and recover all previously identified RR Lyraes. One previously studied RR Lyrae is reclassified as an RRc type, while two period estimations have been significantly refined. We confirm that NGC 6101 is Oosterhoff type II with a high ratio of n(c)/n(ab + c) = 0.833 with a very long mean RRab period of 0.86 d. By using theoretical RR Lyrae period-luminosity-metallicity relations, we use our V- and I-band RR Lyrae data to gain an independent estimate of the reddening towards this cluster of E(B – V) = 0.15 ± 0.04 and derive a distance of 12.8 ± 0.8 kpc. The majority of the work in this study was undertaken by upper secondary school students involved in the Space to Grow astronomy education project in Australia.

Using Smartphone Camera Technology to Explore Stellar Parallax: Method, Results, and Reactions

Abstract The use of a smartphone, with both still and video capabilities, to develop the concepts surrounding stellarparallax is described. The hands-on activities generate useful discussion amongst high school students. Reactionsof both students and teachers are presented. 1. INTRODUCTION Stellar parallax is a concept that is dealt with infrequently in the high school classroom other than by qualitativeconsideration of stereoscopic parallax and argument by analogy, such as that outlined in Zeilik (1998). The mostcommon approach involves students being asked to view their finger held at arm’s length and first viewing itfrom one eye and then the other. They “see” their finger’s apparent movement against the background of theroom. Following this qualitative approach, the unit of distance used in astronomy is introduced from adefinitional point of view: “The parsec is the distance of an object at which the angle subtended by a baselineequal to the distance between the Earth and the Sun is one second of arc.” This description is quite abstract,however, and it is unlikely that students will really get a conceptual feel for the idea of a parsec as a distancemeasure from an abstract mathematical statement. As the parsec is the fundamental unit of distance inastronomy, it is important that students have some strong insight to what this unit actually means (Marin 2010).We assessed a sample of diagrams available on the internet using a Google Image search. The first 50 diagramspresented from the search term “Stellar Parallax” were examined. Out of the 50 diagrams, 18 showed thealternative conception that all stars in the night sky “wobble” in a straight line, a further 20 showed the specialcase, where the star is on the ecliptic equator where they actually do wobble in a straight line, and a further 7 hadmajor faults. Only five out of the 50 diagrams accurately represented the relationship between the Earth–Sunorbit and the parallactic ellipse in the sky. That is to say, of this sample of 50 diagrams, only 10% could beconsidered to be scientifically accurate and a complete conceptual representation of stellar parallax.The experimental determination of stellar parallax is seldom dealt with in the science classroom because theparallactic angle is so small. Students have little, if any, idea of how astronomers collect their data because theydo not normally conduct the experiment first successfully executed by Bessel in 1838 in measuring the parallax

Ideal pictures and actual perspectives of junior secondary school science: comparisons drawn from Australian students in an astronomy education programme

Abstract Background: This research investigates the impact of a junior secondary astronomy education programme undertaken in four Australian educational jurisdictions. Purpose: Junior secondary students’ perceptions of the science they experience at School are examined both before, during and after their engagement with a science programme targeting astronomy. Programme description: The programme involved using remotely controlled telescopes over the Internet. Sample: Non-randomised opportunity sampling was employed to recruit participants. Schools were drawn from both public (16) and private (14) sectors. Participants were 1427 students comprising 769 Year 7, 439 Year 8 and 219 Year 9. Design and methods: A concurrent nested mixed method approach was used to investigate the impact of the programme on students’ perceptions of science at high school. Data were collected using a pre/post questionnaire coupled with semi-structured interviews with a sample of participants. Results: Students exhibited negative perceptions of science at school prior to the commencement of the programme. Programme implementation covaried with highly significant changes in students’ perceptions of science. Conclusions: The research highlights the importance of the teacher’s role and the way in which school science is implemented as being crucial contributors to the movement of students’ perceptions.

A longitudinal investigation of the science teaching efficacy beliefs and science experiences of a cohort of preservice elementary teachers

ABSTRACT This paper assesses the relationship between participation in two tertiary science courses and the science teaching efficacy beliefs (STEBs) of one cohort of preservice elementary teachers over a four-year period. Two Type II case studies were conducted within the courses. Data were collected through 26 administrations of the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument-B and semi structured interviews. Results showed that participation in the subjects covaried with increases in the participants’ STEBs. These increases in STEBs remained durable for two years. Implications for these findings are discussed within the paper.

An analysis of Australian STEM education strategies

In December 2015 the Australian state and territory governments endorsed the ‘National STEM School Education Strategy 2016–2026’. Since then, the individual jurisdictions have released their own STEM education strategies that aim to improve student STEM capabilities and aspirations. This paper analyses the various Australian STEM education strategies in relation to six themes informed by research into effective STEM education: STEM capabilities; STEM dispositions; STEM educational practices; Equity; Trajectories; and Educator capacities. The analysis shows that Australia’s STEM education strategies focus on actions aimed at building student STEM capabilities, particularly through inquiry and problem-based learning, and enhancing educator capacity. The strategies recognise student STEM learning trajectories and pay particular attention to the importance of early childhood STEM education, as well as the ways in which students’ potential career pathways might be influenced. However, less emphasis is placed on supporting key transitions in STEM education, developing student STEM dispositions, and addressing equity issues in STEM.