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Photographs and Classroom Response Systems in Middle School Astronomy Classes

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Abstract

In spite of being readily available, photographs have played a minor and passive role in science classes. In our study, we present an active way of using photographs in classroom discussions with the use of a classroom response system (CRS) in middle school astronomy classes to teach the concepts of day–night and seasonal change. In this new pedagogical method, students observe objects or phenomena in photographs and use the information to develop understanding of the scientific concepts. They share their ideas in classroom discussion with the assistance of the CRS. Pre- and posttest results showed that the new pedagogy helped students overcome primitive conceptions and enhanced their understanding of the concepts. The observation of the rich details of photographs played three pedagogical roles in classroom discussion: easing students’ anxiety about learning a new scientific concept; continuous stimulus of learning; and as evidence or data.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded in part by US National Science Foundation Grant ESI-0456124. The opinions expressed are solely those of the authors, and no official endorsement from the funder should be presumed. We thank Dr. Yaron Schur of the TJ group in Israel for his valuable comments on the CRS questions. Most of all, we would like to thank the participating teacher, Mary, and her students. Without them, this study could not have been conducted.

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  1. University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA

    Hyunju Lee & Allan Feldman

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  1. Hyunju Lee
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  2. Allan Feldman
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Correspondence to Hyunju Lee.

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Lee, H., Feldman, A. Photographs and Classroom Response Systems in Middle School Astronomy Classes. J Sci Educ Technol 24, 496–508 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-014-9539-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-014-9539-z

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