Atoms and Molecules. Physical Science in Action[TM]. Schlessinger Science Library. [Videotape].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

2000

There are more than 20 million known substances in the universe, and they are all made of the same basic ingredients--atoms and molecules. In this fun and engaging program, kids will learn about the three main subatomic particles--protons, neutrons and electrons--as well as the forces that keep atoms and molecules together. They'll discover how…

Motion and Balance. Physical Science in Action[TM]. Schlessinger Science Library. [Videotape].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

2000

Motion allows things to get done, to communicate and to travel. But is motion controlled? Students will learn about the universal laws that apply to motion, the forces that cause it and how it is related to balance. They will also discover why motion occurs when forces are out of control and learn more about this interesting concept by viewing…

Plant Biodiversity. Plant Life in Action[TM]. Schlessinger Science Library. [Videotape].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

2000

What organisms have adapted to life in environments ranging from the ocean floor to desert sands, from frigid the tundra to the deepest, darkest jungle? None other than plants! From microscopic algae to the largest trees, millions of plant species have evolved in every habitat on the planet. In Plant Biodiversity, learn how plants developed in the…

Plant Reproduction. Plant Life in Action[TM]. Schlessinger Science Library. [Videotape].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

2000

Plants are vital to all other life on this planet - without them, there would be no food, shelter or oxygen. Luckily, over millions of years plants have developed many different features in order to survive and reproduce. In Plant Reproduction, students will discover that primitive mosses and algae are dependent upon water for their reproduction.…

Animal Classification. Animal Life in Action[TM]. Schlessinger Science Library. [Videotape].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

2000

This 23-minute videotape for grades 5-8, presents the myriad of animal life that exists on the planet. Students can view and perform experiments and investigations that help explain animal traits and habits. They learn what the terms "kingdom", "phylum", and "order" mean, and discover how the 3.5 million-plus organisms found on Earth fit into…

Food Chains. Animal Life in Action[TM]. Schlessinger Science Library. [Videotape].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

2000

This 23-minute videotape for grades 5-8, presents the myriad of animal life that exists on the planet. Students can view and perform experiments and investigations that help explain animal traits and habits. The food chain provides a clear example of how life continues year after year. Students learn how the cycle of energy starts with the sun,…

Animal Interdependency. Animal Life in Action[TM]. Schlessinger Science Library. [Videotape].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

2000

This 23-minute videotape for grades 5-8, presents the myriad of animal life that exists on the planet. Students can view and perform experiments and investigations that help explain animal traits and habits. No organism on Earth can exist independently. Students find out more about animal relationships such as predator/prey relationships and…

Animal Adaptations. Animal Life in Action[TM]. Schlessinger Science Library. [Videotape].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

2000

This 23-minute videotape for grades 5-8, presents the myriad of animal life that exists on the planet. Students can view and perform experiments and investigations that help explain animal traits and habits. As animals adapt to new environments, their bodies and life cycles may change over thousands of years. In this video, students find out about…

Animal Life Cycles. Animal Life in Action[TM]. Schlessinger Science Library. [Videotape].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

2000

This 23-minute videotape for grades 5-8, presents the myriad of animal life that exists on the planet. Students can view and perform experiments and investigations that help explain animal traits and habits. The stages of life that animals pass through--birth, growth, maturation, reproduction, and death--make up the life cycle. Students learn…

Plant Structure & Growth. Plant Life in Action[TM]. Schlessinger Science Library. [Videotape].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

2000

What if you could build a machine that could make it's own fuel, adapt to changing conditions, and generate priceless products like air and water? Over millions of years, vascular plants have developed roots, stems and leaves that work together to perform these feats, as well as provide energy for every living thing on Earth! In Plant Structure…

Animal Behavior & Communication. Animal Life in Action[TM]. Schlessinger Science Library. [Videotape].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

2000

This 23-minute videotape for grades 5-8, presents the myriad of animal life that exists on the planet. Students can view and perform experiments and investigations that help explain animal traits and habits. The way an animal acts or behaves helps it get what it needs to survive. Students find out why some animal behaviors are instinctive while…

Endangered & Extinct Animals. Animal Life in Action[TM]. Schlessinger Science Library. [Videotape].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

2000

This 23-minute videotape for grades 5-8, presents the myriad of animal life that exists on the planet. Students can view and perform experiments and investigations that help explain animal traits and habits. Due to environmental factors and human interference, many of Earth's creatures have ceased to exist or are on the verge of extinction. In…

Insects & Other Arthropods. Animal Life in Action[TM]. Schlessinger Science Library. [Videotape].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

2000

This 23-minute videotape for grades 5-8, presents the myriad of animal life that exists on the planet. Students can view and perform experiments and investigations that help explain animal traits and habits. They also learn that there are more species of insects than any other animal class in the world. Insects are incredible creatures with many…

Plant & Animal Interdependency. Plant Life in Action[TM]. Schlessinger Science Library. [Videotape].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

2000

In every ecosystem, organisms rely on each other in unique relationships that ensure each other's survival. In Plant & Animal Interdependency, find out how plants and animals interact, cooperate and compete. All living things have basic needs and depend on other living things to meet those needs. Discover why the constant exchange of nutrients and…

Marine & Other Invertebrates. Animal Life in Action[TM]. Schlessinger Science Library. [Videotape].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

2000

This 23-minute videotape for grades 5-8, presents the myriad of animal life that exists on the planet. Students can view and perform experiments and investigations that help explain animal traits and habits. Invertebrate animals include a vast array of spineless creatures. In this video, students discover marine lifeforms such as jellyfish,…

Changes in Properties of Matter. Physical Science in Action[TM]. Schlessinger Science Library. [Videotape].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

2000

All matter possesses certain properties--mass, weight, volume and density. But what happens to these properties when the matter changes form? How does wood become ash when it burns? And how does ice cream change when it melts? Students will learn the difference between chemical and physical changes in this excellent introduction to the changes of…

Animal Needs. Animal Life in Action[TM]. Life in Action. Schlessinger Science Library. [Videotape].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

2000

This 23-minute videotape for grades 5-8, presents the myriad of animal life that exists on the planet. Students can view and perform experiments and investigations that help explain animal traits and habits. All animals need food, water, and shelter to grow, reproduce, and survive. Students learn about the needs of animals and how, over time, if…

All about Flight. Physical Science for Children[TM]. Schlessinger Science Library. [Videotape].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

2000

Up, up and away! A hot air balloon, an airplane and even the space shuttle all defy the force of gravity, but they all do it in different ways. Children will learn about the basic concepts that make flight possible. With clear demonstrations and a hands-on project, students will be able to understand more easily the basic concepts behind various…

All about Waves. Physical Science for Children[TM]. Schlessinger Science Library. [Videotape].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

2000

Sound. Light. Heat. Even earthquakes! They all travel in waves. Waves are a transfer of energy and understanding them allows us to better understand the world around us. Discover the two ways in which waves move, and learn about the characteristics of waves; wavelength, amplitude and frequency. Students learn about the common characteristics of…

Public education and media relations in psychology.

