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Science Teaching through its Astronomical Roots

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2016

Philip M. Sadler ,
William M. Luzader  and
Project STAR
Philip M. Sadler
Affiliation:
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138U.S.A.
William M. Luzader
Affiliation:
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138U.S.A.

Extract

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Project STAR (Science Teaching through its Astronomical Roots) emerged from growing concern about the decreasing enrollment in science classes, and lack of understanding of science and math concepts (Figure 1). Using astronomy as a focus, Project STAR is trying not simply to increase the enrollment in high school science courses, but also to improve the students’ understanding of science and its role in making sense of the world.

The educational approach of Project STAR is based on three principles:

• Mastery of a few ideas is more important for students than cursory exposure to many concepts.

• Students learn best through hands-on activities.

• Students enter the classroom with certain preconceptions, or “naive theories,” about how physical systems work, without a sense of whether their understandings are accurate (often they are not).

Type
9. High-School Courses
Information
International Astronomical Union Colloquium , Volume 105: The Teaching of Astronomy , 1990 , pp. 257 - 276
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1990

References

1 Welch, Wayne W., Harris, Linda J., Ronald E., Anderson, “How Many are Enrolled in Science?” The Science Teacher, National Science Teachers Association, December 1984.Google Scholar
2 ”What are the Needs in Pre-college Science?” National Science Foundation, 1979, p. 90.Google Scholar
3 McDermott, Lillian C., “Research on conceptual understanding in mechanics,” Physics Today, July 1984.Google Scholar
4 Private conversation with Jack Wilson, executive director of the American Association of Physics Teachers, July 1986.Google Scholar
5 Welch, W. W., et al., op. cit.Google Scholar