Whilst there continues to be debate regarding the influence of the "CSI effect" upon the criminal justice system, there appears to be a general consensus that the popularisation of work within the field, particularly through a number of "procedural cop shows", has fuelled an explosion in the number of young people choosing to pursue a career in…

The theme of this issue of "Education in Science" focuses on what delegates could "take away" from the Reading 2011 ASE Annual Conference and includes ideas and information about science education research. There were a variety of presentations, ranging from reporting about action research projects where the success of interventions was described…

When, in late 2008, there was an opportunity to set up a government-sponsored project to help improve practical science, CLEAPSS jumped at the chance to become involved. Practical work is what CLEAPSS is about. CLEAPSS has been a lead co-ordinating partner in the Getting Practical programme, with Phil Bunyan taking on the role of Deputy Director.…

Evaluation of large-scale professional development programmes in a cost-effective but detailed manner presents challenges. Much of the research evidence on the effectiveness of professional development in science education has been the result of small-scale studies that use clustered or stratified sampling methods. Using the evidence collected…

The present study aims to identify the effectiveness of summer science camp experience on middle school students' content knowledge and interest towards biology. For this purpose, two instruments including reflective journal and pre-post questionnaire were developed by four researchers who are expert in science education. Besides, the instruction…

Oranges, flying disks, pool noodles, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe may seem like items discarded after a Rube Goldberg experiment, but in fact, these objects were used in teaching science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). This article describes a project in which The Center of Ocean Sciences Education Excellence SouthEast (COSEE SE)…

The distribution of science and technology resources in China has encountered a series of problems including, for example, scattered resources, unnecessary duplication and ineffective management. To facilitate access to these valuable resources, the Beijing Science and Technology Committee, a local government agency, established the Beijing…

Within the school library community, there have been persuasive calls for school librarians to contribute to science learning. We present a conceptual framework that links national standards of science education ("Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas," referred to as…

A world away from the red dirt of Oklahoma, David Shields and Shelly Smith felt right at home. A national grant took the Meridian Technology Center automotive teachers on a trip to Germany that car lovers only dream about. The tour to the major automakers last summer has them geared up and bringing fresh ideas to the classroom. They spent four…

"I can feel it making my brain bigger": from a Year 8 student at Pinjarra Senior High School (SHS) halfway through the two-year Thinking Science Program. Pinjarra was a pilot school for the program in 2009/10 and a growing number of schools in Western Australia (WA) are implementing this program in Years Seven to Nine as part of the…

Following on from taking part in the successful "Getting Practical: improving practical work in science across the primary-secondary transition" CPD project, Uplands Community College with Wadhurst and Ticehurst Primary Schools in East Sussex worked together on developing the CPD--focusing on effective practical work across the…

With funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), ITEEA members will contribute to the development of a hybrid professional development program designed to facilitate the scale-up of an innovative underwater robotics curriculum. WaterBotics[TM] is an underwater robotics curriculum that targets students in middle and high school classrooms…

This article proposes strategies and practices that create rich discursive spaces for learning science in French immersion contexts. These strategies and practices are drawn from a variety of scholarly sources; here we adapt them to reading in the French immersion science classroom. The strategies and practices are designed for use in a…

The Engineering Leaders of Tomorrow Program (LOT) is a comprehensive curricular, co-curricular, extra-curricular leadership development initiative for engineering students. LOT envisions: "an engineering education that is a life-long foundation for transformational leaders and outstanding citizens." Academic courses, co-curricular certificate…

As advocated by the new K-12 framework for science and as demonstrated in research, teachers are making use of media, now more than ever, to capture students' attention and draw connections between school science and students' everyday lives (Klosterman, Sadler, and Brown 2012; NRC 2012). However, it is essential for students to understand the…