PhD research project Ilham Bouisaghouane
The Dutch Black Hole Consortium: How can modern science support concept learning in primary education to motivate and engage learners from all backgrounds?
ProjectThe Dutch Black Hole Consortium (DBHC) is a large, interdisciplinary consortium bringing together cutting-edge research from subjects as diverse as astronomy, engineering, and geology to further our understanding of black holes and gravitational waves. At its heart is an ambitious educational project to deploy the research results to advance education both classrooms and informal learning settings.
The PhD project focusses on primary education and investigates how cutting-edge science topics can be used as a didactic tool to support learners to think scientifically and support concept development. The project builds on the interactive application designed in the Minds-On project (https://www.minds-on.nl/) to stimulate hands-on/minds-on learning through a combination of practical activities and interactive knowledge representations. The PhD research is structured into four themes.
- Theme one focusses on how interactive diagrams can help to steer concept learning during practical assignments.
- Theme two investigates how the lessons with the interactive diagrams can be modified to motivate and engage learners from diverse backgrounds to improve learning outcomes.
- In the third theme, the research focusses on how the didactic approach can be modified for use in informal learning environments such as science museums.
- Finally, theme four investigates what is the state-of-the-art regarding astronomy education with an aim of identifying opportunities for future education and educational research.
| Researcher | Ilham Bouisaghouane |
|---|---|
| Promotor | Prof. dr. I (Ionica) Smeets, Department of Science Communication and Society, Leiden University, Leiden. |
| Co-promotoren | Dr. J. (Joanna) Holt, Faculty of Education, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, Amsterdam Dr. B. (Bert) Bredeweg, Faculty of Education, Amsterdam University of Applied Science, Amsterdam Dr. P.M. (Pedro) Rodriques Dos Santos Russo, Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, Leiden. |
