Astronomy learning and teaching has its own unique set of challenges, many of which I would like to address in my research. For example there is a lack of access to physical examples in astronomy that is unrivaled among the sciences. Only about 500 people have ever had the privilege of leaving earth, and even if a students dreams of being an astronaut the majority of what is studied in research astronomy lies trillions of miles away from the furthest reaches of either manned or robotic exploration. This makes it difficult to engage students through “hands-on” inquiry activities, and even more difficult to make studying space relevant to students' lives. Complicating this are pervasive alternative celestial mythologies and astrological beliefs that can conflict with a more scientific understanding of the universe if not addressed with sensitivity. And as if all that weren't enough, the extremes of size, heat, speed and time that make up the basic tenets of the discipline make conceptualizing the universe almost impossible to truly to wrap one's head around.

Here are just a few questions I someday hope to tackle: 

1. What kinds of prior knowledge structures do children have about their place in the cosmos, particularly about the concepts of the solar system, the galaxy and the universe? Teenagers? Adults? Astronomy majors? Museum educators? Teachers?

2. What kinds of objects do children/adults associate with the concepts of the solar system, the galaxy and the universe? How do they organize these objects in terms of scale?

3. How do children/adults organize their understanding of the scale of the universe?

4. How do we teach astronomy in K-12 to graduate astronomically literate adults who have a firm understanding of our place in the cosmos and the scale of the universe?

5. How do we present astronomy in informal settings to help learners get a better grasp of our place in the cosmos, and the scale of the universe?

6. How do we present astronomy content through the lenses of gender and cultural equity?

7. How do we make astronomy content relevant and meaningful to learners' lives?