Astronomy in the Mathematics Classroom

Developing Astronomy-themed Math Problems for Grade 5 to 10

Mathematics in Astronomy

Illustration: Eleen Hammer unter Verwendung eines Bildes von NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), A. Nota (ESA/STScI) and the Westerlund 2 Science Team
Mathematics in Astronomy

The topic

Development of astronomy problems

Development of astronomy problems

Image: F. Eberhardt

This project is aimed at developing math problems for grade 5 to 10 of secondary schools, solely utilizing contexts of astronomy to train and practice mathematical skills. Studies found that students’ keen interest in astronomy can raise their motivation for problem solving, thus promoting math education. Anchoring astronomical knowledge in turn, equally benefits the subject of astronomy, especially since it has been omitted from curricula of several federal states of Germany.

The project is subdivided into different phases. After assessing the current state of textbook exercises and finding criteria to evaluate these math problems, new classroom materials are created. These include astronomical math problems and their solutions, additional comments for teachers, and classifications in terms of pre-knowledge and educational requirements. The final phase consists of an advanced training for secondary school teachers to promote this new approach and the collection of astronomy-centered math problems we created.

Developed mathematics problems (German)

Filter and sort the listed files
    1. File type:
      pdf
      File size:
      1 mb
      Modification date:
      Download file
    2. File type:
      pdf
      File size:
      900 kb
      Modification date:
      Download file
    3. File type:
      pdf
      File size:
      1024 kb
      Modification date:
      Download file
    4. File type:
      pdf
      File size:
      770 kb
      Modification date:
      Download file
    5. File type:
      pdf
      File size:
      387 kb
      Modification date:
      Download file
    6. File type:
      pdf
      File size:
      1 mb
      Modification date:
      Download file
    7. File type:
      pdf
      File size:
      333 kb
      Modification date:
      Download file
    8. File type:
      pdf
      File size:
      689 kb
      Modification date:
      Download file
    9. File type:
      pdf
      File size:
      497 kb
      Modification date:
      Download file
    10. File type:
      pdf
      File size:
      302 kb
      Modification date:
      Download file
    11. File type:
      pdf
      File size:
      706 kb
      Modification date:
      Download file
    12. File type:
      pdf
      File size:
      860 kb
      Modification date:
      Download file

Contact

Eleen Hammer

PhD student
Eleen Hammer
Image: privat
Link to download vCard
vCard
August-Bebel-Straße 4
07743 Jena Google Maps site planExternal link
Further link
Institution de