There is a disparity in the number of adults from minority populations employed in STEM careers. In order to increase the interest of at-risk high school students in the STEM field in Queens, NY, an immersive summer biotechnology boot camp was developed. Fifty-five predominantly minority and female students completed the summer boot camp over a…

The preparation of early childhood educators in Tunisia has become part of the mainstream pre-service teacher education programmes. Nonetheless, this field has not yet reached the expected maturity as evidenced by the lack of a guiding vision. A case in point that attests to this state of opacity is the example of foreign language (FL) education.…

Informal learning settings such as museums have been identified as opportunities to enhance students' knowledge and motivation in science and to optimize the connection between science and everyday life. The present study assessed the role of a self-paced science education program (situated in a medical science museum) in enhancing students'…

In this study, the authors examined juvenile offender experiences in Project Tech, a research-based educational pilot program to teach socially responsible serious game development at a major Midwest university's Games Lab. Using open-ended interviews, learner feedback surveys, and learner journaling during the program, the researchers examined…

We explore how small-format laptops ("netbooks") have been used within evidence-based investigations undertaken by secondary school students, to what extent these are suitable for effectively supporting learners across different locations and contexts, and their implications for open learning. Over the course of seven trials with 300…

Growing science apathy at the K-12 education level represents an alarming development with potentially devastating consequences at individual, societal and economic levels. Technology has been incorporated in science education without fundamentally improving test scores or student attitudes. We claim the core of the problem is how technology is…

This is the second "Center Spot" devoted to Jan Hoffman's "Shoe Box Science," a program that organizes manipulative materials so that children can identify, describe, order, construct, name and distinguish on their own.

Describes one of the units from an interdisciplinary program where students and faculty from diverse disciplines examine ideas and materials and discover underlying unity of concepts. This article discusses the theme of structure" in science, the humanities, and literature. (AL)

The concept of endeavor training is that personal achievement is attained through personal effort. Endeavor courses take from one to three years and vary according to the background of the participant. They involve arduous physical activities as well as participation in cultural, human, intellectual, and spiritual activities. (MS)

Describes a museum experience for fourth, fifth, and sixth graders designed in the form of a treasure hunt/questionnaire. This tour format, which does not require the presence of an art specialist, was used at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. (SJL)

This paper takes a descriptive look at Community Science Workshops (CSWs). This paper discusses what CSW is, how it arose and spread, how local CSWs are structured and led, and what programs and experiences they offer to youth. (Contains 2 footnotes.)

Chicago's Field Museum of Natural History, long concerned with man's ecological heritage, has designed many programs of interest to teachers of environmental education. The philosophy of the environmental program described here is to "observe, explore, generalize" and provides a hands-on exhibit for elementary school students at the…

Although students who used the Physical Science Study Committee experiments improved in their understanding of the conservation of momentum, greater gains were made by those who used a computer simulation of one dimensional elastic collisions in a vacuum. (AL)

Described is a project in which third graders create their own corporation--a cupcake factory--and learn first-hand about economic principles and the decisions that businesses must make in the market economy. The cupcake factory is one example of how enterprising educators can make economics comprehensible and captivating. (RM)