The pandemic outbreak of COVID-19 has highlighted an urgent need for infectious disease education for K-12 students. To gather a better understanding of what educational interventions have been conducted and to what effect, we performed a scoping review. We identified and examined 23 empirical researcher- and teacher-designed studies conducted in…

This article offers a qualitative analysis of infrastructural in/justice in a community-partnered design intervention focused on developing high-tech low-cost Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM) projects. We examined the kinds of infrastructural injustices that were present in three afterschool programs and how it shaped STEAM…

Abstract The 2015 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) has drawn a substantial amount of attention from science educators and educational policymakers because it marked the first time that PISA assessed students' ability to evaluate and design scientific inquiry using computer-based simulations. We undertook a secondary analysis…

Many students feel the curriculum is detached from their lives and interests. Indeed, about half the questions asked by high school biology students are not addressed by the curriculum. This study presents a strategy to incorporate students' curiosity questions into the curriculum as a way to reduce the disparity between students' interests and…

When evaluating equity, researchers often look at the "achievement gap." Privileging knowledge and skills as primary outcomes of science education misses other, more subtle, but critical, outcomes indexing inequitable science education. In this comparative ethnography, we examined what it meant to "be scientific" in two fourth-grade classes taught…

"Situational interest" is a short-term form of motivation which occurs when a specific situation stimulates the focused attention of students (e.g., a spectacular science demonstration could arouse transient interest amongst nearly all the students in a class, even those who are not normally interested in science). However, there have…

Finnish students' opinions about the frequency of learning activities and communication in the Finnish science classroom, their interest in science and science studies and careers, their sense of self-efficacy, and their beliefs about their own competence as well as their performance in science are analyzed based on PISA 2006 Scientific Literacy…

Questions how cognitive ability and aptitude of graduating high school students taking science courses compare to students in other programs. Explores a related question concerning the extent to which different Piagetian schemes are related to instructional patterns. Results show that students operating at higher cognitive levels take more science…

Examines individual and classroom-level differences in motivation and strategy usage in science students. Results suggest that ability-focused practices are related to low levels of motivation, poor self-esteem, and lack of confidence in science ability. Conversely, learning-focused methods and activities in classrooms resulted in increased…

Presents case study data on one sixth-grade classroom of Kids as Global Scientists (KGS) project participants during the eight-week program. Finds that students made significant gains in weather content knowledge, and interviews revealed a high level of student motivation and satisfaction with the project. (Contains 38 references.) (Author/WRM)

Investigated were gender-related differences in the relationship between the development of formal reasoning skills and learning interests during the early adolescent stage. Results indicated that adolescent boys appeared to develop patterns of formal reasoning before their female classmates. Differences in subject preferences were also found. (CW)

Contrasts the traditional honors program and the Advanced Placement program of the College Entrance Examination Board using the self-reports of 155 high school science teachers experienced in both programs. Examines the perceived influences of each program format upon the use of basic teaching techniques, laboratory experiences, pacing of the…

Describes a study designed to explore sources of influence on the judgements made by science teachers related to school characteristics, classroom features, and properties of a science curriculum. Results suggest that teachers' judgments center around concern for student ability and interest, teaching methods, and school spirit and morale. (TW)