The authors describe the benefits of elementary school gardening experiences and offer suggestions on how to nurture positive environmental attitudes among children through garden-based learning activities.

The classification of living things learning in school faced some obstacles, one of which was the difficulties in presenting the specimen of real living things. One of the advanced information and technology products in the form of digital or virtual-based learning media was expected to be the solution to this problem. Through this research, a…

It is critical to develop students' science communication skills as they progress through their education. One way this goal can be accomplished is by integrating Flip into educational programs. Through Flip educators create prompts that students respond to in video form, which leads to deeper discussion on various topics. This brief will share an…

When it comes to winning the hearts of children, it is sometimes hard for plants to compete. How do teachers make plants exciting for children? The answer lies in the ancient practice of hydroponics. Hydroponics may seem like complicated, cutting-edge technology, but, in fact, it has been around for centuries. Using hydroponics in the classroom…

Active learning pedagogies offer opportunities to increase student engagement and interest in plants. The Mystery Plant Project is a hands-on, semester-long active learning pedagogy I developed for an introductory, undergraduate Plant Biology course. Students investigate various aspects of their mystery plant species using observations, and…

The present qualitative study aimed to investigate how school garden-based science pedagogy improves students' attitudes toward science learning, particularly in under-resourced urban school districts. The findings of this study suggest that the implementation of school garden-based science pedagogy can positively impact elementary students'…

We compared 2014-15 New York State Science Assessment scores of fourth grade students who received the New York Sun Works (NYSW) Program (n = 638) with two comparison groups: students who received NYSW the following year (n = 993) and students attending matched schools (n = 1490). We first applied a multi-level regression model to compare scores…

The United States is divided into 15 broad ecological regions, each one home to a variety of fascinating native plants. In the Southwest, creosote bushes are found in and around the Mojave, Chihuahuan, and Sonoran deserts at elevations below 5,000 feet and is one of the oldest living things on Earth--approximately 11,700 years old. This evergreen…

This book brings together a series of papers on education in rural Zimbabwe. It is informed throughout by the generative theory of rurality, which sees rural communities as the most significant agents in solving the challenges they face. Against this theoretical backdrop, the 13 chapters challenge policy makers, researchers and educators to…

This article maps out existing research regarding the effectiveness of subject-integrated school garden teaching. The school subjects of interest are mathematics, languages and science, and subject integration is defined as a link between these subjects and school garden teaching. The article is based on an integrative review and is derived from…

Plants and the outdoors may be something of a mystery to a generation of children who are reportedly spending more and more time indoors; this has the potential to inhibit real understanding of many complex biological processes. Taking children outdoors introduces them to a world from which they are becoming increasingly distant. However, a…

Teachers from Kates Hill Primary School describe uniting the school in a vision for science and raising the profile of science through enrichment by using Explorify.

Regardless of the student population or school geography, community gardens can provide a context for teaching numerous standards across multiple grades and can help all students better understand nature. To help illustrate the versatility of community gardens, this article includes three sample 5E lessons from different grade levels and school…

Virtual reality (VR) may be useful for situating school-based vocational education in work-life by simulating a work situation such that learners viewing this VR work situation are located inside it. The reason for this assumption is that VR can fully spatially include its viewer. Research on the utility of viewer-including VR work situations for…

Social connections are crucial for today's middle and high school students. We address this social need through a 3-H Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Cycle. Through the Three Sisters Garden activity presented here, we teach secondary school students about biodiversity and sustainability as we integrate the arts into STEM (STEAM). Students…