astronomical pills one-shot questions about the universe francesca cavallotti simona romaniello...
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Astronomical Pillsone-shot questions about the Universe
Francesca CavallottiSimona Romaniello
StefanoSandrelli
Evolution (if any) of misconceptions over ages and social-educational factors.
GOAL
Universe PerceptionDistances and sizesHow gravity works
To explore the naive view of the universe developed by youngsters of different ages
FOCUS
Origin of MisconceptionsNew (scientific-sense) knowledge modifies itself
to fit the pre-existing conceptual scheme.
Common-sense framework
Scientific-sense framework
perceptioninformallanguage
social relationship
formallanguage
logicalabstraction
hypothetical-deductivereasoning
Environment Representation
By studying misconceptions it is possible to improve educational strategies
Modern theoriessocial framework and educational levels other than age are involved.
Misconceptions block the way to new learning
(contents and reasoning)
First analysis on children’ misconceptions only. Piaget’s theory: cognitive development by phases.
Interaction between cognitive structures and contents play a role.
Astronomy is important to highlight several misconceptions and to develop abstraction abilities essential to scientific knowledge
Since 1970-80 surveys have been done to investigate misconceptions
in teen-ager and adult groups
Enter our work….
Misconceptions DO not disappear with age!
Test instructionsStudents were asked to answer questions as quickly as possible to let the spontaneous imaging came out.
Questions structure2 test versions to allow comparison on same topics.
•open- and closed-answer questions •multiple-choice questions with common-sense answers and scientific-sense answers.
Sample size>1300 tests in 2 years of school conferences at OAB (2003-2005).
3 age groups:217 students of 13-14 yrs (intermediate school)272 students of 14-16 yrs (high school first 2 yrs)841 students of >16 yrs (high school last 3 yrs)
Preliminary results on 6 of the entire 10-question test.
School type and grade
Infinity Infinity+ Objs
Infinity+ Adjs
Infinity +Objs + Adjs
NothingEverythingObjects AdjectivesBigSpace
Big Space+ Objs
Big Space+ Adjs
13-14 yrs
14-16 yrs
> 16 yrs
men women
tot
13-14 yrs14-16 yrs
>16 yrs
44%46%56%
If I say Universe, what do you think about?
Images “from” the Universe
13-14 yrs14-16 yrs
>16 yrs
30%33%21%
What kind of objects?
Stars Galaxies Planets Earth Celestialbodies
Sun Moon Living beings
Mily Way
Sky Light points
Constellations
13-14 yrs
14-16 yrs
> 16 yrs
PlanetsStars
Galaxies
men women
tot
Dark BlackBigHugeCold
Matter HoleBang
Cold Dark Matter
Images “from” the Universe
Cosmic Box
13-14 yrs
> 16 yrs
14-16 yrs
edge
2 different objects
13-14 yrs14-16 yrs
>16 yrs
8%5%2%
Drawing rate
Images “from” the Universe
Solar System
13-14 yrs
> 16 yrs
14-16 yrs
13-14 yrs14-16 yrs
>16 yrs
8%5%2%
Drawing rate
Images “from” the Universe
Empty Expanse
13-14 yrs14-16 yrs
>16 yrs
8%5%2%
Drawing rate
13-14 yrs
14-16 yrs
> 16 yrs
log (step)
all ages
If the Earth-Sun distance was equal to one step:
how many steps to go to Jupiter?
0 0.5 1 1.5 2.5 3.5 4.5 5.5 6.52 3 4 5 6 7
log (step)
all ages
0 0.5 1 1.5 2.5 3.5 4.5 5.5 6.52 3 4 5 6 7
how many steps to go to the nearest star (other than the Sun)?
value2345
rate22%20%12%14%
Values remarkably close to the real one
Wide range of answers!
Distance and Size in the Universe
“Solar System as an all-like astronomical box” (Dussault, M., 1999, “How do visitors understand the Universe? Studies yield information on planning exhibitions and programs, Association of Science-Technology Centers Newsletter)
If the Earth-Sun distance was equal to one step:
how many steps to Jupiter?a) about 1b) about 20c) about 5d) more than 100
how many steps to the nearest star (other than the Sun)?a) at least 50b) at least 500c) at least 5000d) at least 50000
14-16 yrs
> 16 yrs
14-16 yrs
> 16 yrs
No hierarchy in the UniverseUniverse Solar System
... On the other hand ...
The following statement is true or false:the Solar System belongs to a galaxy.
men totwomen
for all ages
From previous questions ...
Subjects do not understand when discrepancies arise from comparing common- and scientific-sense frameworks until they are forced to combine them in a common framework.
Keywords or a specific language form affect answers more than the real knowledge.
Language and Framework bias
Causes?
