Zoos have been under attack by animal rights groups for decades. Despite significant reforms to improve animal welfare in accredited zoos and aquariums across North America, and significant participation in animal conservation efforts globally, these attacks persist. If zoos are to continue long-term, they need to establish themselves as community…

This study presents a conceptual framework for embedding interdisciplinary learning approaches in a postsecondary science program in order to foster interdisciplinary science habits in students. The framework was developed through the lens of a multi-year interdisciplinary postsecondary science program that encompasses a series of courses in which…

The Integrated Concentration in Science (iCons) 4-year program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst was designed to promote interdisciplinary STEM collaboration in the solution of real-world problems and encourage student independence and interdependence through a student-centered teaching approach that structures all projects as group…

The Transformative Experience Questionnaire (TEQ) has previously been used only in formal science learning environments to examine how students' learning experiences extend beyond the classroom into their daily lives. In the present study, an example of how this tool can be useful to assess transformative experiences in an informal learning…

This research represents an unforeseen outcome of the authors' National Science Foundation Innovation Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program grant in science education. The grant itself focused on the use of serious educational games (SEGs) in the science classroom, both during and after school, to teach science content…

Concern has been raised globally that a lack of interest by teachers towards teaching science has a negative impact on the children they teach. While attention has been paid to the teacher as a contributing factor to students' attitudes, less has been written about the attitudes of teachers. To bridge this gap, the current study examines six Year…

Active learning is recognised as a crucial component of university courses in enhancing performance and retention. However, universities face numerous challenges in broadening the provision of active learning, including time constraints, and a lack of staff training and confidence to develop appropriate activities. This article outlines an…

The purpose of this three-year study was to examine secondary school students' attitudes about science in classrooms with "resident scientists" who had been trained in inquiry science teaching. The study was based upon a National Science Foundation (NSF) program called Project Flowing Waters, a five-year NSF Graduate STEM Fellows in K-12…

Habits of inquiry should be nurtured as early as possible. Elementary students must be challenged to ask good questions and develop inquiring attitudes. As a science teacher, educator, professional developer, and science program reviewer, the author has often observed that the default is to use "good" science investigations from…

Creative drama activities designed to help children learn difficult science concepts were integrated into an inquiry-based elementary science program. Children (n = 38) in an upper elementary enrichment program at one primary school were the participants in this action research. The teacher-researcher taught students the Full Option Science…

This study explored the influence of a Saturday Science program that used explicit reflective instruction through contextualized and decontextualized guided and authentic inquiry on K-2 students' views of nature of science (NOS). The six-week program ran for 2.5 hours weekly and emphasized NOS in a variety of science content areas, culminating in…

The role of mentor development in implementing an out-of-school math and science Saturday program for middle-school girls is examined, using content analyses performed on journal entries that four college and graduate school-level mentors completed during the second year of the pilot program. Findings suggest that mentors matured and changed from…

This paper presents the full results from a 2008/2009 research study examining the application of a "learning environment" paradigm to the school library setting. The preliminary results from the examination of the Fifth Grade science classes were presented at the IASL 2009 Research Forum. We now report the process of completing our…

The views of first-year biology students on an essay writing assignment were evaluated through a questionnaire. Makes a series of recommendations to help students develop improved writing strategies, minimize the possible difficulties encountered, and allow the writing exercise to be an integral part of the learning process. (AIM)

Results from a 1982 follow-up study of student perceptions of science instruction are presented and compared with data from the 1977 national assessment. Data were obtained from 700 students in Iowa aged 9, 13, 17, and young adult. (MNS)