Informal Education at NASA Centers: Extending the Reach is a highly leveraged, modular, project-based approach to improving education opportunities for students, formal and informal educators, and life-long learners in NASA Ames Research Center’s local community and beyond. In partnership with the Aerospace Education, Research and Operations (AERO) Institute, NASA Ames has been developing two projects: Exploration Center Field Trips and Field Trip in a Box. California Teaching Fellows Foundation, as a sub awardee, has been expanding their After School University (ASU) program. The division has the goal of supporting NASA’s Education Outcome 2 with improved educational opportunities for all in the NASA Ames Visitor Center and opportunities to bring NASA content into the classroom to improve students understanding of STEM as well as improve teachers understanding and ability to teach NASA-related STEM topics. The division also has the goal of supporting NASA’s Education Outcome 3 by expanding ASU to include NASA-based STEM learning opportunities to 360 additional students in six rural schools as well as train 12 additional Teaching Fellows (Fresno State University future teachers). Through these objectives, NASA Ames has produced 10 Field Trip in a Box kits as well as new and expanded learning opportunities for all, especially 3rd – 8th grade classes, in the NASA Ames Visitor Center. ASU has reached 500 students in 10 schools and hosted 12-14 year old learners in a five-week computer-based flight simulation class, called Flying for Future Pilots.
STEM Integration in K-12 Education examines current efforts to connect the STEM disciplines in K-12 education. This report identifies and characterizes existing approaches to integrated STEM education, both in formal and after- and out-of-school settings. The report reviews the evidence for the impact of integrated approaches on various student outcomes, and it proposes a set of priority research questions to advance the understanding of integrated STEM education. STEM Integration in K-12 Education proposes a framework to provide a common perspective and vocabulary for researchers
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National Research CouncilMargaret HoneyGreg PearsonHeidi Schweingruber
In case studies of two first-year elementary classroom teachers, we explored the influence of informal science education (ISE) they experienced in their teacher education program. Our theoretical lens was identity development, delimited to classroom science teaching. We used complementary data collection methods and analysis, including interviews, electronic communications, and drawing prompts. We found that our two participants referenced as important the ISE experiences in their development of classroom science identities that included resilience, excitement and engagement in science
STEM learning ecosystems harness unique contributions of educators, policymakers, families, and others in symbiosis toward a comprehensive vision of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education for all children. This paper describes the attributes and strategies of 15 leading ecosystem efforts throughout the country with the hope that others may use their lessons to deepen rich STEM learning for many more of America’s children.
The John G. Shedd Aquarium’s Department of Learning Planning & Evaluation synthesizes learning research, develops evaluation plans with Learning Group staff, and assists with data analysis and interpretation for education programs. The Research Associate’s primary responsibility is reviewing literature, both research-based and practitioner-based, and synthesizing these findings into comprehensive research narratives. These narratives are used by staff members in the Learning Group to help them determine their suite of experiences and instructional strategies. Depending on the topic of the
The article discusses an effective physical science center, which can be incorporated on the reading instructions of teachers, the inclined plane center, that helps enhance science teaching. It mentions that to create an inclined plane center, one must collect various objects that roll, slide and wobble and wooden cove molding for the tracks. The author thinks that it is not necessary to understand everything about force and motion, what is important is offering students with opportunities for concrete experiences.
In 2009, the North Carolina Virtual Public Schools worked with researchers at the William and Ida Friday Institute to produce and evaluate the use of game creation by secondary students as a means for learning content related to career awareness in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines, with particular emphasis in computer science areas. The study required the development of various forms of multimedia that were inclusive of content and activities delivered in a distance environment via the Internet. The team worked with a game art and design graduate class to
This review takes a critical position with regards to Treagust and Duit’s article, Conceptual Change: A discussion of theoretical methodological and practical challenges for science education. It is proposed that conceptual change research in science education might benefit from borrowing concepts currently being developed in the sociology of emotions. It is further suggested that the study of social interaction within evolving emotional cultures is the most promising avenue for developing and extending theories about conceptual change.
Educators repeatedly underscore the intimate relationship between science and technology. This is problematic because technology, far from being “applied science,” presupposes a unique epistemology (techno-epistemology). A focus on the role of science in technology overshadows this unique way of knowing and hence limits technology education and privileges a scientific worldview in education. To appropriately frame the unique epistemology of technology in education, we propose a cognitive framework developed to understand the use and development of tools in human activity, namely, Cultural
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Michiel van EijckNicholas Xumthoult Claxton
The summative evaluation of the Farming for Fuels classroom program and family event was conducted over two years. Two interim reports were delivered with preliminary results about specific areas of focus. This final report described the overall evaluation study methods and results, and made recommendations for potential revisions and improvements to the program. The evaluator worked with the program team at the Creative Discovery Museum to generate a list of questions to guide the evaluation study. The questions covered each of the major audiences for the program: museum educators, teachers
Conceptual change views of teaching and learning processes in science, and also in various other content domains, have played a significant role in research on teaching and learning as well as in instructional design since the late 1970s. An important issue is whether conceptual change can provide a powerful framework for improving instructional practice in such a way that students’ levels of scientific literacy are significantly increased. In this article, the first section provides an overview on the development of conceptual change perspectives. In sections two to six, we examine the
This paper begins with a consideration of some important themes dealt with in the paper by Treagust and Duit. These include the relationship between research on conceptual change and educational practice, the significance of emotion and identity in the process of conceptual change, and role of cognitive conflict in motivating change. I then argue that the authors implicitly assert the importance of spoken dialogue as a motor for conceptual change, but do not give it the proper, explicit recognition that it deserves. I first use their own data of transcribed talk to make this point, and then go