The Project
Visualising the Cosmos, is a project that aims to provide teachers with practical, evidenced-based resources for teaching topics in Cosmology in the high school classroom. The project has its origins in a variety of disparate activities that were implemented in the classroom, that were brought together into a coherent and overarching conceptual, theoretical and pedagogical framework through a PhD thesis (LINK HERE).
The project takes a Design-Based Research approach to the development of resources that take into consideration the needs of the teachers. As such….
Cosmology
Looking at the night sky one is drawn upwards towards the mystery and beauty of what lies beyond the blue marble we inhabit and call home – planet Earth.
Cosmology perhaps the oldest of all sciences, has its roots in philosophy and religion, it has evolved into a precision science. Cosmology which is often categorised as a sub-field of Astronomy, is the study of the Universe on the largest scale, with the goal of understanding the mechanisms that lead to the evolution of the Universe, and in doing so paint a rich picture of the evolutionary history of the Universe from its earliest epochs, through to the Universe we observe today.
Cosmology deals with very fundamental, and seemingly simple questions: Is the Universe infinite? How did it form? How does it evolve? What is the shape of the Universe? How big is the Universe?
Cosmology & Curriculum
Research has shown that around the world curricula are incorporating topics related to cosmology in their respective curricula. As an example, The Australian National Curriculum has cosmology topics in Grade9/10, and Grade 11 (Unit 1 – Physics). However, Cosmology topics can be used as a context for teaching various other topics in Science and various other subjects for example: Art, Mathematics.
Representations
Representations are vital not only to the scientific process, rather the communication of science. In astronomy given the complexities with spatial and visual reasoning, representations in a modalities become vital.
Representations is an overarching term which encompasses: visualisations, models, equations in various digital and analogue modes.
There is a vast body of research (Ainsworth et al., 2011; Airey & Linder, 2017; Eriksson, 2019; Gilbert, 2013; Hubber & Tytler, 2013; Lehrer & Schauble, 2005; Tytler et al., 2013) into the importance of representations to the scientific process, especially as reasoning tools when learning complex concepts. Engage students with authentic science, includes familiarising them with the processes of science.
Concept Network
Cosmology by its very nature is a subject built on the connection between concepts. Therefore, the cosmology learning and teaching is best visualised with concept network that shows the various connections between concepts within each of the main dimensions.
This concept network is an evolving framework, as we conduct studies that will refine the connections, we are providing this as a guiding empirical framework, that will inform not only unit development for teachers, rather also curriculum development.
“The Cosmos is bounded only by the limits of our imagination”
(On/Off)line
This course is designed so that it can be incorporated into most educational Learning Management Systems
Evidence-based
The course has been designed using data from empirical findings in classroom implementations
Curriculum Mapped
The course content has been mapped to major curricula, and is adaptable to any curriculum
Teacher Training
We provide teacher training to familiarise teachers with the pedagogy and the content.