In this article, the authors introduce engineering and technology teachers to the process that led to the National Research Council's framework for K-12 science education and some of its content and delve into the dimensions of the framework that should be of most interest to engineering and technology teachers. The framework articulates a vision…

The recently published National Research Council (NRC) report "A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas" (NRC 2011) offers a thoughtful research-based agenda that helps guide teachers in making the shift to a doing-led agenda in K-12 science education. In the December 2011 editions of the NSTA…

Satellite navigation is widely used for personal navigation and more and more in precise and safety-critical applications. Thus, the subject is suited for attracting the interest of young people in science and engineering. The practical applications allow catching the students' attention for the theoretical background. Educational material on the…

In the natural world, learning emerges from the joy of play, experimentation, and inquiry as part of everyday life. However, this kind of informal learning is often difficult to integrate within structured educational curricula. This report describes an educational program that embeds naturalistic learning into formal high school, college, and…

This paper introduces a model for using informal science education venues as contexts within which to teach the nature of science. The model was initially developed to enable university education students to teach science in elementary schools so as to be consistent with "National Science Education Standards" (NSES) (1996) and "A Framework for…

Worldwide, science education reform movements are stressing the need to promote "scientific literacy" among young people. Increasingly, this is taken to include empowering students to engage critically with science-related news reporting. Despite this requirement now featuring in statutory curricula throughout the UK, there has, to date,…

This paper presents a new environment for teaching practical work in AI subjects. The main purpose of this environment is to make AI techniques more appealing to students and to facilitate the use of the toolkits which are currently widely used in research and development. This new environment has a toolkit for developing and executing agents,…

The Playful Invention and Exploration (PIE) Institute project was funded in 2005 by the National Science Foundation (NSF). For the past three years, Inverness Research has served as the external evaluator for the PIE project. The authors' evaluation efforts have included extensive observation and documentation of PIE project activities; ongoing…

The African Primary Science Programme (APSP) was one of the three major projects in Africa sponsored by Educational Services Incorporated (ESI), later the Educational Development Center (EDC), Newton, Massachusetts. The problems of introducing this programme in the anglophone African States and its implications for science education are discussed.…

Scientific concepts and processes are best developed in the context of technological problem solving. However, even some of the best secondary science curricula are weak in technology education and visa versa. A goal of technology and science education is to integrate student learning of science and technology. The relationship between science and…

The construction of the International Space Station (ISS) is one of humankind's most exciting and challenging endeavors. Numerous rocket launches are required to build this orbiting science laboratory. The purpose of this curriculum supplement is to introduce students in the Early Childhood classroom to the International Space Station and the role…

In recent years educators and educational researchers in the U.S. have begun to introduce engineering design activities in secondary science classrooms for the purpose of scaffolding science learning as well as supporting such general problem-solving skills as decision making and working in teams. However, such curricula risk perpetuating a…