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Leveraging The Epistemic Emotion Of Awe As A Pedagogical Tool To Teach Science, M. Gail Jones, Julianna Nieuwsma, K. Ren Rende, Sarah Carrier, Emma Refvem, Cesar Delgado, Jill Grifenhagen, Pamela Huff

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

Awe is a complex emotion theorised to impact science learning and practice. In science education, awe has the potential to motivate explanation-seeking, promote conceptual change, and instill feelings of connectedness to the natural world. This exploratory study examined teachers’ experiences with awe as well as their uses of awe in their science instruction. Thirty-four elementary (grades 4-5; n =14) and middle school (grades 6-7; n = 20) teachers completed a survey of awe perceptions and experiences and participated in a semi-structured interview. Results showed that science teachers report using awe-invoking classroom experiences in a variety of science disciplines with the …