The gravity force is:a) the force which makes the Sun attracts the Earthb) the force which makes us fall c) the interaction force between two massive bodies d) the energy of a falling body Most people seems to have
assimilatedthe gravity concept.The bigger is age, the higher the rate of c answer.
B answer doubles a answer.Gravity perceived as a terrestrial force more than an universal interaction.
all ages
Formal language affects more students in high school than in the intermediate one.
About 10% of d answer.Overlapping of force and energy concepts
Use of formal language
(e.g. Calcidese, P., 2002, L’Universo che non c’è. Preconcetti e misconcezioni degli studenti in età adolescenziale nell’ambito della fisica e conseguenze sulle idee riferite all’origine ed evoluzione dell’Universo, thesis)
all ages
Bodies are near spherical because:a) they spin around the Sunb) the sphere is the perfect geometric shapec) they spin around themselves
d2) make up your own answer
d1) all men stay with feet on the ground and head up
The c answer is the most selected.
4 of 5 (14-16) yrs : big mass8 of 15 (>16 yrs): gravity force
The d2 answer collected only the 5%. In particular:
NOBODY chose the d1 answer
18% of all ages(only >16 yrs)
Variations on the theme: d1 instead of d2
Very few people have assimilated the concept of gravity,
Use of informal language
Omitting a keyword...
What kind of relationship exists between radio waves and gamma rays?a) gamma rays are rays and radio waves are waves b1) are both a type of light, but with different wavelengthc) gamma rays do not existd) gamma rays are faster than radio waves
14-16 yrs
> 16 yrs
14-16 yrs
> 16 yrs
The language formalism
significantly affects the
subjects’ answers
independently on the
instruction grade.
What kind of relationship exists between radio waves and gamma rays?a) gamma rays are rays and radio wave are wavesb2) are both a type of light c) gamma rays do not existd) gamma rays are faster than radio waves
Framework and language introduce strong biases
Age and schooling level do not modify the most relevant ideas of Universe
Some misconceptions proved to be tough to eradicate and resistant to time
Lessons learned
AND ...
The spontaneous imaging does not come out as expectedBias due to testing environment school-like framework?
Very short time to read the questionsQuestions perceived as a school test!
Thanks to Stefano AndreonFabio Governato
References
Cavallini, G., 1995, La formazione dei concetti scientifici. Senso comune, scienza, apprendimento, Firenze, La nuova Italia Editrice
Mayer, M., 1990, Conoscenza scientifica e conoscenza comune. Analisi dell’incidenza di fattori scolastici ed extrascolastici nell’apprendimento della fisica, Roma, I Quaderni di Villa Falconieri, CEDE
Dupré, F., Noce, G., Vicentini-Missoni, M., 1981, “Modelli fisici pre-newtoniani nelle conoscenze degli adulti”, Scuola e Città, 2, pp. 53-64
Posner, G., Strike, K., Hewson, P., Gerzog, W., 1982, “Accomodation of Ascientific Conceptions: Towards Theory of Conceptual Change”, Science Education, 2, pp.211-227
Dussault, M., 1999, “How do visitors understand the Universe? Studies yield information on planning exhibitions and programs, Association of Science-Technology Centers Newsletter
Viennot, L., 1979, Le raisonnement spontané en dynamique élémentaire, Paris, Hermann
Calcidese, P., 2002, L’Universo che non c’e’. Preconcetti e misconcezioni degli studenti in eta’ adolescenziale nell’ambito della fisica e conseguenze sulle idee riferite all’origine ed evoluzione dell’Universo, thesis
Gardin, S., 2003, “Il passaggio dalla conoscenza ingenua alla conoscenza scientifica accreditata nell’insegnamento dell’astronomia”, Giornale di Astronomia, 2, pp.28-35
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 21
all ages
649
If the Earth-Sun distance was equal to one step: how many steps will you need to go to Jupiter?
Distances in the Universe
What kind of relationship exists between radio waves and gamma rays?a) gamma rays are rays and radio wave are wavesb1) are both light type, but with different wavelengthc) gamma rays do not existd) gamma rays are faster than radio waves
13-14 yrs
14-16 yrs
> 16 yrs
men women
tot
If the Earth-Sun distance was equal to one step:how many steps will you need to go to the nearest star (other than the Sun)?
13-14 yrs
14-16 yrs
> 16 yrs
men women
tot
Adjectives statistic
13-14 yrs
14-16 yrs
> 16 yrs
men women
tot
If the diameter of Sun was equal to the length of your arm:
Earth would be as big as:a) a flyb) a pinheadc) a pepper graind) an apple
Jupiter would be as big as:a) a plumb) a nutc) a flyd) a clenched fist
all ages
all ages
Overestimate Jupiter real size
No idea of Earth size