This poster was presented at the 2016 Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) PI Meeting held in Bethesda, MD on February 29-March 2. Makerspaces are social spaces with tools, where individuals and groups conceptualize, design, and make things using new and old technologies. Literacy practices are the ways people use representational texts to navigate and make sense of their worlds. They are used in particular contexts with particular goals. By “representational texts” we mean written words, talk, photographs, diagrams, videos, schematics, computer code, electrical circuit diagrams
Current science education policy advocates for engaging students in scientific practices of inquiry as the best way for students to learn science. McConney et al.’s analysis of PISA data unexpectedly found a negative correlation between frequency of inquiry-based instruction and high levels of student scientific literacy. The analysis confirmed a positive correlation between frequency of inquiry-based instruction and high levels of interest and of engagement in science.
Researchers examined how conducting an authentic science investigation in a bilingual classroom and weaving in discussions about the nature and culture of science affected students. They found that this process supported students’ growth in understanding of the scientific enterprise and made the culture of science more approachable.