NSF ThinkSpace Project

This paper describes an approach to understanding how 11-12-year-old students (N=185) engage in spatial thinking through use of sensemaking practices. There is limited research on nature of students’ spatial thinking when learning discipline-specific content knowledge during classroom instruction. We use embodied cognition to examine the kinds of sensemaking practices students use when applying perspective-taking skill to learn seasons and lunar phases, and the teacher’s role in shaping those practices.

When teaching science topics in which objects are too large or too small to observe laboratory settings—as is the case for astrophysics—how do you convey complex and intangible relationships in a meaningful way? Studies have shown that interactive visualization models that address common misconceptions can be powerful learning experiences. This article examines how the WorldWide Telescope (WWT) Ambassadors program has utilized the dynamic environment of the WWT platform to build meaningful representations of complex topics, and effectively address these teaching needs.