The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) is the latest initiative to promote authentic scientific work in the classroom. Previous reform efforts have not caused the change in teacher practice and student learning that was hoped for, despite their ubiquity and accessibility. The culprit may be the culture of school that is often recalcitrant to…

In this essay from a teacher in Argentina, Valeria Vincent describes how she employed Multiple Literacies in Project-based Learning (MLPBL) (Krajcik, Palincsar, and Miller 2015). ML-PBL, an open education free resource, has three design principles that support teacher and student learning and satisfaction. ML-PBL builds on teacher ingenuity and…

Science competitions have continuing relevance for schools. The aim of the German youth science fair "Jugend forscht" is to encourage scientific thinking and inquiry methods such as experimentation. Three concrete examples of participating projects are given. We summarise the current state of research related to science competitions,…

COVID-19 changed not only the way we live but also the way we teach and prepare pre-service teachers. The purpose of this paper is to describe the shift from a conventional STEM fair to an online teaching environment prepared by elementary pre-service teachers after the closure of the educational system in Cyprus as of March 2020. We describe a…

Gendered patterns in mathematics and science interest emerge in early childhood, develop over time, and ultimately reflect advanced course selection in secondary education. During the crucial time adolescents become aware of their strengths and interests and specialize accordingly, they get the opportunity to participate in out-of-school learning…

Imagine middle and high school science classes without a science fair. Participation in science fairs is declining (Harmon 2011), a trend that some teachers, parents, and students find disturbing. The authors opine that the decline in science fairs calls for critically reviewing the potential disconnect between the aims and outcomes of science…

A chemistry outreach day event was offered, free-of-charge, to schools in the south west of England who do not normally engage with Bristol ChemLabS outreach events delivered at the University of Bristol. The participating teachers were interviewed to find out their expectations of the day in terms of helping their students or in helping the…

Science expositions at the Canning River Eco Education Centre (CREEC), Perth, Western Australia, have been conducted over the last five years (2009-2013) during National Science Week. These expos aimed to enhance science understanding in the community, foster partnerships for science and promote science careers by providing a scientific feast for…

This article critiques the role of the ESKOM Expo for Young Scientists as a particularly salient node in the constitution of young learners' identity as prospective participants in the field of science and technology. The ESKOM Expo is seen as a particularly exciting means of providing access to the niche area of science and technology. Yet this…

Are students more engaged and do they perform better in science if their school encourages them to work on science projects, participate in science fairs, belong to a science-related club or go on science-related field trips--in addition to teaching them the mandatory science curriculum? To find out, PISA (Programme for International Student…

School science laboratory classes and hands-on public engagement activities share many common aims and objectives in terms of science learning and literacy. This article describes the development and evaluation of a microbiology public engagement activity, "The Good, the Bad and the Algae", from a school laboratory activity. The school…

There are many types of inquiry activities out there: Demonstrations, guided or scaffolded inquiry labs, open- or free-inquiry labs, and problem-based or project-based learning activities are all staples in science education. The importance of inquiry is highlighted in such documents as the National Science Education Standards (NRC 1996) and the…

At the 1939-1940 New York World's Fair, several thousand boys and girls, all members of a growing national network of high school science and engineering clubs, displayed their science fair projects and conducted live experiments to more than 10 million visitors. Housed in the building sponsored by the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing…

Over the course of three rounds of consecutive funding, the National Science Foundation (NSF) invested in the Traveling Exhibits at Museums of Science (TEAMS) collaborative. Since 1996, the TEAMS collaborative museums have developed traveling exhibitions and related education materials to circulate through each other's museums, and then more…

Science exhibitions are really great opportunities to students as well as teachers to disseminate knowledge that they have, and to experience a variety of new inventions and innovations that also need wide dissemination. The great significance of exhibition is that it fosters acquisition of different process skills leading to the development of…