In this paper, we use the concept of consequential learning to frame our exploration of what makes learning and doing science matter for youth from nondominant communities, as well as the barriers these youth must confront in working toward consequential ends. Data are derived from multimodal cases authored by four females from nondominant communities that present an account of 'science that matters' from their work during their middle school years. We argue that consequential learning in science for these girls involves engaging science with a commitment to their community. This form of
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Daniel BirminghamAngela Calabrese BartonAutumn McDanielJalah JonesCamryn TurnerAngel Roberts
This preliminary study examined the effect that five major sources of public science education—schools, science centers, broadcast media, print media, and the Internet—had on adults’ science interest values and cognitive predispositions. Over 3,000 adults were sampled in three U.S. metropolitan areas: Los Angeles, California, Phoenix, Arizona, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. To minimize potential sampling bias, the results were weighted by current U.S. Census data to be comparable to demographics from each of the three jurisdictions. Participants were asked to self-report their current and
An interview with Jacquelynne S. Eccles, an academic researcher, is presented. Eccles states that after enrolling in graduate school at UCLA in Los Angeles, California, she learned more about what it entailed to be an academic researcher. Eccles avers that she is interested in how people make selections. Eccles believe that the expectations for one's performance and the value that one connects to acting well are heavily socialized within the cultural setting as individuals grow up.
A focus group study was conducted with purposefully sampled student participants solving an engineering design challenge during a one-week engineering summer camp held at a research-intensive university in the southeast. The goal of the study was to further understand the student experience and ascertain the perceived value of an informal learning environment for students engaged in an engineering design challenge. Emergent themes are provided to illustrate the primary challenges related to the engineering design challenge and the aspects of the engineering summer camp that were beneficial to
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Cameron DensonMatthew LammiTracy Foote WhiteLaura Bottomley
This paper examines STEM-based informal learning environments for underrepresented students and reports on the aspects of these programs that are beneficial to students. This qualitative study provides a nuanced look into informal learning environments and determines what is unique about these experiences and makes them beneficial for students. We provide results of a qualitative research study conducted with the Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) program, an informal learning environment that has proven to be effective in recruiting, retaining and encouraging
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Cameron DensonChandra Austin StallworthChristine HaileyDaniel Householder
As the maker movement is increasingly adopted into K-12 schools, students are developing new competences in exploration and fabrication technologies. This study assesses learning with these technologies in K-12 makerspaces and FabLabs.
Our study describes the iterative process of developing an assessment instrument for this new technological literacy, the Exploration and Fabrication Technologies Instrument, and presents findings from implementations at five schools in three countries. Our index is generalizable and psychometrically sound, and permits comparison between student confidence
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Paulo BliksteinZaza KabayadondoAndrew P. MartinDeborah A. Fields
The article discusses initiatives by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to connect youth to the natural world through birding. It has developed educational resources, known as BirdSleuth which are used around the U.S. to support students in citizen-science participation, outdoor activities, and inquiry-based investigations. It talks about BirdSleuth's Investigating Evidence module, the "Classroom BirdScope" research journal, and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's eBird citizen-science project.
The article discusses citizen science projects focused on entomology, and examines their usefulness for engaging students in science education and providing meaningful hands-on educational experiences. Advice for incorporating citizen science into lessons and curricula are offered, and the applicability of entomology to science education standards is touched on.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Renee ClarJames WandersheeJohn GuytonMichael Williams
There is a vast terrain of emerging research that explores recent innovations in digital games, particularly as they relate to questions of teaching and learning science. One such game, Citizen Science, was developed to teach players about the practice of citizen science as well as lake ecology. Citizen science is a pedagogy that has a long history within the scientific community, engaging the public in ongoing community and environmental surveys to collect data for existing small-scale studies. More recently, citizen science has gained traction as an educational context for teaching and
The goal of this study was to investigate the degree to which school-based and nonformal education programs that focus on air quality (AQ) achieved measurable AQ improvements, and whether specific instructional methods were associated with those improvements. We completed a standardized telephone interview with representatives of 54 AQ education programs. Quantitative analysis of these interviews generated three key findings: (1) nearly half (46%) of the programs we studied reported evidence that AQ had actually improved over the course of their projects; (2) most (89%) of the programs we
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Brian JohnsonMichael DuffinMichael Murphy
Learning environment studies acknowledge that learning takes place within the social realm and that social conditions contribute to the quality of both learning and experience. This can be said to be especially true for environmental learning programs. To access information about students' perceptions of their learning environment, a robust instrument for describing and measuring student perceptions of environmental education in place-based educational settings was developed and validated. Focus groups with environmental educators were formed to explore (from teachers' perspective) the factors
For the purpose of clarity and consistency, the term e-learning is used throughout the paper to refer to technology-enhanced learning and information technology (IT) in teaching and learning. IT depicts computing and other IT resources. Research into e-learning has changed in focus and breadth over the last four decades as a consequence of changing technologies, and changes in educational policies and practices. Although increasing numbers of young people have access to a wide range of IT technologies during their leisure activities, little is known about this impact on their learning. Much of