PhD on Astronomy Education in a Planetarium > Joboolo BE :
Société : KU Leuven Lieu : Leuven Flanders Site source : Talent BE
The projections on the planetarium dome allow for an immersive experience that fosters the natural interest in astronomy.
Most planetariums provide also educational services and many schools organise a planetarium visit in the context of the science curriculum.
The impact of these planetarium visits on learning, however, is vastly unexplored.
In this project, we will focus on the apparent motion of the Sun and stars and their daily and yearly changes.
Our ongoing research on students’ understanding of these apparent motions shows remarkable results:
not only secondary school but also university students have difficulties explaining the apparent motions and do not use a correct model in their explanation.
The goal of this project is to better understand student difficulties and the role planetarium visualisations can play to scaffold student understanding.
Based on these insights, we will design and evaluate optimised learning materials to tackle the difficulties.
We will do this in close collaboration with the Brussels Planetarium.
By carrying out the proposed project, together with our multidisciplinary team, you will contribute to the international growing field of AstronomyEducation Research. In the APER group (Astronomy & Physics Education Research) within the Department of Physics and Astronomy, we bring together theoretical and empirical research to gain a better understanding of learning and teaching processes around physics and astronomy - from primary to university education.
The main research themes are related to the acquisition of conceptual understanding, the interplay between mathematics and physics, the role of representations in the learning process and the Nature of Science.The research will be conducted under supervision of Prof.
Mieke De Cock (APER - Department of Physics & Astronomy), Prof.
Hans Van Winckel (Institute of Astronomy - Department of Physics & Astronomy) and Prof.
Wim Van Dooren (CIP&T - Faculty of Psychology & Educational Sciences) in close collaboration with Prof.
Rodrigo Alvarez from the Planetarium in Brussels.
Full-time fixed-term employment as a doctoral fellow (1 year, renewable, up to 4 years total), with an attractive fellowship.Member of Arenberg Doctoral School, with many opportunities for professional developmentMember of a young research group with regular opportunities to participate in international scientific conferences and interaction with international colleagues KU Leuven LeuvenFlanders