PubMed

Wedding, Danny

2017-11-01

This article reviews psychology's attempts to influence public attitudes about both the science and the profession of psychology. The early history of the profession is reviewed, and the efforts of the American Psychological Association (APA) to shape the public's perception of psychology are discussed. The rise of social media is reviewed, and important social media outlets relevant to psychology are identified. The activities of the Society for Media Psychology and Technology (APA Division 46) are illustrated, and the presidents of the Division are identified. The work of those psychologists who are noted public intellectuals or who have received Nobel prizes or National Medal of Science awards for their research is briefly reviewed, and the public notoriety of 4 prominent media celebrities (Joy Browne, Joyce Brothers, Laura Schlessinger, and Phil McGraw) is discussed. Several controversies in the field of psychology that have influenced the public and their attitudes about psychology are also briefly reviewed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Developmentally Regulated Ribosomal rDNA Genes in Plasmodium vivax: Biological Implications and Practical Applications

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-08-10

R. A" Moore, P. B. , Schlessinger, D., Warner, J. R., eds. American Society for Microbiology , Washington, D. C. pp. 73-92. Nomura, M., Morgan, E...HEIFFER, M. H. , DAVIDSON, D. E., JR" AND KORTE, D. W., JR. 1984. Preclinical TeSiing . In " Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology" (W. Peters and

All about Forces & Gravity. Physical Science for Children[TM]. Schlessinger Science Library. [Videotape].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

2000

A force is a push or a pull. In All About Forces and Gravity, kids will join our host on a parasailing adventure to investigate how forces impact and shape everything that happens in the world around us. Learn about gravity and the work of Sir Isaac Newton, the English scientists whose scientific principles forever changed the way people looked at…

All about Motion & Balance. Physical Science for Children[TM]. Schlessinger Science Library. [Videotape].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

2000

Walking on a balance beam or riding a bike both require motion and balance. This program will reveal how unbalanced forces create motion, while balanced forces keep things still. Students also learn how concepts like velocity, acceleration, and momentum fit into this puzzle. A unique hands-on activity combined with vivid imagery and graphics…

All about Simple Machines. Physical Science for Children[TM]. Schlessinger Science Library. [Videotape].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

2000

All kids know the word "work." But they probably don't understand that work happens whenever a force is used to move something--whether it's lifting a heavy object or playing on a see-saw. All About Simple Machines introduces kids to the concepts of forces, work and how machines are used to make work easier. Six simple machines are…

All about Properties of Matter. Physical Science for Children[TM]. Schlessinger Science Library. [Videotape].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

2000

Most children know how to describe an object--by color, size, and shape. Here they'll learn that all objects are made of matter and that all matter can be described with basic scientific properties--mass, weight, volume and density. Each of these properties is described using fun, real-life examples. With clear illustrations and hands-on…

All about Solids, Liquids & Gases. Physical Science for Children[TM]. Schlessinger Science Library. [Videotape].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

2000

In All About Solids, Liquids and Gases, young students will be introduced to the three common forms of matter. They'll learn that all things are made up of tiny particles called atoms and that the movement of these particles determines the form that matter takes. In solids, the particles are packed tightly together and move very little. The…

Dynamical basis sets for algebraic variational calculations in quantum-mechanical scattering theory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sun, Yan; Kouri, Donald J.; Truhlar, Donald G.; Schwenke, David W.

1990-01-01

New basis sets are proposed for linear algebraic variational calculations of transition amplitudes in quantum-mechanical scattering problems. These basis sets are hybrids of those that yield the Kohn variational principle (KVP) and those that yield the generalized Newton variational principle (GNVP) when substituted in Schlessinger's stationary expression for the T operator. Trial calculations show that efficiencies almost as great as that of the GNVP and much greater than the KVP can be obtained, even for basis sets with the majority of the members independent of energy.

All about Plant Adaptation. Plant Life for Children[TM]. Schlessinger Science Library. [Videotape].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

2000

Plants can survive in even the harshest of environments, from the freezing Arctic to the arid desert. In All About Plant Adaptation, join young plant lovers as they uncover some of the amazing ways that plants have adapted over millions of years enabling them to survive almost anywhere on Earth. Discover how some plants living in cold, arctic…

All about Caring for Plants. Plant Life for Children[TM]. Schlessinger Science Library. [Videotape].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

2000

What do plants require in order to survive? In All About Caring for Plants, join young plant enthusiasts as they investigate what plants need to grow from seedlings to healthy adult plants. Discover the basic necessities of a variety of plants, including sunlight, water, appropriate temperature and proper nutrients. Learn how to provide the proper…

All about Plant & Animal Interdependency. Plant Life for Children[TM]. Schlessinger Science Library. [Videotape].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

2000

Plants provide oxygen, food, shelter, medicine and more for all animals, including humans. In fact, people depend on plants for their very survival just as plants rely on animals! In All About Plant & Animal Interdependency, join aspiring botanists as they discover how plants and animals interrelate. Learn about the constant exchange of gases…

All about Plant Structure & Growth. Plant Life for Children[TM]. Schlessinger Science Library. [Videotape].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

2000

How does a tiny seed sprout and grow into a towering tree? Join the kids from M.A.P.L.E as they learn about some of the incredible transformations that a plant goes through during its lifetime. In All About Plant Structure & Growth, uncover the secrets of roots, stems and leaves - structures that are vital to a plant's role as an energy…

Observations and mechanisms of GATE waterspouts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Simpson, J.; Mccumber, M. C.; Morton, B. R.; Penc, R. S.

1986-01-01

The present numerical and observational investigation of interacting cumulus processes implicated in the formation of waterspouts, the GATE database for days 261 and 186 is noted to imply that the existence of cumulus-scale parent vortices is a necessary (albeit not sufficient) condition for the production of waterspouts. A high resolution version of the Schlessinger (1975) three-dimensional cumulus model with a Kessler (1969) type precipitation scheme is used to analyze cumulus-scale vorticity organization, which on the two days in question exhibited contrasting thermal stratification and cloud features. The observations from both days suggest that the waterspouts formed ahead of the wind shift, due to the passage of a gust front.

