Building an Understanding of Astronomical Sizes and Scales with WorldWide Telescope

使用万维望远镜了解天文大小和尺度

• 批准号: 1140440
• 负责人: Edwin Ladd
• 金额: $ 20万
• 依托单位: Bucknell University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2012-09-01 至 2016-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1140440&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Building; Understanding; Astronomical; Sizes; Scales

Intellectual merit: The project is creating, testing, and distributing new curricular materials to integrate the WorldWide Telescope (WWT) astronomy visualization environment into the hands-on laboratory programs in undergraduate general education astronomy courses. The new material is designed to address and alter student misconceptions regarding size, scale, and structure in the universe. The four lab-based activities, i) Parallax Measurements and the Distances to Nearby Stars, ii) Spectroscopic Parallax and the Distance to Star Clusters, iii) Globular Clusters and the Size of the Milky Way Galaxy, and iv) The Hubble Law and Measures of Large-Scale Structure, allow students to investigate the essential ways astronomers measure distance in our universe in an interactive 3-D visualization environment with real astronomical data. This multi-perspective visualization of inherently 3-D astronomical structures produces a much more intuitive view than can static 2-D diagrams in traditional curricular materials, and it has the potential to transform student understanding of size, scale, and structure in the universe. Students can compare their own conceptions of size, scale, and structure with evidence-based maps, and develop a more accurate mental model for their celestial surroundings. These new curricular materials are being tested through application in general education astronomy courses first at Bucknell University and subsequently at partner institutions. Gains in student understanding are being measured using research-validated concept inventories and other qualitative assessments. Once the curricular materials have been shown to be effective in reducing student misconceptions, they are to be widely available, along with associated documentation, to the Astronomy 101 teaching community. WWT is freely available and runs on virtually any PC, so instructors at a wide range of institutions can make use of the developed curricular materials. Broader Impacts: The concepts of size, scale, and structure extend beyond topical boundaries in STEM disciplines. From the smallest scales of nuclear and atomic physics, to the hidden geometry of Earth's crustal plates and faults, to the gargantuan scale of our universe, students are challenged to visualize and comprehend unseen and inaccessible geometries. Though the curricular materials deal specifically with these issues in an astronomical context, they provide opportunities for students of all disciplines to visualize unseen entities and build a coherent understanding of an inaccessible structure based on scientific interpretation of observational data. Three dimensional visualization and spatial reasoning skills have been shown to be critical for success not only in STEM careers, but also in careers not directly involving science and technology. For undergraduate students not majoring in a STEM discipline, a general education astronomy class may provide their only college experience in 3-D spatial visualization. The curricular activities in this project provide those students with the opportunity to explore 3-D astronomical structures in an interactive and student-driven intuitive environment. Practice in manipulating 3-D objects substantially increases spatial reasoning skills and improves a student's ability to create accurate mental maps of complex 3-D objects. This project brings powerful spatial visualization software to the undergraduate general education classroom, and helps non-science students develop spatial reasoning skills while forming a more accurate map of their natural surroundings.

智力优点：该项目正在创建，测试和分发新的课程材料，将WorldWide Telescope（WWT）天文学可视化环境整合到本科通识教育天文学课程的动手实验室课程中。新材料旨在解决和改变学生对宇宙大小，规模和结构的误解。四项实验室活动，i）视差测量和到邻近恒星的距离，ii）光谱视差和到星星团的距离，iii）球状星团和银河系的大小，iv）哈勃定律和大尺度结构的测量，让学生调查的基本方式天文学家测量距离在我们的宇宙在一个互动的3-三维可视化环境与真实的天文数据。这种固有的3-D天文结构的多视角可视化产生了比传统课程材料中的静态2-D图表更直观的视图，它有可能改变学生对宇宙大小，尺度和结构的理解。学生可以将自己对大小、尺度和结构的概念与基于证据的地图进行比较，并为他们的天体环境建立一个更准确的心理模型。这些新的课程材料首先在巴克内尔大学的普通教育天文学课程中进行测试，随后在伙伴机构中进行测试。学生理解的进步正在使用经研究验证的概念清单和其他定性评估来衡量。一旦课程材料已被证明是有效地减少学生的误解，他们将被广泛提供，沿着相关的文件，天文学101教学社区。WWT是免费提供的，几乎可以在任何PC上运行，因此各种机构的教师都可以使用开发的课程材料。更广泛的影响：规模，规模和结构的概念超出了STEM学科的主题边界。从核和原子物理学的最小尺度，到地球地壳板块和断层的隐藏几何形状，再到我们宇宙的庞大规模，学生们面临着可视化和理解看不见和无法访问的几何形状的挑战。虽然课程材料在天文学背景下专门处理这些问题，但它们为所有学科的学生提供了机会，使看不见的实体可视化，并根据对观测数据的科学解释对无法进入的结构建立连贯的理解。 三维可视化和空间推理技能已被证明是成功的关键，不仅在STEM职业生涯中，而且在不直接涉及科学和技术的职业生涯中。对于不主修STEM学科的本科生，通识教育天文学课程可能会提供他们在3D空间可视化方面的唯一大学经验。在这个项目中的课程活动为学生提供了一个互动和学生驱动的直观环境中探索三维天文结构的机会。操作3D物体的实践大大提高了空间推理技能，并提高了学生创建复杂3D物体的准确心理地图的能力。该项目为本科通识教育课堂带来了强大的空间可视化软件，帮助非理科学生发展空间推理技能，同时形成更准确的自然环境地图。