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  • Gazing at the Moon

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about the Earth-Sun-Moon system. The probe is designed to uncover students’ ideas about Moon phases and whether they think the phase of the Moon changes…

  • Going Through a Phase

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about Moon phases. The probe is designed to find out if students recognize the role of light reflection and the positional relationship between the Earth…

  • Geoscience Education and Motivated Reasoning

    Journal Article |

    Individuals use information selectively, in ways that support group beliefs or one’s psychological needs—this is motivated reasoning. Motivated reasoning is revealed in correlations between (1) opinions/…

  • Comics in the Classroom

    Journal Article |

  • Sun Tracker

    Journal Article |

  • Global Warming

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about global warming. The probe is designed to find out what students think contributes to global warming.

  • Understanding Genetic Drift With Conceptual and Mathematical Models

    Journal Article |

  • Making Science Personal

    Journal Article |

    General education college astronomy courses offer instructors both a unique audience and a unique challenge. For many students, such a course may be their first time encountering a stand-alone astronomy class, and it is…

  • Family-Based Astronomy

    Journal Article |

  • NASA’s Universe of Learning

    Journal Article |

  • Changing Constellations

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about why the constellations change with the seasons. The probe is designed to find out how students use the Earth’s spin and orbit to explain why…

  • Talking About Gravity

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about gravity. The probe is designed to determine whether students recognize that gravity is a universal force that exists everywhere on Earth and in…

  • Biosand Filters for Water Purification

    Journal Article |

  • Science in Your Stacks

    Journal Article |

  • Emmy’s Moon and Stars

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about the relative position of common objects seen in the night sky. The probe is designed to find out if students recognize how far away the stars are…

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