The Institute for Research in Schools (IRIS) was set up to give science students the opportunity to work on cutting-edge research projects. Teachers and students can access data and equipment that enable them to tackle real-life issues. As a result, not only do students gain in confidence and experience in their scientific work, they are also able…

The enthusiasm for science displayed by students in early elementary grades is unparalleled. If not nurtured in elementary school, the spark for learning science diminishes. Unfortunately, the amount of time spent on science in Grades 1-4 has steadily declined since the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. In 2012, the National…

A robotics team from Muncie, Indiana--the PhyXTGears--is made up of high school students from throughout Delaware County. The group formed as part of the FIRST Robotics program (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), an international program founded by inventor Dean Kamen in which students work with professional engineers and…

Even in the face of a recession, great careers are currently available in many technical fields, and throughout the nation efforts are under way to grow the workforce in those jobs through greater diversity. In this article, the author describes a weeklong, free summer camp offered by Calhoun Community College, Decatur, Alabama, which gets high…

The Air Toxics under the Big Sky program developed at the University of Montana is a regional outreach and education initiative that offers a yearlong exploration of air quality and its relation to respiratory health. The program was designed to connect university staff and resources with rural schools enabling students to learn and apply science…

Primary research articles discuss aspects of scientific inquiry that are important in understanding the nature of science. Yet, most introductory science courses use textbooks that ignore the scientific process; opportunities for explicit discussion of the nature of science are lost. In Hampshire College's science program, students read current…

A new Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) approach was designed for youth who participated in the Minnesota State Fair Livestock interview process. The project and evaluation were designed to determine if the new SET approach increased content knowledge and science process skills in participants. Results revealed that youth participants not…

Summer undergraduate research programs in science and engineering facilitate research progress for faculty and provide a close-ended research experience for students, which can prepare them for careers in industry, medicine, and academia. However, ensuring these outcomes is a challenge when the students arrive ill-prepared for substantive research…

One of the easiest ways to capture students sense of wonder is to provide them an opportunity to participate in scientific research and display their findings in a science exhibition. Giving students the freedom to follow their own interests and develop their own science exhibition projects ensures active involvement in the learning process as…

A novel "Whiteheadean" science program was initiated in England and Wales in September 2006. Following a critical House of Commons report in 2002, the government altered the National Curriculum targets and thus forced the Examination Boards to alter their specifications in order to come in line. Assessment at GCSE level (i.e., the 14-16…

After attending an astronomy camp at Tarleton State University (TSU) for teachers and secondary students in Summer 2002, the author, a kindergarten teacher, was disappointed to discover that the university offered no science camps for elementary students. She returned to her preK-K campus, whining to her principal. What a shame no one would take…

Describes the teaching and learning of chemistry in an Australian high school as it relates to the beliefs about the nature of science of a teacher and a class with the curriculum actually enacted. Although the teacher and students tended to view science as an evolving and changing discipline, the actual enacted curriculum was approached as a…

Describes a workshop to provide parents, their elementary school children, and elementary teachers with a common science learning environment. It included 45 activities/demonstrations with directions and learning notes. The primary goal was to promote inquiry through involvement and interaction with each other, discovery, discussion, and thinking…

Describes a summer program project designed and conducted by a mixed-age group of elementary children. Students collected data to determine whether a local stream was polluted, and interpretations of the data varied. An informational video about the project and the creek was produced. (PVD)