This dissertation characterized trainings designed to prepare citizen scientists to collect ecological data in natural outdoor settings. Citizen scientists are volunteers who participate in scientific activities under the guidance of professional scientists and organizations. The work of citizen scientists greatly expands the data collection…

Animal biology is fascinating for its incredible diversity in life strategies. These strategies amaze scientists and can also fire the enthusiasm of science students. One group of animals impressive in this way is the phylum "Cnidaria," containing some 10,000 invertebrate species that include jellyfish, corals, sea anemones, hydroids,…

British scientist John Dalton (1766-1844), French scientist Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac (1778-1850), and Italian scientist Amedeo Avogadro (1776-1856) are familiar to many chemistry students. Such students may understand the importance of Dalton's atomic theory, model how Gay-Lussac's law relates the pressure and the temperature of a gas, and use…

Clair J. Sullivan is an assistant professor in the Department of Nuclear, Plasma and Radiological Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Her research interests include radiation detection and measurements; gamma-ray spectroscopy; automated isotope identification algorithms; nuclear forensics; nuclear security;…

Knowledge brokerage on biodiversity and ecosystem services can apply communication tools such as policy briefs to facilitate the dialogue between scientists and policymakers. There is currently considerable debate on how to go beyond the linear communication model, outdated in theoretical debate but still often implicitly leading interaction with…

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…

A "crisis account" of shortages of well-qualified scientists, engineers, mathematicians and technologists has shaped education policy in the UK and the USA for decades. The apparent poor quality of school science education along with insufficient numbers of well-qualified teachers have been linked to skills shortages by government and…

Article is devoted to the scientific heritage of educators and psychologists of Russia in the first quarter of the twentieth century. The aim of the research is the identification of the most significant ideas of P. P. Blonsky, L. S. Vygotsky, V. P. Kacshenko, S. T Shatsky which based the theoretical and methodological basis of inclusive…

Observational citizen science is an effective way to supplement the environmental datasets compiled by professional scientists. Involving volunteers in data collection has the added educational benefits of increased scientific awareness and local ownership of environmental concerns. This thesis provides an in-depth exploration of observational…

Science education is facing an immense challenge due to students' lack of engagement with science education. This issue calls for a collaborative and integrative teaching strategy such as the Scientist-Teacher-Student Partnership (STSP). This research employed a qualitative research methodology supported by quantitative data, to explore students'…

In 2016, professors representing Biology, Dance, Music, and Theatre and dance program students created "Dunes," a performance piece that depicts the ecological succession of Michigan's sand dunes. The process used to make this work is a direct representation of the steps that Team Hyena Puppet, a collective of teaching artists and…

The present study aims to examine the perceptions towards scientists and science/pseudoscience distinctions of gifted education and elementary education teacher candidates who will educate gifted students especially at the elementary education level. A total of 92 volunteer prospective teachers, composed of candidates from gifted education and…

Every introductory astronomy class encounters Galileo during the course as the first man to systematically study the sky with a telescope. Every Astronomy 101 student meets Galileo as one of the major catalysts behind the shift from the Ptolemaic to the Copernican system and as one of the great minds behind the scientific method. But most of the…

The ability to clearly disseminate scientific knowledge is a skill that is necessary for any undergraduate student within the sciences. Traditionally, this is accomplished through the instruction of scientific presentation or writing with a focus on peer-to-peer communication at the expense of teaching communication aimed at a nonscientific…

Drawn from the cultural-historical theories of knowing and doing science, this article uses the concept of professional vision to explore what scientists and experienced teachers see and articulate as important aspects of climate science practices. The study takes an abductive reasoning approach to analyze scientists' videotaped lectures to…