Students’ understanding of the celestial sphere model and its representations
PosterAstronomy Education Research
7th Shaw-IAU Workshop
Tuesday Nov. 18, 2025
UTC: 9 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. America/New_York: 4 a.m.- 5:30 a.m.
, UTC: 8 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. America/New_York: 3 p.m.- 4:30 p.m.
, Wednesday Nov. 19, 2025
UTC: 10 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. America/New_York: 5 a.m.- 6:30 a.m.
, Thursday Nov. 20, 2025
UTC: 6 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. America/New_York: 1 p.m.- 2:30 p.m.
Judith Vandewiere
(KU Leuven; Planetarium of the Royal Observatory of Belgium)
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Despite educators' efforts using various representations of the celestial sphere to help students reason about the apparent motion of the Sun and stars, this concept remains challenging for students. It is hypothesised that they may not fully grasp the underlying model of the celestial sphere, including its possibilities and limitations. This study aims to explore how secondary school students (16-18 years old) understand the celestial sphere. Through a qualitative interview study, we gained insight into students’ understanding and reasoning processes. These insights will help us to study how students use the celestial sphere to reason about celestial motion and to develop educational materials that can enhance model-based reasoning in astronomy.
Biography:
Judith Vandewiere is an educator and researcher at the Planetarium of the Royal Observatory of Belgium. She is working as a PhD student at KU Leuven, focusing on students’ understanding of the celestial sphere.
