In the last decades, secondary school students have indicated a low interest in science and a lack of awareness of authentic science careers that may impede their aspiration to work in science-related fields in future. To raise students' aspirations, several studies used context-based approaches, but few integrated career aspects into the school…

This study examined the effects of science and engineering (S & E) inquiry on preschool and kindergarten children's academic outcomes using a randomized control-group design. Participants were divided into three groups: a classroom-only group (C-only) receiving NGSS-aligned S & E inquiry; a classroom plus family engagement group (C + F)…

The SunSpaceArt (SSA) project, led by the author, a solar scientist at the University of Cambridge, comprises a diverse team of scientists and visual artists who run STEAM (STEM + Arts) workshops in schools, space camps and at other venues (museums, science centres and so on). The project focuses mainly on 7- to 12-year-olds, which is a key age…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of the Primrose® Balanced Learning® Curriculum on young children's science performances. The sample of this study included 158 children attending two private preschools. The study utilized a single group pre-post-test design. The children were tested before and immediately after the…

In recent years, there has been a rapid growth in interest about the relationship between the arts and the sciences. This article explores this developing relationship and the suggestion that science and science learning are not complete without the arts. We see three levels at which the arts might improve the teaching and learning of science. The…

Attitude toward science has been recognized as highly influential in students' engagement with science and future career choices. Science is important in our everyday lives as well, in a society demanding more scientific vocations and higher levels of scientific literacy. There is little research on how attitudes develop and evolve at early ages,…

This column shares reflections or thoughtful opinions on issues of broad interest to the community. This month's issue discusses tools of formative assessment.

Introductory biology courses are supposed to serve as gateways for many majors, but too often they serve instead as gatekeepers. Reliance on lectures, large classes, and multiple-choice tests results in high drop and failure rates. Critiques of undergraduate science education are clear about the problems with conventional introductory science…

The idea of establishing Science High Schools in Turkey was discussed in a multilateral project at the beginning of 1963. The Ministry of National Education (MoNE), Ford Foundation, Middle East Technical University (METU), Ankara University, and International Development Agency (AID) participated in this project to establish these schools. In…

Successful STEM learning depends on the interaction of affect, cognition, and application of ideas. Simply put students who are unwilling to persist in STEM based endeavors do not suddenly develop into scientists, mathematicians, engineers or computer scientists, nor do they seek out STEM related courses or STEM based careers. The purpose of this…

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of implementation of the Science Writing Heuristic (SWH) approach at 5th grade level in the public school system in Iowa as measured by Cornell Critical Thinking student test scores. This is part of a project that overall tests the efficacy of the SWH inquiry-based approach to build students'…

This paper reports on an attempt to investigate Turkish primary school students' interest in science by using their self-generated questions. We investigated students' interest in science by analyzing 1704 self-generated science-related questions. Among them, 826 questions were submitted to a popular science magazine called Science and Children.…

The instructor of an integrated science course for nonscience majors embedded content-related video segments from YouTube and other similar internet sources into lecture. Through this study, the instructor wanted to know students' perceptions of how video use engaged them and increased their interest and understanding of science. Written survey…

Previous research has shown that indigenous students in Australia do not enjoy equal educational outcomes with other Australians. This secondary analysis of PISA 2006 confirmed that this continues to be the case in science literacy for secondary students. However, the analysis also revealed that indigenous Australian students held interest in…

Globally, science curricula have been described as outdated, and students perceive school science as lacking in relevance. Declines in senior secondary and tertiary student participation in science indicate an urgent need for change if we are to sustain future scientific research and development, and perhaps more importantly, to equip students…