This executive summary provides data tables with demographic information and follow-up responses from participants in the SciGirls program. These results demonstrate that participation in the camp had varying specific effects on students all leading to an increased interest in STEM.
Informal science education institutions (ISEIs), such as museums, aquariums, and nature centers, offer more to teachers than just field trip destinations-they have the potential to provide ideas for pedagogy, as well as support deeper development of teachers' science knowledge. Although there is extensive literature related to teacher/museum interactions within the context of the school field trip, there is limited research that examines other ways that such institutions might support classroom teachers. A growing number of studies, however, examine how incorporating such ideas of connections
The article discusses the concept of inferential distance, which describes the the conceptual distance between evidence and conclusion, and applies this concept to middle school science education. The exploration and testing of this concept in an after-school program, the importance of student observation, and the concept of alternative explanations are discussed. Sample activities for teaching inferential distance are also included.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Andrew FalkKevin BealsLauren Brodsky
As the global economic competition gets tougher, American policymakers and researchers are interested in finding ways to increase the number of students pursuing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)-related majors in order for the United States to continue its role as an economic powerhouse. A survey study was employed to investigate a multi-charter school system's (Harmony Public Schools [HPS]) after-school program in which doing a science fair project was expected for all 4th-12th grade students, and students were encouraged to participate STEM-related clubs (MATHCOUNTS
The article discusses the 4-H Science mission of the 4-H Youth Development Program, an out-of-school-time program addressing science technology engineering and mathematics (STEM) learning. It states that one of the approaches is on robotics education using a Junk Drawer Robotics curriculum having three levels: Give Robots a Hand, Robots on the Move, and Mechatronics, each level having modules that focus on science and engineering concepts.
This presentation given at the 2013 Materials Research Society (MRS) Spring Meeting examines evidence for the effectiveness of STEM education programs at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory.
Currently, there are policy debates regarding the efficacy and legality of single sex formal and informal education programs. This issue is particularly poignant in science education due to the historical marginalization of women in these fields. This marginalization has resulted in women being positioned as a stigmatized group within many science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) related fields. Research points to adolescence as the age where this sense of marginalization begins to develop. As a result, policy responses have utilized various frameworks such as: increased access
In the fall of 2012, the California Department of Education's After School Division contracted with the California Afterschool Network (CAN) Quality Committee to recommend a set of clearly defined standards of program quality in California. This document outlines the twelve approved quality standards as guidance for California's expanded learning programs.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
California Department of EducationCalifornia Afterschool Network
The article presents information on library makerspace models in the U.S. that allow patrons to create, build, and craft using technology, including ideas related to deliberate opportunism, collaboration, and centralization and development. The author looks at strategies used at Allen County Public Library (ACPL) in Indiana, the Cleveland Public Library in Cleveland, Ohio, and the DeLaMare Science and Engineering Library at the University of Nevada in Reno, Nevada.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Travis GoodAmerican Library Association
The article discusses the promotion of creative thinking at school libraries through Makerspace, a space in which students, teachers and librarians can take advantage of multiple learning styles. Individuals who are users of this space may be considered non-conformists, radicals and misfits. They use the Using, Tinkering, Experimenting and Creating (uTEC) Maker Model which guides them to the creative and inventive processes.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
David LoertscherLeslie PreddyBill Derry
Citizen science, in which volunteers work with professional scientists to conduct research, is expanding due to large online datasets. To plan projects, it is important to understand volunteers' motivations for participating. This paper analyzes results from an online survey of nearly 11 000 volunteers in Galaxy Zoo, an astronomy citizen science project. Results show that volunteers' primary motivation is a desire to contribute to scientific research. We encourage other citizen science projects to study the motivations of their volunteers, to see whether and how these results may be
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TEAM MEMBERS:
M. Jordan RaddickGeorgia BraceyPamela GayChris LintottCarie CardamonePhil MurrayKevin SchawinskiAlexander SzalayJan Vandenberg