All about Plant Pollination: Fruit, Flowers & Seeds. Plant Life for Children[TM]. Schlessinger Science Library. [Videotape].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

2000

Flowers are not only pretty, they are also one of the key elements in the process of plant pollination and reproduction that goes from flowers to fruits to seeds! In All About Plant Pollination: Fruit, Flowers & Seeds, young scientists learn about the different parts of a flower through the use of microscopic photography and detailed diagrams.…

Do Gender-Science Stereotypes Predict Science Identification and Science Career Aspirations among Undergraduate Science Majors?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cundiff, Jessica L.; Vescio, Theresa K.; Loken, Eric; Lo, Lawrence

2013-01-01

The present research examined whether gender-science stereotypes were associated with science identification and, in turn, science career aspirations among women and men undergraduate science majors. More than 1,700 students enrolled in introductory science courses completed measures of gender-science stereotypes (implicit associations and…

Science of science.

PubMed

Fortunato, Santo; Bergstrom, Carl T; Börner, Katy; Evans, James A; Helbing, Dirk; Milojević, Staša; Petersen, Alexander M; Radicchi, Filippo; Sinatra, Roberta; Uzzi, Brian; Vespignani, Alessandro; Waltman, Ludo; Wang, Dashun; Barabási, Albert-László

2018-03-02

Identifying fundamental drivers of science and developing predictive models to capture its evolution are instrumental for the design of policies that can improve the scientific enterprise-for example, through enhanced career paths for scientists, better performance evaluation for organizations hosting research, discovery of novel effective funding vehicles, and even identification of promising regions along the scientific frontier. The science of science uses large-scale data on the production of science to search for universal and domain-specific patterns. Here, we review recent developments in this transdisciplinary field. Copyright © 2018 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.

Science and data science.

PubMed

Blei, David M; Smyth, Padhraic

2017-08-07

Data science has attracted a lot of attention, promising to turn vast amounts of data into useful predictions and insights. In this article, we ask why scientists should care about data science. To answer, we discuss data science from three perspectives: statistical, computational, and human. Although each of the three is a critical component of data science, we argue that the effective combination of all three components is the essence of what data science is about.

Primary Science Interview: Science Sparks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bianchi, Lynne

2016-01-01

In this "Primary Science" interview, Lynne Bianchi talks with Emma Vanstone about "Science Sparks," which is a website full of creative, fun, and exciting science activity ideas for children of primary-school age. "Science Sparks" started with the aim of inspiring more parents to do science at home with their…

Caring Science or Science of Caring.

PubMed

Turkel, Marian C; Watson, Jean; Giovannoni, Joseph

2018-01-01

The concepts caring science and science of caring have different meanings; however, they are often used interchangeably. The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of the synthesis of the scholarly literature on the definitions of the science of caring and caring science and to affirm the authors' perspective relating to the language of caring science. Caring science advances the epistemology and ontology of caring. Ideas related to caring science inquiry are presented, and the authors acknowledge the future of caring science as unitary caring science.

Science and Science Fiction

ScienceCinema

Scherrer, Robert [Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States

2017-12-09

I will explore the similarities and differences between the process of writing science fiction and the process of 'producing' science, specifically theoretical physics. What are the ground rules for introducing unproven new ideas in science fiction, and how do they differ from the corresponding rules in physics? How predictive is science fiction? (For that matter, how predictive is theoretical physics?) I will also contrast the way in which information is presented in science fiction, as opposed to its presentation in scientific papers, and I will examine the relative importance of ideas (as opposed to the importance of the way in which these ideas are presented). Finally, I will discuss whether a background as a research scientist provides any advantage in writing science fiction.

What's science? Where's science? Science journalism in German print media.

PubMed

Summ, Annika; Volpers, Anna-Maria

2016-10-01

This article examines the current state of science coverage in German print media. It deals with the following questions: (1) how the main characteristics of science journalism can be described, (2) whether there is a difference between various scientific fields, and (3) how different definitions of science journalism lead to differing findings. Two forms of science coverage were analyzed in a standardized, two-part content analysis of German newspapers (N = 1730 and N = 1640). The results show a significant difference between a narrow and a broad definition of science journalism. In the classic understanding, science journalism is prompted by scientific events and is rather noncritical. Science coverage in a broad sense is defined by a wider range of journalistic styles, driven by non-scientific events, and with a focus on the statements of scientific experts. Furthermore, the study describes the specific role of the humanities and social sciences in German science coverage. © The Author(s) 2015.

Science and Science Fiction

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Scherrer, Robert

2006-03-29

I will explore the similarities and differences between the process of writing science fiction and the process of 'producing' science, specifically theoretical physics. What are the ground rules for introducing unproven new ideas in science fiction, and how do they differ from the corresponding rules in physics? How predictive is science fiction? (For that matter, how predictive is theoretical physics?) I will also contrast the way in which information is presented in science fiction, as opposed to its presentation in scientific papers, and I will examine the relative importance of ideas (as opposed to the importance of the way inmore » which these ideas are presented). Finally, I will discuss whether a background as a research scientist provides any advantage in writing science fiction.« less

Preservice Science Teachers' Science Teaching Orientations and Beliefs about Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kind, Vanessa

2016-01-01

This paper offers clarification of science teacher orientations as a potential component of pedagogical content knowledge. Science teaching orientations and beliefs about science held by 237 preservice science teachers were gathered via content-specific vignettes and questionnaire, respectively, prior to participation in a UK-based teacher…

Everyday science & science every day: Science-related talk & activities across settings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zimmerman, Heather

To understand the development of science-related thinking, acting, and learning in middle childhood, I studied youth in schools, homes, and other neighborhood settings over a three-year period. The research goal was to analyze how multiple everyday experiences influence children's participation in science-related practices and their thinking about science and scientists. Ethnographic and interaction analysis methodologies were to study the cognition and social interactions of the children as they participated in activities with peers, family, and teachers (n=128). Interviews and participant self-documentation protocols elucidated the participants' understandings of science. An Everyday Expertise (Bell et al., 2006) theoretical framework was employed to study the development of science understandings on three analytical planes: individual learner, social groups, and societal/community resources. Findings came from a cross-case analysis of urban science learners and from two within-case analyses of girls' science-related practices as they transitioned from elementary to middle school. Results included: (1) children participated actively in science across settings---including in their homes as well as in schools, (2) children's interests in science were not always aligned to the school science content, pedagogy, or school structures for participation, yet children found ways to engage with science despite these differences through crafting multiple pathways into science, (3) urban parents were active supporters of STEM-related learning environments through brokering access to social and material resources, (4) the youth often found science in their daily activities that formal education did not make use of, and (5) children's involvement with science-related practices can be developed into design principles to reach youth in culturally relevant ways.

