Periodicity and change

Talking about time inside the planetarium dome

Dados Bibliográficos

ID21392790
AutoresJoana Brás Varanda Marques (0000-0003-3931-3824, Department of Portuguese, Faculty of Arts & Humanities University of Macau Macau‐SAR P. R. China, autor correspondente), Andrew P Carlin (0000-0001-5138-9384, Department of Portuguese, Faculty of Arts & Humanities University of Macau Macau‐SAR P. R. China), Miguel Gomes (0000-0001-7790-0865, Education Division Museum of Natural History and Science of the University of Porto Porto Portugal), Ricardo Moutinho (0000-0002-9625-1116, Department of Portuguese, Faculty of Arts & Humanities University of Macau Macau‐SAR P. R. China)
Ano2021
Volume105
Fascículo6
Páginas1252-1284
Data de publicação2021-11-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoScience Education (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0036-8326 • E-ISSN: 1098-237X
EditoraWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/sce.21681
OpenAlexW3199150160
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas2
Referências citadas49

Time is a central concept for astronomy, yet how it is communicated in educational contexts has received insufficient attention in the literature. This study explores how time‐related concepts are communicated in the planetarium, by analyzing 34 different planetarium sessions held in a diversity of Portuguese institutions. Sessions were video and audio recorded. From 26 hrs of recordings, 163 excerpts related to time were identified. Studying instances of actual events with a naturalistic approach informed by ethnomethodology allowed for the identification of ordinary methods and strategies that are used by guides to teach time‐related concepts. This study details these methods and strategies, and how guides take advantage of the characteristics of the planetarium. Our analysis reveals that change over time and periodicity are the most recurrent time‐related themes in planetarium sessions. The majority of the excerpts relate to the rotation and revolution of the Earth, but time‐related aspects of the revolution of other celestial bodies are also present in the data. We found that guides use strategies grounded both in geocentric and allocentric (view from space) perspectives when communicating about time, and we highlight how an allocentric perspective can be demonstrated without sophisticated, immersive simulations. Moreover, we found that strategies bringing time to the personal level, for instance by using birthdays and the age of members of the public as baseline measures, and other engagement techniques, are widely used. Findings have important implications for research and communication about time in practice

Art · Astronomy · Clicker · Epistemology · Ethnomethodology · Mathematics education · Planetarium · Science education · Social science · Sociology · Space Science · Temporality · Visual arts · Animal and Plant Science Education · Psychology · Science Education and Pedagogy