The purpose of this study was to explore the impact a specific socio-scientific inquiry (SSI) unit has on student achievement and attitudes over the course of two years with two different implementations of the unit. Specifically, this study addressed the following research question: What impact does participation in an SSI unit have on student…

This research aimed to determine whether implementation of virtual technology or implementation of physical materials in a learning environment is more efficient in understanding physics concepts and developing positive attitudes at the high school level. The theory that framed this study is the model of learning as dynamic transfer. Participants…

Design thinking has become increasingly important in the context of the current movement toward integrated STEM education. Allied teaching practices often take the form of project-based learning, which represents a major shift in the teaching and learning process and poses challenges for many teachers during implementation. Many professional…

We report on our experience with the implementation of project-based teamwork on nuclear energy with 14 ninth-grade students from a lower secondary model school and its assessment using two written questionnaires, which were answered by the students after the completion of the project. The first questionnaire elicited students' opinions about the…

This paper discusses a K-12/university collaboration in which students participated in a four-day scenario-based summer STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) camp aimed at making difficult scientific concepts salient. This scenario, Jumpstart STEM-CSI: Chocolate Science Investigation (JSCSI), used open- and guided-inquiry…