Nine years after reconceptualizing the nature of science for science education using the family resemblance approach (FRA) (Erduran & Dagher, 2014a), the time is ripe for taking stock of what this approach has accomplished, and what future research it can facilitate. This reflective paper aims to accomplish three goals. The first addresses…

Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, school students suffered from a reduction in opportunities to connect with higher education institutions, meet scientific role models in person, discuss scientific career options, and carry out hands-on practical laboratory activities. Current Chemistry Investigators (CCI) is a successful…

Spatial skills, which represent the ability to mentally manipulate objects (Schneider & McGrew, 2012; Atit et al., 2020) have been shown to be correlated with entrance, persistence and success in STEM (Shea et al., 2001; Wai et al., 2009). Specifically, these skills have been shown to be necessary to geologists and geoscientists (Hegarty,…

The challenge of creating reliable technology-based resources for science learning is a perennial challenge in Philippine education, with limited learning materials accessible to all learners. This study is about the development of a videocast embedded with physics education technology (PhET) simulation that served as supplementary learning…

Energy concepts are taught in many schools, but children rarely have an opportunity to grapple with energy problems and work on their own solutions. This study explores the impacts of Connect Science, a service-learning (SL) program developed to enhance elementary students' energy literacy in the United States. Program impacts were explored within…

In 2022, the Washington State Legislature passed Second Substitute House Bill 2078 (SHB 2078) to establish the Outdoor Learning Grant Program. This initiative aims to enhance outdoor educational experiences for students in Washington public schools, particularly those historically underserved in science, thereby increasing equity and opportunity…

Communication Centers are well positioned to support communicating science efforts across campus. This manuscript, written by faculty who designed and facilitated a potpourri of support for nanoscience during the 2017-18 academic year, provides a detailed place to start for those who will take on this work at other institutions.

Adult learners seeking a high school equivalency degree are a highly motivated group of students that almost universally meet outreach audience goals of serving minority, low-income, and other disadvantaged populations. Despite the demonstrated need of this population, these students are not commonly served by university-sponsored science outreach…

Background: Scientific literacy development is widely emphasized as the overarching goal of science education. It encompasses development of understanding of the nature of science as well as knowledge, attitudes, and values that contribute to empowering adolescents to engage with and make evidence-based decisions about socioscientific issues.…

After completion of formal education, the mass media represent people's primary source of scientific information. Besides the traditional attention to scientific knowledge, national curricula are therefore increasingly emphasizing critical and reflexive engagement with media content as a key objective of science education. Despite this curricular…

This paper describes the design and implementation of a tool for experimenting with mobile robotics concepts, primarily for use by children and teenagers, or by the general public, without previous experience in robotics. This tool helps children learn about science in an approachable and interactive way, using scientific research principles in…

Presents an informal evaluation of the Science as a Way of Knowing Project started in 1983. (PR)

Eighth-grade pupils in Nigeria were studied to find out: (1) the extent to which students exposed to the Nigerian Integrated Science Project mastered some fundamental concepts; (2) whether there were significant differences in achievement at various cognitive levels; and (3) which of the concepts was most easily mastered. (Author/BW)

This 20-item science test (18 multiple choice and 2 essay) is hand scored and has a 30 minute time limit. Analysis of raw scores by "t" test is provided. There has been limited field testing. See TM 000 959. (DLG)

Presents an evaluation of a correlational reasoning module using content from a variety of topics implemented in 12 grade 9/10 classrooms. Among the findings are that performance on a multivariate correlational task increased substantially and the average treatment student scored higher than 99% of those in the control condition. (PR)