This paper highlights an investigation of how middle school students responded to a theatre performance designed to portray science as a humanistic and relatable endeavour that youth -- similar to the youth in the audience -- engage in during their everyday lives. The play included in this study was generated as a part of a design research project…

This article describes a pilot study on the use of a computer supported collaborative citizen project with elementary school students. From public data available on the web, the researchers sought to understand how students engaged in science practices within a citizen science project. In addition, the researchers examined the different roles that…

This study explores fluctuation in students' emotional state and motivational goals during a learning project that requires self-regulation. The research asks the following questions: (1) How do students' emotional state and motivational goal fluctuate between the gStudy learning sessions during a two-month project? (2) How do students with…

Citizen science projects have been found to increase scientific knowledge and awareness among the participants who engage in these collaborative efforts. Providing elementary students the opportunity to collect, share, and analyze data is an effective way to help them develop a deeper understanding of scientific concepts and gain competency in…

Citizen science provides an opportunity for students to capture data both locally and globally while supporting the real-time work of scientists seeking to understand natural events. In this article, the authors present a project-based approach that explores climate at home and abroad to help develop elementary students' local-to-global…

Thousands of students around the country have participated in activities using the Data Jam model, creating poetry, songs, videos, or sculpture to improve their data literacy, gain knowledge of local science research, and creatively express their findings. This article introduces the Data Jam model and describes how teachers can use it in…

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in DNA can result in phenotypes where the biochemical basis may not be clear due to the lack of protein structures. With the growing number of modeling and simulation software available on the internet, students can now participate in determining how small changes in genetic information impact cellular…

With the continued emphasis in the United States on science teaching reform as a way to increase science learning and the scientific literacy of all, the integration of informal science learning activities like citizen science is emerging as a possible way to enhance formal science teaching and learning. There is a limited but growing number of…

In higher natural science education, the scientific report is the prevailing genre of writing. Despite the fact that communicative skills are highly valued in working life, earlier studies have shown deficiencies among science students. In this paper, we highlight the need for varied communication training, in particularly arguing for the…

As well as providing a valuable and enjoyable experience for pupils, outdoor learning also enhances and contextualises learning in science by helping pupils understand science concepts. Teachers' lack of confidence in which aspects of the science curriculum they can actually teach outdoors deters them from venturing outside the classroom for…

We designed a "3D Printing Technology Science Project" as part of a science methods course to engage preservice teachers (N = 41) in a 3D printing project that they could implement with their future elementary school students. The goal was to introduce prospective teachers to engineering design and technology application ideas and…

Building a robot from scratch in an educational context can be a challenging prospect. While a multitude of projects exist that simplify the electronics and software aspects of a robot, the same cannot be said for construction systems for robotics. In this paper, we present our efforts to create a low-cost do-it-yourself construction system for…

The general objective of this study was to analyze the development and implementation process of a waste management project (WMP) at a public school in the city of Porto Alegre in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, that offers a course for chemistry technicians. To that end, an initial diagnostic analysis of the commonly produced waste from…

Internships in science research settings have received increasing attention as a means of helping students construct appropriate understandings, practices, tools, and language in scientific activities. To advance student-scientist partnerships beyond the status quo, the study aimed to investigate how cogenerative dialogs (cogens) may help high…

We describe a field-based lizard project we did with high school students as a part of our summer Herpetological Research Experiences. We describe data collection on lizards captured, identified, and marked as a part of our mark-recapture study. We also describe other lizard projects that are ongoing in the United States and provide resources for…