Enhancing interest in physics learning has been an important component of education policy and policy implementation for decades. However, in many countries, student interest in physics has not increased. The aim of this study was to predict situational interest using individual interest and the instructional activities students engaged in. Also,…

Early science learning has the potential to enhance children's social interaction development, but a lack of resources in schools requires well-structured activities and a supportive learning environment. In a project aimed at helping children develop an interest in science education from an early age, this describes a Project-Based,…

Turning everyday activities such as baking into scientific activities is more than just fun: it is important for our children's futures. Science investigations provide an opportunity for children to learn about scientific concepts and listen to their peers, family, and community members, and to respond to their questions or ideas. It also provides…

The purpose of this study is to determine how adequate preschool teachers considered themselves in the field of science, to determine their awareness on this subject and to find out how adequate they are in the field of science. This study was planned by using a phenomenological approach among the qualitative research methods and was carried out…

Background: Students' satisfaction with science education is one of the preconditions for the students' future interest in pursuing an academic career in science. However, to date it is still not clear what particular teaching strategies promote students' satisfaction with science and, specifically, what opportunities for promoting this…

Science hobbyists engage in self-directed, free-choice science learning and many have considerable expertise in their hobby area. This study focused on astronomy and birding hobbyists and examined how they used organizations to support their hobby engagement. Interviews were conducted with 58 amateur astronomers and 49 birders from the midwestern…

This mixed-methods case study examined two out-of-school (OST) Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) programs at a science-oriented high school on students' Self-Efficacy. Because STEM is a key for future innovation and economic growth, Americans have been developing a variety of approaches to increase student interest in science within…

A genuine interest in science is an important part of scientific literacy, and thus a critical goal for science education. Recent studies, however, have found that school science has not been effective in meeting this goal, an important reason for which is the lack of knowledge about what makes science interesting (or not) to the students. Using…

Finnish students' opinions about the frequency of learning activities and communication in the Finnish science classroom, their interest in science and science studies and careers, their sense of self-efficacy, and their beliefs about their own competence as well as their performance in science are analyzed based on PISA 2006 Scientific Literacy…

This document consists of two parts: (1) a copy of a Science Attitude questionnaire developed in Britain for use with secondary school students, and (2) a manual describing administration and interpretation of the questionnaire. The questionnaire consists of 58 five-choice, Likert-type items, and takes 45 minutes to administer. The items form five…

Problem-based learning (PBL) has great potential for inspiring K-12 learning. KaAMS, a NASA funded project and an example of PBL, was designed to help teachers inspire middle school students to learn science. The students participate as scientists investigating environmental problems using NASA airborne remote sensing data. Two PBL modules were…

Describes the goals and outcomes of the "We Love Science Day" programs that resulted from the inservice course, "Creative Integration of Science in Elementary Education" for Pennsylvania teachers. Provides samples of the hands-on activities that were offered to students, parents, and teachers. Includes a calendar of…