The article presents a 5E environmental science lesson to help students understand the major environmental factors that lead to acid rain. Students are supported to ask scientific questions to solve the mystery of how acid rain might impact historical buildings. This lesson can be used in a variety of settings both in person and online modalities.…

The purpose of this research is to examine the impact of activities based on scientific process skills on problem-solving skills of 4th grade students in science lessons. In the study a non-equivalent control group pre-test and post-test design type of quasi-experimental method was used. The research study group was composed of 30 students with 15…

The "Next Generation Science Standards" call for engaging students in practices that scientists and engineers use (NGSS Lead States 2013), but it's also important to explicitly teach thinking approaches that scientists and engineers use. One way to help children think and act like scientists and engineers is to engage them with…

When it snows, children are permitted to play outside during recess, which causes them to experience a variety of problems with their mittens or gloves. To align instruction with a problem student's experience in every day life, the authors developed and administered a short survey to second graders in an after school program. The authors found…

Incorporating computational thinking (CT) ideas into core subjects, such as mathematics and science, is one way of bringing early computer science (CS) education into elementary school. Minimal research has explored how teachers can translate their knowledge of CT into practice to create opportunities for their students to engage in CT during…

Because students have often been conditioned as passive learners and receivers of knowledge, it can be difficult for them to persevere in solving authentic problems. Nevertheless, teachers must persist in preparing students as problem solvers and critical thinkers. In an urban inner-city neighborhood school in the southeast, students embarked on a…

This study, a sub-study of a National Science Foundation (NSF) funded research project, applies a modified strategy of the U[superscript 2]MC for an eight-week afterschool robotics curriculum to promote upper elementary students' computational thinking in the second grade. Twenty-one students in second grade participated in a Life on Mars project…

This column presents ideas and techniques to enhance science teaching. In this month's issue an upper elementary Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) challenge brings an engineer into the classroom while emphasizing cooperation, communication, and creativity. STEM activities come in various shapes and sizes. Some are quite involved…

Across the United States, political leaders, educators, and business persons are issuing an urgent call for reform in STEM education (NGSS Lead States 2013). One important response to this call is Integrated STEM, which the National Governor's Association (2007, p. 7) says involves, "... an emphasis on design and problem solving in…

This task asks readers to figure out why when you stir a cup of hot liquid and tap on the side of the cup with a spoon, the pitch of sound starts low and ends up high. The solution to last month's tasks relating to the circumference of the Earth and how many stars are in the (visible) sky is also presented.

Facilitating students' deep-strategy behaviors and positive learning performances of science inquiry is an important and challenging educational issue. In this study, a contextual science inquiry approach is proposed for developing a 3D experiential game to cope with this problem. To evaluate the impacts of the game on students' science learning…

This paper examines the learning experiences of 291 Year 5 and 6 Indonesian primary school students, across four schools in North Jakarta, who participated in an integrated STEM project that used a 3-phase "Makerspace" approach: exposure, engagement and experimentation, and evaluation and extension. The Wiggle Bots project involved these…

The power of 3D printing technology has grown exponentially in just the past few years--people around the world are using 3D printers to prepare food, create tailored clothing, build cars and homes, and advance the medical field in ways that never seemed possible. In classrooms across the nation, 3D printers have become increasingly common because…

This exploratory study provides a deeper look into the aspects of students' experience from design-based learning (DBL) activities for fifth grade students. Using design-based research (DBR), this study was conducted on a series of science learning activities leveraging mobile phones with relevant applications and sensors. We observed 3 different…

The Beat the Flood challenge involves designing and building a model flood-proof home, which is then tested in "flood" conditions. It is set on the fictitious Watu Island. The children form teams, with each team member being assigned a responsibility for the duration of the task--team leader, chief recorder, and resource manager. This…