Many science fiction conventions host interactive sessions and activities related to science fiction, fantasy, and popular culture media for the public. Specialized sessions known as "science tracks" are spaces where science professionals and conference attendees discuss and question the science embedded within science fiction fandoms.…

Higher education physics has long been a field with a disproportionately skewed representation in terms of gender, class, and ethnicity. Responding to this challenge, this study explores the trajectories of "unexpected" (i.e., demographically under-represented) students into higher education physics. Based on timeline-guided life-history…

In this paper we present a methodological approach for analyzing the transformation of interest in science through classroom talk and action. To this end, we use the construct of "taste for science" as a social and communicative operationalization, or proxy, to the more psychologically oriented construct of interest. To gain a taste for…

In this commentary on Per Anderhag, Per-Olof Wickman and Karim Hamza's article "Signs of taste for science," I consider how their study is situated within the concern for the role of science education in the social and cultural production of inequality. Their article provides a finely detailed methodology for analyzing the constitution…

Science fiction and the "technofantasies" of the future that it provides may attract some students to study physics. The details and assumptions informing these "imaginaries" may, on the other hand, be unattractive to other students, or imply that there is not a place for them. This forum discussion complements Cathrine Hasse's…

Marta Civil's paper "STEM Learning Research through a Funds of Knowledge Lens" (see EJ1091567) can be read as a story about her trajectory as a researcher of everyday and school mathematics over time, grounded in sociocultural historical theory. Building on her work, I explore three issues. First, I address the grounding of STEM research…

Angela Chapman and Allan Feldman (2016) conducted a study that aimed to exam how a group of diverse urban high school students were affected by the participation in a contextually based authentic science experience. The analysis of all data led the authors to conclude that the experience of authentic science positively influenced the science…

This article explores the relationship between hard science fiction and physics and a gendered culture of science. Empirical studies indicate that science fiction references might spur some students' interest in physics and help develop this interest throughout school, into a university education and even further later inspire the practice of…

Native Science Field Centers (NSFCs) were created to engage youth and adults in environmental science activities through the integration of traditional Native ways of knowing (understanding about the natural world based on centuries of observation including philosophy, worldview, cosmology, and belief systems of Indigenous peoples), Native…

This paper, describes "Synergies," an on-going longitudinal study and design effort, being conducted in a diverse, under-resourced community in Portland, Oregon, with the goal of measurably improving STEM learning, interest and participation by early adolescents, both in school and out of school. Authors examine how the work of this…

This paper is a response to Maria Andree's paper. Andree tells in the paper how mistakes in practical lessons may be critical events to change students' attitudes in regard science. While traditionally mistakes in practical lessons could obligate students to repeat the experiment in order to get the "right result" in the paper we have a good…

Young people in countries considered to be at the forefront of gender equity still tend to choose very traditional science subjects and careers. This is particularly the case in science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects (STEM), which are largely male dominated. This article uses feminist critiques of science and science education…

Analyses of the game "Spore" have centered on the important issues of accuracy of evolution content and engendering interest in science. This paper suggests that examination of the degree of scaffolding necessary to use the game in pedagogy is a missing part of the discussion, and then questions the longevity of the "Spore" discussion relative to…

The 2008 commercial video game "Spore" allowed more than a million players to design their own life forms. Starting from single-celled organisms players played through a caricature of natural history. Press coverage of the game's release offer two frames for thinking about the implications of the game. Some scientists and educators saw the game as…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the potential of using stories about diverse scientists to broaden primary students' images of scientists and scientific work. Stories featuring scientists from diverse socio-cultural backgrounds (i.e., physical ability, gender, ethnicity) were presented to 11 grade one students over a 15-week…