• Open Access

Design and development of a learning progression about stellar structure and evolution

Arturo Colantonio, Silvia Galano, Silvio Leccia, Emanuella Puddu, and Italo Testa
Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 14, 010143 – Published 15 June 2018
An article within the collection: Astronomy Education Research
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Abstract

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Astronomy Education Research.] In this paper we discuss the design and development of a learning progression (LP) to describe and interpret students’ understanding about stellar structure and evolution (SSE). The LP is built upon three content dimensions: hydrostatic equilibrium; composition and aggregation state; functioning and evolution. The data to build up the levels of the hypothetical LP (LP1) came from a 45-minute, seven-question interview, with 33 high school students previously taught about the topic. The questions were adapted from an existing multiple-choice instrument. Data were analyzed using Minstrell’s “facets” approach. To assess the validity of LP1, we designed a twelve-hour teaching module featuring paper-and-pencil tasks and practical activities to estimate the stellar structure and evolution parameters. Twenty high school students were interviewed before and after the activities using the same interview protocol. Results informed a revision of LP1 (LP2) and, in parallel, of the module. The revised module included supplementary activities corresponding to changes made to LP1. We then assessed LP2 with 30 high school students through the same interview, submitted before and after the teaching intervention. A final version of the LP (LP3) was then developed drawing on students’ emerging reasoning strategies. This paper contributes to research in science education by providing an example of the iterative development of the instruction required to support the student thinking that LPs’ levels describe. Concerning astronomy education research, our findings can inform suitable instructional activities more responsive to students’ reasoning strategies about stellar structure and evolution.

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  • Received 13 May 2017

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.14.010143

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.

Published by the American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Physics Education Research

Collections

This article appears in the following collection:

Astronomy Education Research

A special collection highlighting the current state of the field of physics education research as it relates to astronomy education research.

Authors & Affiliations

Arturo Colantonio and Silvia Galano2

  • Physics Division, School of Science and Technology, University of Camerino, 62032, Camerino, Italy

Silvio Leccia

  • Liceo Scientifico R. Cartesio, Giugliano, 80014, Naples, Italy

Emanuella Puddu

  • INAF, Astronomical Observatory of Capodimonte, 80138, Naples, Italy

Italo Testa*

  • Department of Physics “E. Pancini”, University Federico II, 80126, Naples, Italy

  • *italo.testa@unina.it

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Issue

Vol. 14, Iss. 1 — January - June 2018

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