Visualizing Moon Phases in Virtual and Physical Astronomy Environments

We report on the development and testing of a 'Visualization Lab,' which includes both physical and virtual models, designed to teach middle school students about the cause of the Moon's phases and eclipses, phenomena that require students to visualize complex 3D relationships amongst the Sun, Earth, and Moon. The physical models included styrofoam balls, a lamp, and hula hoops, and we used two different kinds of virtual models: a simple 2D simulator, vs. a complex 3D model in WorldWide Telescope (WWT), an immersive, free astronomy data visualization environmentIn Phase I, all students used the physical model first, then one of the two virtual models. Students who used WWT as the virtual model had stronger learning gains than students who used the 2D simulator, and they had more interest in continuing to explore the computer model independently after the formal instruction was complete.In Phase 2, all students used WWT, but half used the physical model first, while the other half used WWT first. The Phase 2 pilot (N=68) showed that level of prior knowledge may influence which model order would be more beneficial to student learning. Students with low prior knowledge benefited from using the physical model first, and students with high prior knowledge benefited from using WWT first. Three additional cohorts in 2013-14 (N=226) showed that performance on the multiple choice assessment is comparable regardless of model order, with a regression analysis showing a slight benefit to using WWT first for all levels of prior knowledge.For two cohorts where we have coded open responses, students who used WWT first expressed fewer misconceptions about the cause of Moon phases on the posttest. Despite the stronger learning outcomes from using WWT first, only 19% of students preferred having WWT first or wish they had WWT first.