Science News and the Science Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCullough, Laura

2006-01-01

Using "Science News" as a teaching tool promotes writing about science, talking about science, and broadening students' views about what science is. This article describes an ongoing assignment in which students choose one article from "Science News" each week and write a brief summary and explanation of why they picked that article. (Contains 1…

[Basic science and applied science].

PubMed

Pérez-Tamayo, R

2001-01-01

A lecture was presented by the author at the Democratic Opinion Forum on Health Teaching and Research, organized by Mexico's National Health Institutes Coordinating Office, at National Cardiology Institute "Ignacio Chavez", where he presented a critical review of the conventional classification of basic and applied science, as well as his personal view on health science teaching and research. According to the author, "well-conducted science" is that "generating reality-checked knowledge" and "mis-conducted science" is that "unproductive or producing 'just lies' and 'non-fundable'. To support his views, the author reviews utilitarian and pejorative definitions of science, as well as those of committed and pure science, useful and useless science, and practical and esoterical science, as synonyms of applied and basic science. He also asserts that, in Mexico, "this classification has been used in the past to justify federal funding cutbacks to basic science, allegedly because it is not targeted at solving 'national problems' or because it was not relevant to priorities set in a given six-year political administration period". Regarding health education and research, the author asserts that the current academic programs are inefficient and ineffective; his proposal to tackle these problems is to carry out a solid scientific study, conducted by a multidisciplinary team of experts, "to design the scientific researcher curricula from recruitment of intelligent young people to retirement or death". Performance assessment of researchers would not be restricted to publication of papers, since "the quality of scientific work and contribution to the development of science is not reflected by the number of published papers". The English version of this paper is available at: http://www.insp.mx/salud/index.html

Discovering indigenous science: Implications for science education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Snively, Gloria; Corsiglia, John

2001-01-01

Indigenous science relates to both the science knowledge of long-resident, usually oral culture peoples, as well as the science knowledge of all peoples who as participants in culture are affected by the worldview and relativist interests of their home communities. This article explores aspects of multicultural science and pedagogy and describes a rich and well-documented branch of indigenous science known to biologists and ecologists as traditional ecological knowledge (TEK). Although TEK has been generally inaccessible, educators can now use a burgeoning science-based TEK literature that documents numerous examples of time-proven, ecologically relevant, and cost effective indigenous science. Disputes regarding the universality of the standard scientific account are of critical importance for science educators because the definition of science is a de facto gatekeeping device for determining what can be included in a school science curriculum and what cannot. When Western modern science (WMS) is defined as universal it does displace revelation-based knowledge (i.e., creation science); however, it also displaces pragmatic local indigenous knowledge that does not conform with formal aspects of the standard account. Thus, in most science classrooms around the globe, Western modern science has been taught at the expense of indigenous knowledge. However, because WMS has been implicated in many of the world's ecological disasters, and because the traditional wisdom component of TEK is particularly rich in time-tested approaches that foster sustainability and environmental integrity, it is possible that the universalist gatekeeper can be seen as increasingly problematic and even counter productive. This paper describes many examples from Canada and around the world of indigenous people's contributions to science, environmental understanding, and sustainability. The authors argue the view that Western or modern science is just one of many sciences that need to be

Where civics meets science: building science for the public good through Civic Science.

PubMed

Garlick, J A; Levine, P

2017-09-01

Public understanding of science and civic engagement on science issues that impact contemporary life matter more today than ever. From the Planned Parenthood controversy, to the Flint water crisis and the fluoridation debate, societal polarization about science issues has reached dramatic levels that present significant obstacles to public discussion and problem solving. This is happening, in part, because systems built to support science do not often reward open-minded thinking, inclusive dialogue, and moral responsibility regarding science issues. As a result, public faith in science continues to erode. This review explores how the field of Civic Science can impact public work on science issues by building new understanding of the practices, influences, and cultures of science. Civic Science is defined as a discipline that considers science practice and knowledge as resources for civic engagement, democratic action, and political change. This review considers how Civic Science informs the roles that key participants-scientists, public citizens and institutions of higher education-play in our national science dialogue. Civic Science aspires to teach civic capacities, to inform the responsibilities of scientists engaged in public science issues and to inspire an open-minded, inclusive dialogue where all voices are heard and shared commitments are acknowledged. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Portraying Real Science in Science Communication

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van Dijk, Esther M.

2011-01-01

In both formal and informal settings, not only science but also views on the nature of science are communicated. Although there probably is no singular nature shared by all fields of science, in the field of science education it is commonly assumed that on a certain level of generality there is a consensus on many features of science. In this…

Science teaching in science education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Callahan, Brendan E.; Dopico, Eduardo

2016-06-01

Reading the interesting article Discerning selective traditions in science education by Per Sund , which is published in this issue of CSSE, allows us to open the discussion on procedures for teaching science today. Clearly there is overlap between the teaching of science and other areas of knowledge. However, we must constantly develop new methods to teach and differentiate between science education and teaching science in response to the changing needs of our students, and we must analyze what role teachers and teacher educators play in both. We must continually examine the methods and concepts involved in developing pedagogical content knowledge in science teachers. Otherwise, the possibility that these routines, based on subjective traditions, prevent emerging processes of educational innovation. Modern science is an enormous field of knowledge in its own right, which is made more expansive when examined within the context of its place in society. We propose the need to design educative interactions around situations that involve science and society. Science education must provide students with all four dimensions of the cognitive process: factual knowledge, conceptual knowledge, procedural knowledge, and metacognitive knowledge. We can observe in classrooms at all levels of education that students understand the concepts better when they have the opportunity to apply the scientific knowledge in a personally relevant way. When students find value in practical exercises and they are provided opportunities to reinterpret their experiences, greater learning gains are achieved. In this sense, a key aspect of educational innovation is the change in teaching methodology. We need new tools to respond to new problems. A shift in teacher education is needed to realize the rewards of situating science questions in a societal context and opening classroom doors to active methodologies in science education to promote meaningful learning through meaningful teaching.

