Shaw-IAU Workshops by the OAE

We interviewed 25 high school students about three observable astronomical phenomena: the apparent sizes of the Moon and the Sun, solar eclipses and Moon phases. A personal to-scale model of the Earth-Moon-Sun system was provided for every student. Students were repetitively encouraged to illustrate their reasoning on all phenomena by using the scale model or by providing a drawing. We encountered several alternative explanations that were not found in the existing literature. Most of these relied on an inaccurate comprehension of the involved scales. Although for some students these explanations were in line with their skewed scale model on the interview table, others did not seem to take spatial scales into account when making suggestions on the causes for astronomical phenomena.

About Willem Keppens

Willem Keppens obtained his master’s degree in Astronomy & Astrophysics in 2023 at KU Leuven. Currently, he is engaged in a PhD project on astronomy education research. His work focuses on exploring high school students’ understanding of astronomical scales, and how this understanding may influence explanations for various astronomical phenomena. Willem is part of the Astronomy and (Astro)Physics Education (APER) team in the Department of Physics & Astronomy and the Learning for Understanding in STEAM education (L4U) group of LESEC. He is guided on his PhD quest by Prof. Dr. Mieke De Cock, Prof. Hans Van Winckel, Prof. Dr. Wim Van Dooren and Prof. Jan Sermeus.