Effectiveness of a child-friendly astronomy news platform for science learning – An exploratory study

Han. T. D. Tran 1 2 * , Pedro Russo 1 2, Vincent de Bakker 3
More Detail
1 Astronomy and Society, Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
2 Department of Science Communication and Society, Faculty of Science, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
3 Faculty of Science, Leiden University
* Corresponding Author
EUR J SCI MATH ED, Volume 6, Issue 4, pp. 113-128. https://doi.org/10.30935/scimath/9527
OPEN ACCESS   2093 Views   1326 Downloads
Download Full Text (PDF)

ABSTRACT

Science education policies have promoted the role of science literacy practices, including reading, writing and reasoning with science texts, to advance inquiry-based learning in science education. Learning science through news is a promising approach. Since news provides meaningful real-life context, it stimulates the process of active questioning and learning science while fosters science literacy practices. Previous studies have reported that news improves science learning. However, they also reported some barriers to implement news as a teaching resource. The Space Scoop website is an innovative resource as it is specially designed to bring the latest astronomy news to young readers in the form of short, easy-to-understand stories. In this study, we conducted structured interviews in order to understand opinions of teachers and educators (N = 20) about Space Scoop as a teaching resource. This research also investigated the advantages and disadvantages of Space Scoop as compared to general news resources for science learning. Tests were conducted on Space Scoop articles to measure the readability of the articles. Our findings showed that Space Scoop is suitable for young children and motivates them to study science. Space Scoop has overcome the main barriers to teaching with news, namely, the advanced reading level and unreliability of information. Evidence from this exploratory study indicates that Space Scoop supports inquiry-based learning, improves science literacy skills and promotes lifelong learning. An in-depth study with expanded sample in the future would provide further evidence and understanding of how science news like Space Scoop supports science education.

CITATION

Tran, H. T. D., Russo, P., & Bakker, V. D. (2018). Effectiveness of a child-friendly astronomy news platform for science learning – An exploratory study. European Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 6(4), 113-128. https://doi.org/10.30935/scimath/9527