Secondary science teachers' attitudes toward and beliefs about science reading and science textbooks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yore, Larry D.

Science textbooks are dominant influences behind most secondary science instruction but little is known about teachers' approach to science reading. The purpose of this naturalistic study was to develop and validate a Science and Reading Questionnaire to assess secondary science teachers' attitudes toward science reading and their beliefs or informed opinions about science reading. A survey of 428 British Columbia secondary science teachers was conducted and 215 science teachers responded. Results on a 12-item Likert attitude scale indicated that teachers place high value on reading as an important strategy to promote learning in science and that they generally accept responsibility for teaching content reading skills to science students. Results on a 13-item Likert belief scale indicated that science teachers generally reject the text-driven model of reading, but they usually do not have well-formulated alternative models to guide their teaching practices. Teachers have intuitive beliefs about science reading that partially agree with many research findings, but their beliefs are fragmented and particularly sketchy in regard to the cognitive and metacognitive skills required by readers to learn from science texts. The findings for attitude, belief, and total scales were substantiated by further questions in the Science and Reading Questionnaire regarding classroom practice and by individual interviews and classroom observations of a 15-teacher subsample of the questionnaire respondents.

Science Olympiad students' nature of science understandings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Philpot, Cindy J.

2007-12-01

Recent reform efforts in science education focus on scientific literacy for all citizens. In order to be scientifically literate, an individual must have informed understandings of nature of science (NOS), scientific inquiry, and science content matter. This study specifically focused on Science Olympiad students' understanding of NOS as one piece of scientific literacy. Research consistently shows that science students do not have informed understandings of NOS (Abd-El-Khalick, 2002; Bell, Blair, Crawford, and Lederman, 2002; Kilcrease and Lucy, 2002; Schwartz, Lederman, and Thompson, 2001). However, McGhee-Brown, Martin, Monsaas and Stombler (2003) found that Science Olympiad students had in-depth understandings of science concepts, principles, processes, and techniques. Science Olympiad teams compete nationally and are found in rural, urban, and suburban schools. In an effort to learn from students who are generally considered high achieving students and who enjoy science, as opposed to the typical science student, the purpose of this study was to investigate Science Olympiad students' understandings of NOS and the experiences that formed their understandings. An interpretive, qualitative, case study method was used to address the research questions. The participants were purposefully and conveniently selected from the Science Olympiad team at a suburban high school. Data collection consisted of the Views of Nature of Science -- High School Questionnaire (VNOS-HS) (Schwartz, Lederman, & Thompson, 2001), semi-structured individual interviews, and a focus group. The main findings of this study were similar to much of the previous research in that the participants had informed understandings of the tentative nature of science and the role of inferences in science, but they did not have informed understandings of the role of human imagination and creativity, the empirical nature of science, or theories and laws. High level science classes and participation in

Towards a Science of Science Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yates, Carolyn

2009-01-01

This article is a contribution to the search for evidence-based models of learning to improve science education. The author believes that modern teachers should look to the sciences of cognitive psychology and neuroscience to build a science of science teaching. Understanding the relationships between learning and the brain's structure and…

Islam, Science and Science Education: Conflict or Concord?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Loo, Seng Piew

2001-01-01

Focuses on the relationship between science and Islam in the context of science education. Describes Islamic science and whether it is a valid philosophy of science. Discuses islamisation or marginalization of science education. Discusses implications and offers suggestions for science education. (Contains 63 references.) (ASK)

77 FR 55863 - NASA Advisory Council; Science Committee; Earth Science Subcommittee; Applied Sciences Advisory...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-09-11

... NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION [Notice (12-072)] NASA Advisory Council; Science Committee; Earth Science Subcommittee; Applied Sciences Advisory Group Meeting AGENCY: National Aeronautics... the Applied Science Advisory Group. This Subcommittee reports to the Earth Science Subcommittee...

Science Squared: Teaching Science Visually.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Paradis, Olga; Savage, Karen; Judice, Michelle

This paper describes a collection of novel ideas for bulletin board displays that would be useful in supplementing science classroom instruction. Information on women and minorities in science; science concepts in everyday activities such as nutrition, baseball, and ice cream-making; and various holidays and celebratory events is included. Each…

Science Teaching in Science Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Callahan, Brendan E.; Dopico, Eduardo

2016-01-01

Reading the interesting article "Discerning selective traditions in science education" by Per Sund, which is published in this issue of "CSSE," allows us to open the discussion on procedures for teaching science today. Clearly there is overlap between the teaching of science and other areas of knowledge. However, we must…

Big Science and Big Big Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marshall, Steve

2012-01-01

In his introduction to the science shows feature in "Primary Science" 115, Ian B. Dunne asks the question "Why have science shows?" He lists a host of very sound reasons, starting with because "science is fun" so why not engage and entertain, inspire, grab attention and encourage them to learn? He goes onto to state that: "Even in today's…

75 FR 60484 - NASA Advisory Council; Science Committee; Earth Science Subcommittee; Applied Sciences Advisory...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-30

... NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION [Notice: (10-115)] NASA Advisory Council; Science Committee; Earth Science Subcommittee; Applied Sciences Advisory Group Meeting AGENCY: National Aeronautics...) announces a meeting of the Applied Science Advisory Group. This Subcommittee reports to the Earth Science...

75 FR 10845 - Subcommittee on Forensic Science; Committee on Science; National Science and Technology Council

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-03-09

... OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY Subcommittee on Forensic Science; Committee on Science; National Science and Technology Council ACTION: General Notice. Nominations for Interagency Working Group participants. SUMMARY: The Subcommittee on Forensic Science of the National Science and Technology Council's...

Beyond Nature of Science: The Case for Reconceptualising "Science" for Science Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Erduran, Sibel

2014-01-01

In this paper, I argue that contemporary accounts of nature of science (NoS) are limited in their depiction of "science" and that new perspectives are needed to broaden their characterisation and appeal for science education. In particular, I refer to the role of interdisciplinary characterisations of science in informing the theory and…

76 FR 38430 - Subcommittee on Forensic Science; Committee on Science; National Science and Technology Council

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-30

... OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY Subcommittee on Forensic Science; Committee on Science; National Science and Technology Council ACTION: Notice of Panel Session. Public input is requested... Sciences 2009 report: ``Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward'' ( http://www...

