This article focuses on the impact of culturally relevant teaching and learning during a summer enrichment program for high school students. Culturally relevant science instruction and curriculum helped students to foster a more positive interest in science and STEM careers as it provided students the opportunity to do science in meaningful and…

Background: Children living in urban areas often have limited opportunities to experience informal science environments. As a result, some do not have a deep understanding of the environment, natural resources, ecosystems, and the ways human activities affect nature. Purpose: This article examines how experiential science education supported urban…

The Exploratorium is home to XTech, a science education program which began in 2006 and was primarily funded by a three-year National Science Foundation grant (Award # 05-25217) through its ITEST (Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers) initiative. XTech provided project-based afterschool activities in science, engineering,…

The relationship that exists between students and science and technology (S&T) is a complex and important one. If it is positive, then social, economic and environmental consequences are to be expected. Yet, many problems of interest/motivation/attitude (I/M/A) towards S&T have been recorded. A lot of research has been conducted on this…

Reports on two science field trips which inservice teachers completed through the Earthwatch organization. Participants learned about microbial mats and evolutionary theory on a coastal expedition and about archeology on a dig in the Mediterranean. Teachers returned with firsthand experience of scientific investigation and renewed enthusiasm for…

Describes a three-week summer program in environmental education and field botany for inservice and prospective teachers at the University of North Carolina. Stressing that the aesthetic viewpoint is one often overlooked by educators and scientists, this article reasons that self-awareness is a positive outcome of this approach. (CS)

The outdoor education program for sixth graders in San Diego County is described, along with an account of its development and the financial support structure underlying the program. Eleven major outcomes that can be expected from participation in the outdoor education program are enumerated. An intensive pre-camp teacher-training program carried…

The aim of this guide is to aid sixth-grade teachers whose classes participate in the San Diego City and County outdoor education programs. The guide enables the teacher to improve the quality of outdoor education through suggestions for better planning and preparation procedures for the camping experience and for more active student participation…

This study utilized the flow theory of intrinsic motivation to evaluate the subjective experience of 78 academically talented high school sophomores participating in an 8-day summer research apprenticeship program in materials and nuclear science. The program involved morning lectures on such topics as physics of electromagnetic radiation, energy…

Describes an elective biology program offered at Lawrence High School (Kansas) that emphasizes basic field biology, ecology, conservation, camping, first aid, mountaineering, and map reading. Groups of students spend two weeks in the Rocky Mountains developing knowledge and skills in these areas. (JR)

Describes a summer science program for high school students which included as one of its objectives the planning of a backpacking adventure in the high Sierra Nevada Mountains. (HM)

This article describes a summer Field Astronomy course designed to give secondary students the opportunity to use the telescope as a laboratory instrument, to learn telescope optics, and to do experiments related to observation. The equipment is described and illustrated. (Author/MA)

Describes institutes and field stations available for teaching tropical marine biology. (SL)

Four middle/junior high school programs, winners in the National Science Teachers Association's Search for Excellence in Science Education are described. Programs focus on: (1) note-taking in the laboratory; (2) natural history expeditions; (3) environmental physical science (social and scientific ecological studies); and (4) use of teaching teams…