REFERENCES

  • Adams, M. J. (2011). Advancing Our Students’ Language and Literacy. American Educator, 34(4), 3.
  • Ampartzaki, M., & Kalogiannakis, M. (2016). Astronomy in Early Childhood Education: A Concept-Based Approach. Early Childhood Education Journal, 44(2), 169–179. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-015-0706-5
  • Arts Council England. (n.d.). Generic Learning Outcomes. Retrieved from http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/measuring-outcomes/generic-learning-outcomes
  • Broek, van den P. (2010). Using Texts in Science Education. Science, 328(April), 453–456. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1182594
  • Christensen, R. H. B. (2015). ordinal - Regression models for Ordinal data.
  • Digisi, L. L., & Willett, J. B. (1995). What high school biology teachers say about their textbook use: A descriptive study. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 32(2), 123–142. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.3660320204
  • DuBay, W. (2004). The principles of readability. Costa Mesa: Impact Information, (949), 77. https://doi.org/10.1.1.91.4042
  • Dunlap, J. C., & Grabinger, S. (2001). Preparing Students for Lifelong Learning: A Review of Instructional Features and Teaching Methodologies. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 16(2), 6–25.
  • Feng, L., Huenerfauth, M., & Jansche, M. (2010). A Comparison of Features for Automatic Readability Assessment. Association for Computational Linguistics, (August), 276–284.
  • Fonseca, R. B., Russo, P., Barrosa, M., & Christensen, L. L. (2010). Astronomy in Newspapers: Evaluation A Hands-on Guide. Communicating Astronomy with the Public Journal, (8), 2009–2011.
  • Franc, T., & Miltsakaki, E. (2012). Do NLP and machine learning improve traditional readability formulas? Association for Computational Linguistics, (Predicting and Improving Text Readability for target reader populations), 49–57.
  • Gartner, A., Kohler, M., & Riessmann, F. (1971). Children teach children: Learning by Teaching.
  • Gaustad, B. J. (1993). Peer and Cross-Age Tutoring. ERIC Digest, 79, 3–7.
  • Glaser, R. (1991). The maturing of the relationship between the science of learning and cognition and educational practice. Learning and Instruction, 1(2), 129–144.
  • Hand, B., Wallace, C. W., & Yang, E. (2004). Using a Science Writing Heuristic to enhance learning outcomes from laboratory activities in seventh-grade science: quantitative and qualitative aspects. International Journal of Science Education, 26(2), 131–149. https://doi.org/10.1080/0950069032000070252
  • Harrison, S., & Bakker, P. (1998). Two new readability predictors for the professional writer: pilot trials. Journal of Research in Reading, 21(2), 121–138. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9817.00049
  • Heilman, M., Collins-thompson, K., & Eskenazi, M. (2008). An Analysis of Statistical Models and Features for Reading Difficulty Prediction. Association for Computational Linguistics, (June), 71–79.
  • Hensel, T. (2014). Validation of the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level within the Dutch educational system. University of Twente, The Netherlands, (Unpublished doctoral dissertation).
  • Hill, M. E., & McGinnis, J. (2007). The Curiosity in Marketing Thinking. Journal of Marketing Education, 29(1), 52–62. https://doi.org/10.1177/0273475306297385
  • Hooper-Greenhill, E. (2002). Developing a scheme for finding evidence of the outcomes and impact of learning in museums, archives and libraries: the conceptual framework. Retrieved from http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/museumstudies/rcmg/projects/lirp-1-2/LIRP analysis paper 1.pdf
  • Janan, D., & Idris, S. (2012). Readability: The limitations of an approach through formulae, 1–16.
  • Jarman, R., & Mcclune, B. (2002). A survey of the use of newspapers in science instruction by secondary teachers in Northern Ireland. International Journal of Science Education, 24(10), 997–1020. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500690210095311
  • Jarman, R., & McClune, B. (2005). Space science news: Special edition, a resource for extending reading and promoting engagement with newspapers in the science classroom. Literacy, 39(3), 121–128. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9345.2005.00411.x
  • Jidesjö, A. (2008). Different content orientations in science and technology among primary and secondary boys and girls in Sweden: Implications for the transition from primary to secondary school? NorDiNa: Nordic Studies in Science Education, 4(2), 192–208. Retrieved from http://liu.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?parentRecord=diva2:535843&pid=diva2:264484
  • Jidesjö, A., Oscarsson, M., Karlsson, K.-G., & Strömdahl, H. (2012). Science for all or science for some: What Swedish students want to learn about in secondary science and technology and their opinions on science lessons. Nordic Studies in Science Education, 5(2), 213–229. Retrieved from https://www.journals.uio.no/index.php/nordina/article/view/352
  • Kachan, M. R., Guilbert, S. M., & Bisanz, G. L. (2006). Do teachers ask students to read news in secondary science?: Evidence from the Canadian context. Science Education, 90(3), 496–521. https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.20113
  • Kimble, G., & Scorza, C. (2012). EU Universe Awareness Programme Evaluation Guide. Retrieved from http://www.unawe.org/resources/guides/EU_UNAWE_evaluation/