Different Images of Science at Nordic Science Centres

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davidsson, Eva; Jakobsson, Anders

2007-01-01

Science centres aim to present science in ways that will attract visitors and enhance public interest in, and knowledge of, science. But what images and different aspects of science are visitors confronted with at Nordic science centres? This study aims to explore the different aspects of science that are displayed and the ways in which these…

Attitudes of Early Adolescents toward Science, Women in Science, and Science Careers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Erb, Thomas Owen

The study described is part of a larger project, Career Oriented Modules to Explore Topics in Science (COMETS), designed to integrate career education into the science curriculum. This study aimed to determine the attitudes of male and female students aged 10-16 toward scientists, science, women in science, careers in technical fields, and careers…

76 FR 6163 - Subcommittee on Forensic Science; Committee on Science; National Science and Technology Council

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-02-03

... OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY Subcommittee on Forensic Science; Committee on Science; National Science and Technology Council ACTION: Notice of meeting. Public input is requested concerning... Forensic Science can be obtained through the Office of Science and Technology Policy's NSTC Web site at...

Science in Science Fiction.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Allday, Jonathan

2003-01-01

Offers some suggestions as to how science fiction, especially television science fiction programs such as "Star Trek" and "Star Wars", can be drawn into physics lessons to illuminate some interesting issues. (Author/KHR)

Hollywood Science: Good for Hollywood, Bad for Science?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perkowitz, Sidney

2009-03-01

Like it or not, most science depicted in feature films is in the form of science fiction. This isn't likely to change any time soon, if only because science fiction films are huge moneymakers for Hollywood. But beyond that, these films are a powerful cultural force. They reach millions as they depict scientific ideas from DNA and cloning to space science, whether correctly or incorrectly; reflect contemporary issues of science and society like climate change, nuclear power and biowarfare; inspire young people to become scientists; and provide defining images -- or stereotypes -- of scientists for the majority of people who've never met a real one. Certainly, most scientists feel that screen depictions of science and scientists are badly distorted. Many are, but not always. In this talk, based on my book Hollywood Science [1], I'll show examples of good and bad screen treatments of science, scientists, and their impact on society. I'll also discuss efforts to improve how science is treated in film and ways to use even bad movie science to convey real science. [4pt] [1] Sidney Perkowitz, Hollywood Science: Movies, Science, and the End of the World (Columbia University Press, New York, 2007). ISBN: 978-0231142809

Communicating Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Russell, Nicholas

2009-10-01

Introduction: what this book is about and why you might want to read it; Prologue: three orphans share a common paternity: professional science communication, popular journalism, and literary fiction are not as separate as they seem; Part I. Professional Science Communication: 1. Spreading the word: the endless struggle to publish professional science; 2. Walk like an Egyptian: the alien feeling of professional science writing; 3. The future's bright? Professional science communication in the age of the internet; 4. Counting the horse's teeth: professional standards in science's barter economy; 5. Separating the wheat from the chaff: peer review on trial; Part II. Science for the Public: What Science Do People Need and How Might They Get It?: 6. The Public Understanding of Science (PUS) movement and its problems; 7. Public engagement with science and technology (PEST): fine principle, difficult practice; 8. Citizen scientists? Democratic input into science policy; 9. Teaching and learning science in schools: implications for popular science communication; Part III. Popular Science Communication: The Press and Broadcasting: 10. What every scientist should know about mass media; 11. What every scientist should know about journalists; 12. The influence of new media; 13. How the media represents science; 14. How should science journalists behave?; Part IV. The Origins of Science in Cultural Context: Five Historic Dramas: 15. A terrible storm in Wittenberg: natural knowledge through sorcery and evil; 16. A terrible storm in the Mediterranean: controlling nature with white magic and religion; 17. Thieving magpies: the subtle art of false projecting; 18. Foolish virtuosi: natural philosophy emerges as a distinct discipline but many cannot take it seriously; 19. Is scientific knowledge 'true' or should it just be 'truthfully' deployed?; Part V. Science in Literature: 20. Science and the Gothic: the three big nineteenth-century monster stories; 21. Science fiction: serious

Does science education need the history of science?

PubMed

Gooday, Graeme; Lynch, John M; Wilson, Kenneth G; Barsky, Constance K

2008-06-01

This essay argues that science education can gain from close engagement with the history of science both in the training of prospective vocational scientists and in educating the broader public about the nature of science. First it shows how historicizing science in the classroom can improve the pedagogical experience of science students and might even help them turn into more effective professional practitioners of science. Then it examines how historians of science can support the scientific education of the general public at a time when debates over "intelligent design" are raising major questions over the kind of science that ought to be available to children in their school curricula. It concludes by considering further work that might be undertaken to show how history of science could be of more general educational interest and utility, well beyond the closed academic domains in which historians of science typically operate.

Science as Story: "Communicating the Nature of Science through Historical Perspectives on Science"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wieder, Will

2006-01-01

Historical perspectives on science serve to humanize the sciences, increase student motivation, communicate academic content, and convey the nature of science. This paper briefly reviews pertinent literature regarding the history of science and narrates the author's experiences of incorporating historical perspectives in high school biology…

Reconceptualizing the Nature of Science for Science Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dagher, Zoubeida R.; Erduran, Sibel

2016-03-01

Two fundamental questions about science are relevant for science educators: (a) What is the nature of science? and (b) what aspects of nature of science should be taught and learned? They are fundamental because they pertain to how science gets to be framed as a school subject and determines what aspects of it are worthy of inclusion in school science. This conceptual article re-examines extant notions of nature of science and proposes an expanded version of the Family Resemblance Approach (FRA), originally developed by Irzik and Nola (International handbook of research in history, philosophy and science teaching. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 999-1021, 2014) in which they view science as a cognitive-epistemic and as an institutional-social system. The conceptual basis of the expanded FRA is described and justified in this article based on a detailed account published elsewhere (Erduran and Dagher in Reconceptualizing the nature of science for science education: scientific knowledge, practices and other family categories. Springer, Dordrecht, 2014a). The expanded FRA provides a useful framework for organizing science curriculum and instruction and gives rise to generative visual tools that support the implementation of a richer understanding of and about science. The practical implications for this approach have been incorporated into analysis of curriculum policy documents, curriculum implementation resources, textbook analysis and teacher education settings.

