Intergenerational science education programs provide many opportunities to enhance content connection-making, foster classroom community, and cultivate science identity for participants. The Early Adventures Program (EAP) at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) serves as a model for adult-child co-learning programs for children (ages…

Background: Community-based learning is a high-impact, experiential teaching practice where elements of social interaction and authentic participation transform cognitive understanding into meaningful knowing. In the allied health field, the incorporation of community-based learning provides unique access to populations that are not inherently…

This follow-up study presents a design-based research (DBR) setting implemented over a three-year project called 'eKidZ - Teach Your Parents Well' which uses research-based learning and follows the four phases of DBR. In an iterative cycle, 20 teenagers aged 14-16 took on the role of researchers and investigated intergenerational learning and the…

The Office of Service Learning and Science Unit at Lingnan University partnered with the Discovery and Education Department at Ocean Park (an aquatic theme park in Hong Kong) to develop a service learning project. Beyond service learning's traditional goals (enhanced student learning, useful service for a community partner), we examined the…

Families create contexts for learning to enhance and support the interests of their children, while simultaneously teaching language, morals, and culture. This research examines intergenerational family teams engaged in a long-term conservation project in their community. Participants were interviewed during and after project completion with the…

Promoting family learning around science represents an important opportunity to reinforce science learning during out-of-school time. Evidence suggests that parent-child discourse around science can promote inferential thinking by children and help solidify their understanding of science concepts. While teacher professional development that…

This analysis uses a sociocultural learning theory and parent-child interaction framework to understand families' interactions with one type of scientific tool, the magnifier, during nature walks offered by a nature center. Families were video recorded to observe how they organized their activities where they used magnifiers to explore in the…

Using data from 24 countries, which participated in the 2006 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), we examine the relationship between parental science employment and students' career expectations. In contrast to prior PISA-based studies, we find that the link between parental employment and adolescent plans to work in science is…

A partnership was formed between King Edward VI School Morpeth (UK) and the pharmaceutical company Merck, Sharp and Dohme within the programme of "Joint Responsibility" operated by the Dove Marine Laboratory (Newcastle University, UK). Pupils surveyed an ecologically important coastal area in northeast England and made 15 recommendations…

This paper describes an intergenerational science program called Sisters in Science which fosters girls' interest and achievement in science. The program is designed to encourage and prepare girls and women for careers in math, science, and technology. A group of fourth grade girls from 19 classrooms across 6 elementary schools met once a week…

A unique partnership between retired scientists and elementary teachers in four counties in California provides science content knowledge to teachers and students at schools that are actively trying to enhance science in their classrooms. The program offers scientists a vehicle to continue in a field they love and an opportunity to pass on their…

This article describes Garden Mosaics, a program funded by the National Science Foundation. Garden Mosaics combines science learning with intergenerational mentoring, multicultural understanding, and community service. The program's mission is "connecting youth and elders to explore the mosaics of plants, people, and cultures in gardens, to learn…

Contends that science education researchers should devote more time to creating and studying models of intergenerational and community-based science education. Argues that such inquiries have the potential to provoke new thinking that could expand basic conceptions of what it means to learn and practice science. (WRM)

The 51 papers included in this symposium proceedings address gender equity issues in higher education, as well as some of the current research and programming designed to advance the education of girls and women in K-12 and higher education. Papers focus on six topics: (1) higher education curricula and classroom strategies that promote equity;…