DEVELOPING A TEACHING AND LEARNING SEQUENCE WITH DESIGN-BASED RESEARCH ABOUT EXOPLANETS

Abstract

In the year of 2007, it was created the subject entitled “Concepts of Astronomy” to be lectured during the freshman year of the Physics course – teachers’ practice – at the Federal University of Itajubá, as a result of the various works indicating the importance of the theme. In this paper, we present the aspects of the research related to the first steps for the construction of a teaching and learning sequence (TLS) for the mentioned subject, which addresses the formation of planetary systems and exoplanets detection techniques. The Design-Based Research (DBR) methodology was employed in order to guide us through the construction of the sequence and, considering the extension of the research as well as the depth of the analysis that has been carried out, it was decided to present the results in two parts. In this paper, we are constrained to discussing the three first phases of the DBR, whereas the third phase – comprehension of the problem – is where the most relevant research aspects are concentrated. The results indicate difficulties related to scaled representations of planetary systems and fragilities associated with geometrical-spatial thinking. Based on that, a series of parameters has been obtained to sustain the following phases of the research – the conception, implementation, and evaluation of the sequence. The research team has developed a robotized Earth-Sun system to help the students to visualize the phenomenon, an initiative related to the fact that the students have shown difficulties associated with abstract thinking. The project and algorithms are presented in this paper and are available for free.