Spanish pre-service teachers' alternative conceptions about Astronomy

Abstract

The process of teaching and learning astronomy is often fraught with difficulties. The most frequently reported is the ability to generate alternative conceptions, as shown by numerous investigations in different contexts. The objective of this study is to approach the most common alternative conceptions of pre-service teachers, and also to check whether the Spanish alternative conceptions are the same as in other contexts. The results show that these students also held a number of alternative conceptions about basic astronomy and that these are similar to those found in other countries.

Keywords:
Astronomy; Alternative conceptions; Teacher training; Teaching and learning process