Development and Evaluation of Technology-Supported Astronomy Learning Activities on Celestial Coordinate Systems and Telescope Observation for Pre-Service Physics Teachers

Abstract

Astronomy learning involves abstract concepts, particularly celestial coordinate systems, the apparent motion of celestial objects, and telescope operation, which can be difficult for pre-service physics teachers to connect with actual observations. This study aimed to develop STEM-based astronomy learning activities, evaluate their quality and appropriateness, and examine participants’ conceptual understanding and perceptions after participation. A developmental research approach based on the ADDIE model and a pre-experimental one-group pretest–posttest design was employed with 30 pre-service physics teachers from Years 1–3. The developed package comprised three activities: Celestial Object Identification, Analysis of Coordinate Changes, and Telescope Setup and Observation. Research instruments included the learning activity package, an expert evaluation form, a 30-item conceptual understanding test, and a learner opinion questionnaire. Three experts evaluated the activities before implementation over three weeks (12 instructional hours). Data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, paired-samples t-test, and item-level analysis. The activities received a very high expert evaluation (M = 4.65, SD = 0.35). Mean conceptual understanding scores increased from 11.10 (SD = 4.12) to 23.50 (SD = 2.46), with significantly higher posttest scores at the .05 level. Participants also reported very positive perceptions (M = 4.72, SD = 0.43). The findings suggest that the developed activities have potential to connect abstract astronomical concepts with physical models, astronomy software, data analysis, and telescope observation.