Engaging youth in citizen science projects has multiple benefits. Yet, numerous challenges, such as lack of alignment between project goal and youth interest, hinder youth wider engagement. In this paper, we suggest a model for engaging volunteers in facilitator roles, warranting positive outcomes for youth engagement in citizen science projects.…

School-based citizen science offers a way for students and teachers to collaborate with scientists and take part in multiple facets of research such as data collection and analysis, and sometimes research initiation, co-design, and reporting of findings. However, most citizen science projects offered to schools are of the contributory type, often…

Although participation in citizen science can improve cognitive and affective learning outcomes, many citizen science projects exhibit low retention rates. By gaining an understanding of forms of engagement, reasons for ongoing participation, and the impact of project design on participant motivation and engagement, we can help keep people…

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a situation, the "anthropopause", of lockdowns and distancing among individuals to reduce the spread of the disease. One of the major problems to surface is the inequality of the educational process in schools. We present a study of high school students who conduct a year-long research project with an…

This study involved 458 ninth-grade students from two different Arab middle schools in Israel. Half of the students learned science using project-based learning strategies and the other half learned using traditional methods (non-project-based). The classes were heterogeneous regarding their achievements in the sciences. The adapted questionnaire…

Responsible research and innovation (RRI) stands at the center of several EU projects and represents a contemporary view of the connection between science and society. The goal of RRI is to create a shared understanding of the appropriate behaviors of governments, business and NGOs which are central to building trust and confidence of the public…

The paper describes characteristics and analyses difficulties of environmental sciences teachers in mentoring their students in an extended inquiry project, which is a mandatory requirement of the environmental sciences matriculation in Israel. The teachers participated in a professional development program that provided both content knowledge and…

A nanotechnology module was developed for ninth grade students in the context of teaching chemistry. Two basic concepts in nanotechnology were chosen: (1) size and scale and (2) surface-area-to-volume ratio (SA/V). A wide spectrum of instructional methods (e.g., game-based learning, learning with multimedia, learning with models, project based…

Describes the adaptation process involved in modifying the outdoor biology instructional strategies (OBIS) project to the local environment and educational system in Israel. (HM)

The contributions of Biological Sciences Curriculum Study, Chemical Education Materials Study, and the Physical Science Study Committee courses to the understanding of science among Israeli students are compared. Changes in science process inventory scores in concurrent courses in grades 9-12 are examined. Common misunderstandings about the nature…

There are differences between experienced BSCS biology teachers and those beginning to use BSCS, with respect to the ranking of objectives in order of importance and in the estimation of the ease of achieving the objectives. There is a disparity between the teachers' priorities and their expectations of achieving the objectives. (AL)

A battery of tests was administered to three groups of high school students who studied the Israel Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) Adaptation Program for several years. Compared with non-BSCS students, the progress of the BSCS students in biological knowledge, inquiry skills, and understanding of science demonstrates the feasibility of…

Achievement scores of Israeli high school students using Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) materials were shown to be significantly higher than those for students using another curriculum. (MLH)

The study describes the process of adopting new curriculum materials, which had been developed in the PARSEL project in several European countries, into the local educational science classroom of another country. The goal of the PARSEL project was to raise the popularity and relevance of science teaching by enhancing students scientific and…