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resource evaluation Public Programs
Citizen Science 2015 was the inaugural conference of the Citizen Science Association (CSA). The conference planned for two days of building connections and exchanging ideas across a wide spectrum of disciplines and experiences and was held February 11th and 12th in San Jose, California, as a pre-conference of the American Association for the Advancement of Science's Annual Meeting. In addition to the other strands, a specific strand dedicated to education was held to identify opportunities and strategies to support the integration of citizen science into the Science, Technology
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TEAM MEMBERS: Joe E Heimlich Gary Timko
resource research Public Programs
Many youth consider participation in environmental science “unthinkable.” This study challenges the view that scientific practices must be “thinkable” before engagement is possible. Over the course of a four-week summer enrichment ecology program, students addressed their fears, operated outside of their comfort zones, and productively engaged with science.
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TEAM MEMBERS: Heather King
resource research Media and Technology
How do people make sense of conflicting beliefs? Although Gottlieb & Wineburg’s paper is about highly educated professionals reading history, informal science educators will recognize similar issues when working with people who hold beliefs incompatible with scientific ways of understanding the world. “Epistemic switching” was a way of considering criteria for truth, reliability, and validity according to one belief system or another. Rather than simply believing or excluding ideas as people who held to only one value system, the people with multiple, competing affiliations actually more
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TEAM MEMBERS: Suzanne Perin
resource research Informal/Formal Connections
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) make important strides to address equity in science education. However, lessons from past reform efforts should encourage us to pause to ask if they do enough. Rodriguez provides a three-pronged critique of the K–12 Framework and NGSS and suggests steps to make issues of equity more central moving forward
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TEAM MEMBERS: Sara Heredia
resource research Informal/Formal Connections
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.
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resource research Media and Technology
Formal readings and lectures are effective at delivering explanations, but the information they impart can be so densely packed and de-contextualized that students may not make full sense of the content. Arena and Schwartz found that video games have the potential to unlock the expository content delivered by lectures, textbooks, and diagrams.
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TEAM MEMBERS: Nicole Bulalacao
resource research Informal/Formal Connections
Calabrese Barton, Tan, and Rivet provide valuable insights on supporting girls (and young people generally) as they negotiate the practices of formal science learning, establish learning identities, and engage with science. Analysis of rich ethnographic data shows how middle school girls created hybrid spaces between school and home that enabled them to draw on funds of knowledge in order to participate fully in school science.
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TEAM MEMBERS: Heather King
resource research Media and Technology
As infographics and other visual forms of data become increasingly common, many educators wonder how to best integrate them into learning activities. Polman and Gebre interviewed 10 experts in science representation to understand common practices they used for selecting and interpreting infographics. The authors build on study results to generate guidelines for educators' use of infographics.
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TEAM MEMBERS: Kerri Wingert
resource research Media and Technology
Polman, Newman, Saul, and Farrar reflect on six years of work with a science journalism program for teens that fosters a version of science literacy centered on developing fluency in the application and use of science in personal life.
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TEAM MEMBERS: Melissa Ballard
resource research Informal/Formal Connections
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.
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TEAM MEMBERS: Anita Krishnamurthi
resource research Informal/Formal Connections
For almost two decades, strict accountability measures have been in place across the country. In this literature review, Anderson investigated the effect of accountability on K–12 science instruction. He found that curricula have narrowed, less time is being dedicated to science, teacher morale is lower, and expectations for some student groups have increased.
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TEAM MEMBERS: Jillian Luchner
resource research Informal/Formal Connections
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) represent a dramatic shift in expectations for K–12 science education, particularly in its inclusion of engineering design. To understand the shifts that schools may need to make, Moore, Tank, Glancy, and Kersten examine the ways in which state K–12 science standards, prior to the adoption of NGSS, included engineering.
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TEAM MEMBERS: Melissa Ballard