A pragmatic conception of science: Implications for science teaching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sessoms, Deidre Bates

In this dissertation, I examine various philosophical conceptions of the nature of science---its goals, methods and products---and link those views to how science is taught. While the review begins in the 1600s, the focus is primarily on logical positivism. The logical positivist view of science prevailed for much of the twentieth century and has greatly influenced how science is taught. The review section culminates with current conceptions of science from the fields of philosophy, sociology, feminist studies and radical studies of science. These various conceptions of the nature of science are linked to how science is currently taught, at the K--12 level and at the university. In particular, the logical positivist conception has influenced the teaching of science by emphasizing the products of science (factual knowledge and theories) over the processes of science (the social methods of knowledge production). As a result of viewing science as the logical positivists did, teachers primarily focus on science as unchanging factual knowledge, at the expense of examining the social and cultural aspects of scientific practices. I develop a pragmatic conception of the method of science as reflective thinking that we effectively use in our everyday lives. Linking that conception with the aims that John Dewey outlined for schools in a democratic society points the way towards certain goals and methods for teaching science. Therefore, I explore the type of science teaching that might result when viewing science as a pragmatic activity conducted in a democracy. Teaching of this sort would involve students in working together on shared problems that arise in the context of daily life. For science students at the university, this would include participating in and critiquing scientific research in active research laboratories. Implementing this view of science teaching might result in modifications in the practices and goals of science. Lastly, the experiences of a group of

Recruiting Science Majors into Secondary Science Teaching: Paid Internships in Informal Science Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Worsham, Heather M.; Friedrichsen, Patricia; Soucie, Marilyn; Barnett, Ellen; Akiba, Motoko

2014-01-01

Despite the importance of recruiting highly qualified individuals into the science teaching profession, little is known about the effectiveness of particular recruitment strategies. Over 3 years, 34 college science majors and undecided students were recruited into paid internships in informal science settings to consider secondary science teaching…

Cognitive science contributions to decision science.

PubMed

Busemeyer, Jerome R

2015-02-01

This article briefly reviews the history and interplay between decision theory, behavioral decision-making research, and cognitive psychology. The review reveals the increasingly important impact that psychology and cognitive science have on decision science. One of the main contributions of cognitive science to decision science is the development of dynamic models that describe the cognitive processes that underlay the evolution of preferences during deliberation phase of making a decision. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The sciences of science communication.

PubMed

Fischhoff, Baruch

2013-08-20

The May 2012 Sackler Colloquium on "The Science of Science Communication" brought together scientists with research to communicate and scientists whose research could facilitate that communication. The latter include decision scientists who can identify the scientific results that an audience needs to know, from among all of the scientific results that it would be nice to know; behavioral scientists who can design ways to convey those results and then evaluate the success of those attempts; and social scientists who can create the channels needed for trustworthy communications. This overview offers an introduction to these communication sciences and their roles in science-based communication programs.

The sciences of science communication

PubMed Central

Fischhoff, Baruch

2013-01-01

The May 2012 Sackler Colloquium on “The Science of Science Communication” brought together scientists with research to communicate and scientists whose research could facilitate that communication. The latter include decision scientists who can identify the scientific results that an audience needs to know, from among all of the scientific results that it would be nice to know; behavioral scientists who can design ways to convey those results and then evaluate the success of those attempts; and social scientists who can create the channels needed for trustworthy communications. This overview offers an introduction to these communication sciences and their roles in science-based communication programs. PMID:23942125

Putting the Social Sciences into Science Communication Courses.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stocking, S. Holly

Although the social sciences have become legitimate sources of science news, many journalism instructors of science communication do not believe the social sciences warrant special or required attention in their courses. This is unfortunate, for the social sciences are important enough and different enough to require both their inclusion and…

Constructing a philosophy of science of cognitive science.

PubMed

Bechtel, William

2009-07-01

Philosophy of science is positioned to make distinctive contributions to cognitive science by providing perspective on its conceptual foundations and by advancing normative recommendations. The philosophy of science I embrace is naturalistic in that it is grounded in the study of actual science. Focusing on explanation, I describe the recent development of a mechanistic philosophy of science from which I draw three normative consequences for cognitive science. First, insofar as cognitive mechanisms are information-processing mechanisms, cognitive science needs an account of how the representations invoked in cognitive mechanisms carry information about contents, and I suggest that control theory offers the needed perspective on the relation of representations to contents. Second, I argue that cognitive science requires, but is still in search of, a catalog of cognitive operations that researchers can draw upon in explaining cognitive mechanisms. Last, I provide a new perspective on the relation of cognitive science to brain sciences, one which embraces both reductive research on neural components that figure in cognitive mechanisms and a concern with recomposing higher-level mechanisms from their components and situating them in their environments. Copyright © 2009 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Informal science education at Science City

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

French, April Nicole

The presentation of chemistry within informal learning environments, specifically science museums and science centers is very sparse. This work examines learning in Kansas City's Science City's Astronaut Training Center in order to identify specific behaviors associated with visitors' perception of learning and their attitudes toward space and science to develop an effective chemistry exhibit. Grounded in social-constructivism and the Contextual Model of Learning, this work approaches learning in informal environments as resulting from social interactions constructed over time from interaction between visitors. Visitors to the Astronaut Training Center were surveyed both during their visit and a year after the visit to establish their perceptions of behavior within the exhibit and attitudes toward space and science. Observations of visitor behavior and a survey of the Science City staff were used to corroborate visitor responses. Eighty-six percent of visitors to Science City indicated they had learned from their experiences in the Astronaut Training Center. No correlation was found between this perception of learning and visitor's interactions with exhibit stations. Visitor attitudes were generally positive toward learning in informal settings and space science as it was presented in the exhibit. Visitors also felt positively toward using video game technology as learning tools. This opens opportunities to developing chemistry exhibits using video technology to lessen the waste stream produced by a full scale chemistry exhibit.

The Science of Science Communication and Protecting the Science Communication Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kahan, D.

2012-12-01

Promoting public comprehension of science is only one aim of the science of science communication and is likely not the most important one for the well-being of a democratic society. Ordinary citizens form quadrillions of correct beliefs on matters that turn on complicated scientific principles they cannot even identify much less understand. The reason they fail to converge on beliefs consistent with scientific evidence on certain other consequential matters—from climate change to genetically modified foods to compusory adolescent HPV vaccination—is not the failure of scientists or science communicators to speak clearly or the inability of ordinary citizens to understand what they are saying. Rather, the source of such conflict is the proliferation of antagonistic cultural meanings. When they become attached to particular facts that admit of scientific investigation, these meanings are a kind of pollution of the science communication environment that disables the faculties ordinary citizens use to reliably absorb collective knowledge from their everyday interactions. The quality of the science communication environment is thus just as critical for enlightened self-government as the quality of the natural environment is for the physical health and well-being of a society's members. Understanding how this science communication environment works, fashioning procedures to prevent it from becoming contaminated with antagonistic meanings, and formulating effective interventions to detoxify it when protective strategies fail—those are the most critical functions science communication can perform in a democratic society.