  • Krajcik, J. S., & Sutherland, L. M. (2010). Supporting Students in Developing Literacy in Science. Science, 328(5977), 456–459. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1182593
  • Kuhn, J., & Müller, A. (2014). Context-based science education by newspaper story problems: A study on motivation and learning effects. Perspectives in Science, 2(1–4), 5–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pisc.2014.06.001
  • McClune, B., & Jarman, R. (2012). Encouraging and equipping students to engage critically with science in the news: what can we learn from the literature? Studies in Science Education, 48(1), 1–49. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057267.2012.655036
  • Millar, R. (1997). Science education for democracy: What can the school curriculum achieve? Routledge.
  • Millar, R., & Osborne, J. (1998). Beyond 2000: Science education for the future. Science And Technology, 1–32.
  • Moje, E. B. (2007). Chapter 1: Developing Socially Just Subject-Matter Instruction: A Review of the Literature on Disciplinary Literacy Teaching. Review of Research in Education, 31(1), 1–44. https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732X07300046
  • National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). (2004). Inquiry based education, 1–3. Retrieved from http://www.nsta.org/pdfs/PositionStatement_ScientificInquiry.pdf%5Cnpapers2://publication/uuid/ABF06C2A-CA49-4D2D-A293-D0253448F6E7
  • Oscarsson, M., Jidesjö, A., Karlsson, K.-G., & Strömdahl, H. (2009). Science in society or science in school: Swedish secondary school science teachers beliefs about science and science lessons in comparison with what their students want to learn. NorDiNa Nordic Studies in Science Education, 5(1), 18–34.
  • Owu-Ewie, C. (2014). Readability of Comprehension Passages in Junior High School ( Jhs ) English Textbooks in Ghana. Ghana Journal of Linguistics, 68, 35–68.
  • Pearson, P. D., Moje, E., & Greenleaf, C. (2010). Literacy and Science: Each in the Service of the Other. Science, 328(5977), 459–463. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1182595
  • Percy, J. R. (2006). Teaching Astronomy: Why and How? Journal of the American Association of Variable Star Observers, 35, 248–254.
  • R Core Team. 2016. R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. Vienna, Austria: R Foundation for Statistical Computing. https://www.R-project.org/.
  • Reid, G., & Norris, S. P. (2015). Scientific media education in the classroom and beyond: a research agenda for the next decade. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 11(1), 147–166. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-015-9709-1
  • Reynolds, J. (2014). Cambridge IGCSE English as a second language. Hachette UK.
  • Rivard, L. P., & Straw, S. B. (2000). The Effect of Talk and Writing on Learning Science: An Exploratory Study. Science Education, 84(5), 566–593.
  • Rocard, M., Csermely, P., Jorde, D., Lenzen, D., Walberg-Henriksson, H., & Hemmo, V. (2007). Science Education NOW: A renewed pedagogy for the future of Europe, Brussels: European Commission, (21.10.2016). Retrieved from luettu: http://ec. europa. eu/research/science-society/document_library/pdf_06/report-rocard-onscience-education_en. pdf
  • Ryder, J. (2001). Identifying Science Understanding for Functional Scientific Literacy. Studies in Science Education, 36(1), 1–44. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057260108560166
  • Schmitt, F. F. (2008). The Epistemic Value of Curiosity. Educational Theory, 58(2), 125–149.
  • Shapin, S. (1992). Why the public ought to understand science-in-the-making. Public Understanding of Science, 1(1), 27–30. https://doi.org/10.1088/0963-6625/1/1/006
  • Singer, E. (1990). A Question of Accuracy: How Journalists and Scientists Report Research on Hazards. Journal of Communication, 40(4), 102–116. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.1990.tb02284.x
  • Steensel, R. Van, Gelderen, A. Van, Oostdam, R., & Trapman, M. (2009). A new test for measuring text comprehension skills of at-risk adolescents; preliminary results of a validiton study, 1–10.
  • Sullivan, P. A., & J, M. S. (2001). The interplay of first-hand and second-hand investigations to model and support the development of scientific knowledge and reasoning. Cognition and Instruction: Twenty-Five Years of Progress., 151–193. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=psyh&AN=2001-06245-005&site=ehost-live
  • Tsourlidaki, E., Teodora, I., & Evita, T. (2016). Report on entry-points for space topics in the curriculum. EU Space Awareness Project.
  • Universe Awareness. (2016). Space Scoop selected as Great Website for Kids [Press Release]. Retrieved from http://www.unawe.org/press/UNAWE1602/
  • Whitman, N. A. (1988). Peer Teaching: To teach is to learn twice. ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report No. 4.
  • Yore, L., Bisanz, G. L., & Hand, B. M. (2003). Examining the literacy component of science literacy: 25 years of language arts and science research. International Journal of Science Education, 25(6), 689–725. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500690305018
  • Yore, L. D. (1991). Secondary science teachers’ attitudes toward and beliefs about science reading and science textbooks. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 28(1), 55–72. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.3660280106