In citizen science (CS) projects, citizens who are not professional scientists participate in scientific research. Besides serving research purposes, CS projects provide participants opportunities for inquiry-based learning to promote their topic-specific knowledge and scientific reasoning skills. Previous research suggests that participants need…

This article explores the meaning of community-driven and owned science in the context of an Inuit-led land-based program, the Young Hunters Program. It is the foundational program of the Arviat Aqqiumavvik Society, situated in Nunavut, Canada, a community-led group dedicated to researching challenges to community wellness and designing and…

This study explores the experiences of six urban middle school students in an authentic science inquiry program. Drawing on data including teaching journal entries, student work folders, and semi-structured focus group interviews of six participants, the findings explore six dimensions of authentic science inquiry, an approach to science inquiry…

Citizen science projects provide non-scientists with opportunities to take part in scientific research. While their contribution to scientific data collection has been well documented, there is limited research on how participation in citizen science projects may affect their scientific literacy. In this study, we investigated (1) how volunteers'…

In this study we examined curriculum integration in new ways by exploring the link between classroom context, the implementation of community-based, integrated science projects, and the subsequent student learning. The literature is inconsistent regarding the benefits of an integrated approach to curriculum. The research design was a multiple case…

Investigated gender patterns with respect to entry rate, project topic, and project type in a state-level science competition. Reports that for the past 20 years the participation rate has been greater for girls than for boys. Boys are more likely than girls to prepare physical, earth, math/computer, and experimental research-based projects. (45…

Describes a study designed to determine whether the Biology Critical Thinking (BCT) project (which incorporates activities for developing specific critical thinking skills into the biology curriculum) enhances critical thinking skills and how it affects students' biological knowledge and classroom learning environment. Results indicate that BCT…

This article explores the beliefs and practices of a high school biology teacher through three interrelated theoretical frameworks: common knowledge, collaborative learning, and communities of practice. The data were obtained from an in-depth case study of Maria, a biology teacher from a Mexican public high school that was participating in a…

Reports on a case study that examines the beginnings of gender differentiation during a naturally occurring academic activity designed to support and guide young children's interest in doing science. Contains 25 references. (DDR)

What teaching practices foster inquiry and promote students to learn challenging subject matter in urban schools? Inquiry-based instruction and successful inquiry learning and teaching in project-based science (PBS) were described in previous studies (Brown & Campione, [1990]; Crawford, [1999]; Krajcik, Blumenfeld, Marx, Bass, & Fredricks,…

Epistemic criteria are the standards used to evaluate scientific products (e.g., models, evidence, arguments). In this study, we analyzed epistemic criteria for good models generated by 324 middle-school students. After evaluating a range of scientific models, but before extensive instruction or experience with model-based reasoning practices,…

The purpose of this pragmatic action research study was to explore our re-conceptualization efforts in preparing pre-service teachers to guide the inquiry process with formative assessment and subsequently use the understandings to improve our teacher preparation program. The process was guided by two questions: to what extent did course…

There exists a general consensus in the science education literature around the goal of enhancing learners' views of nature of science (NOS). An extensive body of research in the field has highlighted the effectiveness of explicit NOS instructional approaches in improving learners' NOS views. Emerging research has suggested that engaging learners…

Integrated quantitatively the collective research dealing with the effects of the Intermediate Science Curriculum Study (ISCS) on student performance and attitude. The weighted mean effect size was 0.09, indicating that the performance of ISCS students was 0.09 standard deviations about the performance of students in traditional science courses.…

Investigates cumulative effects of SCIS in terms of students' attitudes. Hypothesized and supported is that students exposed to the complete SCIS program would show a greater degree of positive attitude toward science, experimenting, and the scientist than would those not exposed to SCIS. Results indicating sex differences in attitudes are…