Out of school time (OST) STEM opportunities are often presented as ways to support student achievement, understanding, and identity in STEM. Recent work has begun to explore how OST programs function within the STEM Learning Ecosystem, a holistic view of the various STEM learning opportunities available to youth in a given area. In order to…

Based on quantitative survey data collected from an inquiry-based general chemistry laboratory course, the current study used marginal models to evaluate changes in students' teamwork and problem-solving skills, attitudes to teamwork, and willingness to explore new issues before and after the course. The results suggest that introductory-level…

There was no significant difference in attitudes toward biology between high-ability grade nine biology students exposed to 20 randomly selected Invitations to Enquiry'' and similar students whose course did not include invitations. There is some suggestion that more difficult Invitations'' later in the course may have arrested a general decline…

Reports long-term effects of intensive instruction in the cue attendance or hypothesis generation on open-exploration behavior of 120 ninth graders. Five dependent measures included: number of observed details; number and quality of hypotheses; and number and diversity of questions. Results suggest long-term benefits. (Author/JN)

Compares models of the classroom dynamics for a traditional laboratory setting and a problem-solving-centered environment, both at the eighth grade science level. Descriptive data indicate no differences in the models, whereas path analyses suggest that, in the problem-solving model, student behaviors significantly correlate to lesson structure,…