This article provides two illustrations of some of the factors that can influence findings from
pre-and post-test research designs in evaluation studies, including regression to the mean …

Immersive virtual reality (VR) has enormous potential for education, but classroom resources
are limited. Thus, it is important to identify whether and when VR provides sufficient …

The big idea of celestial motion, observational astronomy phenomena explained by the
relative position and motion of objects in the solar system and beyond, is central to …

We present the development of a construct map addressing the reason for the seasons, as a
subset of a larger learning progression on celestial motion. Five classes of 8th grade …

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Astronomy Education Research.] Multiple
studies show that spatial thinking skills contribute to students' performance in science …

Learning astronomy involves significant spatial reasoning, such as learning to describe
Earth-based phenomena and understanding space-based explanations for those …

This study investigates the role of perspective-taking skills in how children explain spatially
complex astronomical phenomena. Explaining many astronomical phenomena, especially …

This study investigated elementary students' explanations for the daily patterns of apparent
motion of the Sun, Moon, and stars. Third‐grade students were chosen for this study …

Strong spatial skills are foundational in predicting students' performance in science,
technology, engineering, and mathematics education. Decades of research have …

Background: Pre-service science teachers' conceptual understanding of astronomical
concepts and their misconceptions in these concepts is crucial to study since they will teach …