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| Paper: |
Storytelling to Connect Students with the Culture of Astronomy |
| Volume: |
539, ASP 2024: Astronomy Across the Spectrum |
| Page: |
175 |
| Authors: |
Plummer, J.; Ragonese, A.; Palma, C. |
| Abstract: |
As with all science disciplines, astronomy is shaped by the people and places in which it is investigated. We explored how college education majors, enrolled in an introductory astronomy course designed for undergraduate education majors, expressed their understanding that astronomy is embedded in cultural practices. Throughout the course, students learned astronomy by considering these questions: who does astronomy, what counts as astronomy, and how does place shape astronomy? As a final project for the course, each student wrote a children's storybook about astronomy that answered these questions. The stories the students wrote provided us with a window into the ways these students see astronomy through a cultural lens, such as by showing families doing astronomy together or by communicating astronomy as an element that changes over time through ongoing investigations. Further, the students often wrote stories depicting characters traditionally underrepresented in astronomy. Here, we share our thoughts on the importance of storytelling in astronomy, discuss the strategies we used to move students toward seeing astronomy as a cultural practice, and share outcomes based on the stories students wrote in their final projects. |
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