There was a time when “science comic” meant a straightforward collection of pictures with a lot of captions and a few word balloons. The main character would recite a series of facts and definitions, and any attempt at plot or character development would be interrupted by a lecture. The comics featured more diagrams than action scenes, with clunky and expository dialogue. Rather than comics making science enjoyable, science made comics boring.
Not anymore. The new generation of science graphic novels is designed as much to entertain as to educate. “The students love to read the books on
Purpose: This project team will fully develop and test an open online platform that posts student-led engineering project challenges for Kindergarten to grade 12 classrooms. Research demonstrates that improved attitudes towards engineering in elementary and middle school are imperative to increase the pursuit of STEM degrees and careers. This project intends to address a shortage of tools and curricula in K-12 engineering today, in order to meet the learning objectives new the Next Generation Science Standards and to engage students in STEM.
Project Activities: During Phase I, (completed in 2016), the team developed a prototype, including a content management platform to host challenges on a broad range of STEM topics, such as computer coding, digital modeling, or producing simulations. At the end of Phase I, researchers completed a pilot study with 100 students and two teachers. Results demonstrated that the prototype operated as intended, that students were highly engaged with challenges on the platform, and that teachers were able to incorporate challenges within instructional practice. In Phase II, the team will refine the landing page, further develop the system architecture to accommodate a larger number of challenges, and upgrade the teacher portal to build capacity for the effective integration into instructional practice. After development is complete, the research team will conduct a pilot study to assess the feasibility and usability, fidelity of implementation, and promise of the platform to improve learning. The study will include 40 high school classrooms with a minimum of 25 students per class. Half of the classrooms will be randomly assigned to use the platform to conduct a challenge and half to follow business-as-usual procedures. Researchers will compare pre-and-post scores of students' science and engineering self-assessments, which measure ability to engage in science and engineering practices such as asking questions, modeling, planning and carrying out investigations, analyzing data, and constructing explanations, as well as content-specific measures depending on the specific challenge with which classes engage.
Product: The project team will develop a platform that will facilitate design challenges in K-12 classrooms across STEM academic topics and career paths within the field of engineering. The platform will enable classes to post their projects to the site and for other classes around the country to participate in the project. Each challenge (and the associated education resources curated for that challenge) will be publicly displayed on the Future Engineers platform and offered free for student participation and classroom facilitation. The content management system will be developed to enable the platform to host a high volume of challenges simultaneously and will allow for a diverse array of student-generated submissions. The platform will also include teacher resources to support the alignment of game play with learning goals and to support implementation.
In prior projects, including a 2015 ED/IES SBIR award, the team developed two immersive multiplayer virtual game environments. In Eco and Colony, middle school students collaboratively apply scientific practices within the virtual worlds to address challenges, such as the availability of resources and energy and maintaining clean water. With this Phase I funding, the team is developing a prototype of a teacher dashboard designed to improve classroom implementation of the virtual environments. The prototype will automatically generate reports on individual student contributions to the progress of the classroom-wide game, and track progress in mastering curricular learning goals. In the Phase I pilot research for three middle school social studies classrooms, the project team will examine whether the dashboard functions as planned, if teachers are able to use the dashboard to feasibly integrate the game within the classroom environment, and if teachers are able to use reports to track student progress.
In prior research and development, the project team developed PocketLab, a set of web-based hands-on science simulations for middle school classrooms. With this Phase I funding, the team will develop and test a prototype of CloudLab, a classroom management platform to extend the functionality of PocketLab. The prototype will include a portal so that a class of students can collaborate on experiments, a lab notebook to analyze experimental data with graphing tools, and a teacher dashboard to monitor student progress in real time. In the Phase I pilot research, with six middle school teachers and 150 students, the project team will examine whether the prototype functions as planned, whether teachers are able to integrate it within the classroom environment, and whether students are engaged while using the prototype.
In prior research and development (in part supported by a 2014 ED/IES SBIR award), the project team developed Mission U.S., a series of web- and app-based games for topics in U.S. history. With this Phase I funding, the team will extend Mission U.S. by developing and testing a prototype of a virtual reality (VR) platform to immerse students in transformational moments in U.S history and to guide document-based investigations. The prototype of Mission U.S.: Time Snap will consist of VR goggles that present history content, and a website to host mission briefs to prepare student inquiry, worksheets to facilitate reflection, and an embedded assessment. At the end of Phase I in a pilot study with 30 students in one classroom, the researchers will examine whether the VR platform and the website function as planned, if students are engaged with the system, and whether student content knowledge of a historical event improves from pre- to post-test.
The U.S. Education system is becoming more and more diverse and educators must adapt to continue to be effective. Educators must embrace the diversity of language, color, and history that comprises the typical classroom; this means becoming culturally competent. In doing so, comes with it the prospect of using culture to enhance the learning experience for students and the educator. Although the process of becoming culturally competent can be outlined, the realization of a culturally competent educator depends on changing one’s own perceptions and beliefs. The need for cultural competency and
Students in the U.S. educational system are increasingly diverse, and this diversity is reflected in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Diversity in education encompasses students from many races, genders, and socioeconomic backgrounds; students who speak a variety of languages; and students from many cultures. For instance, ethnic diversity increased by 5% across primary and secondary public schools from 2000 to 2007 (Aud, Fox, & KewalRamani, 2010). Diversity is also evident in the socioeconomic make-up of students, with almost half of 4th graders in public
Learn how to create opportunities for young people from low-income, ethnically diverse communities to learn about growing food, doing science, and how science can help them contribute to their community in positive ways. The authors developed a program that integrates hydroponics (a method of growing plants indoors without soil) into both in-school and out-of-school educational settings.
The development of character is a valued objective for many kinds of educational programs that take place both in and outside of school. Educators and administrators who develop and run programs that seek to develop character recognize that the established approaches for doing so have much in common, and they are eager to learn about promising practices used in other settings, evidence of effectiveness, and ways to measure the effectiveness of their own approaches.
In July 2016, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine held a workshop to review research and practice
In considering the integration of technology in the classroom it is necessary to factor in the ways in which teachers design for their use. Makerspaces and their use of digitally-based rapid prototyping tools such as laser cutters and 3D printers are serving as new models for technology integration in learning environments. While there has been some research on the educational affordances of such technologies little research has been done to understand their use in the traditional classroom environment by teachers. This paper explores the design of curricular and instructional activities by
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Christian McKayTarrence BanksScott Wallace
Students can present their classroom work in a number of ways. One popular approach is an open house at the school. Such events often feature booths where parents and students can participate in various learning activities. Because these open houses usually only cater to the students and families associated with that particular school, the impact is limited to those people, and the wider local community is not engaged in students’ learning. Additionally, in rural areas, these types of events are sometimes difficult for families to attend during weekdays or weeknights, due to distance and work
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Robin CooperKim ZeidlerDiane JohnsonJennifer Wilson
The Science Museum of Minnesota (SMM) leverages a professional educator team (“instructors”) comprised of about two dozen individuals who facilitate both formal and informal educational programming in the museum, in K–12 classrooms, and at community-based sites. The experienced instructors of SMM’s Lifelong Learning Group bring innovative programs to both students and their teachers. Recognizing that long-term experiences can have a profound impact on students and teachers, SMM works to develop multiyear relationships based on collaboration. This article focuses primarily on SMM’s well