A study of science leadership and science standards in exemplary standards-based science programs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carpenter, Wendy Renae

The purpose for conducting this qualitative study was to explore best practices of exemplary standards-based science programs and instructional leadership practices in a charter high school and in a traditional high school. The focus of this study included how twelve participants aligned practices to National Science Education Standards to describe their science programs and science instructional practices. This study used a multi-site case study qualitative design. Data were obtained through a review of literature, interviews, observations, review of educational documents, and researcher's notes collected in a field log. The methodology used was a multi-site case study because of the potential, through cross analysis, for providing greater explanation of the findings in the study (Merriam, 1988). This study discovered six characteristics about the two high school's science programs that enhance the literature found in the National Science Education Standards; (a) Culture of expectations for learning-In exemplary science programs teachers are familiar with a wide range of curricula. They have the ability to examine critically and select activities to use with their students to promote the understanding of science; (b) Culture of varied experiences-In exemplary science programs students are provided different paths to learning, which help students, take in information and make sense of concepts and skills that are set forth by the standards; (c) Culture of continuous feedback-In exemplary science programs teachers and students work together to engage students in ongoing assessments of their work and that of others as prescribed in the standards; (d) Culture of Observations-In exemplary science programs students, teachers, and principals reflect on classroom instructional practices; teachers receive ongoing evaluations about their teaching and apply feedback towards improving practices as outlined in the standards; (e) Culture of continuous learning-In exemplary

75 FR 4882 - Subcommittee on Forensic Science; Committee on Science; National Science and Technology Council

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-01-29

... OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY Subcommittee on Forensic Science; Committee on Science; National Science and Technology Council ACTION: Notice of Panel Session. Public input is requested... be obtained through the Office of Science and Technology Policy's NSTC Web site at http://www.ostp...

Science for Diplomacy, Diplomacy for Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Colglazier, E. Wiliam

2015-04-01

I was a strong proponent of ``science diplomacy'' when I became Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary of State in 2011. I thought I knew a lot about the subject after being engaged for four decades on international S&T policy issues and having had distinguished scientists as mentors who spent much of their time using science as a tool for building better relations between countries and working to make the world more peaceful, prosperous, and secure. I learned a lot from my three years inside the State Department, including great appreciation and respect for the real diplomats who work to defuse conflicts and avoid wars. But I also learned a lot about science diplomacy, both using science to advance diplomacy and diplomacy to advance science. My talk will focus on the five big things that I learned, and from that the one thing where I am focusing my energies to try to make a difference now that I am a private citizen again.

Science Programs

Science.gov Websites

Research Library Science Briefs Science News Science Highlights Lab Organizations Science Programs Applied Innovation Research Capabilities Deploying Innovation Technology Opportunities Innovation in New Mexico Los Laboratory Delivering science and technology to protect our nation and promote world stability Science &

Science for What Public? Addressing Equity in American Science Museums and Science Centers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Feinstein, Noah Weeth; Meshoulam, David

2014-01-01

Science museums and science centers exist (in large part) to bring science to the public. But what public do they serve? The challenge of equity is embodied by the gulf that separates a museum's actual public and the more diverse publics that comprise our society. Yet despite growing scholarly interest in museums and science centers, few…

Measurement science and manufacturing science research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Phillips, D. Howard

1987-01-01

The research program of Semiconductor Research Corp. is managed as three overlapping areas: Manufacturing Sciences, Design Sciences and Microstructure Sciences. A total of 40 universities are participating in the performance of over 200 research tasks. The goals and direction of Manufacturing Sciences research became more clearly focused through the efforts of the Manufacturing Sciences Committee of the SRC Technical Advisory Board (TAB). The mission of the SRC Manufacturing Research is the quantification, control, and understanding of semiconductor manufacturing process necessary to achieve a predictable and profitable product output in the competitive environment of the next decade. The 1994 integrated circuit factory must demonstrate a three level hierarchy of control: (1) operation control, (2) process control, and (3) process design. These levels of control are briefly discussed.

Pre-Service Science Teachers' Cognitive Structures Regarding Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) and Science Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hacioglu, Yasemin; Yamak, Havva; Kavak, Nusret

2016-01-01

The aim of this study is to reveal pre-service science teachers' cognitive structures regarding Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) and science education. The study group of the study consisted of 192 pre-service science teachers. A Free Word Association Test (WAT) consisting of science, technology, engineering, mathematics and…

The science in social science

PubMed Central

Bernard, H. Russell

2012-01-01

A recent poll showed that most people think of science as technology and engineering—life-saving drugs, computers, space exploration, and so on. This was, in fact, the promise of the founders of modern science in the 17th century. It is less commonly understood that social and behavioral sciences have also produced technologies and engineering that dominate our everyday lives. These include polling, marketing, management, insurance, and public health programs. PMID:23213222

Science Process Skills in Science Curricula Applied in Turkey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yumusak, Güngör Keskinkiliç

2016-01-01

One of the most important objectives of the science curricula is to bring in science process skills. The science process skills are skills that lie under scientific thinking and decision-making. Thus it is important for a science curricula to be rationalized in such a way that it brings in science process skills. New science curricula were…

Is Science for Us? Black Students' and Parents' Views of Science and Science Careers.

PubMed

Archer, Louise; Dewitt, Jennifer; Osborne, Jonathan

2015-03-01

There are widespread policy concerns to improve (widen and increase) science, technology, engineering, and mathematics participation, which remains stratified by ethnicity, gender, and social class. Despite being interested in and highly valuing science, Black students tend to express limited aspirations to careers in science and remain underrepresented in post-16 science courses and careers, a pattern which is not solely explained by attainment. This paper draws on survey data from nationally representative student cohorts and longitudinal interview data collected over 4 years from 10 Black African/Caribbean students and their parents, who were tracked from age 10-14 (Y6-Y9), as part of a larger study on children's science and career aspirations. The paper uses an intersectional analysis of the qualitative data to examine why science careers are less "thinkable" for Black students. A case study is also presented of two young Black women who "bucked the trend" and aspired to science careers. The paper concludes with implications for science education policy and practice.

How In-Service Science Teachers Integrate History and Nature of Science in Elementary Science Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hacieminoglu, Esme

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study is to investigate how the in-service science teachers' (IST) perceptions and practices about curriculum and integration of the history of science (HOS) and the nature of science (NOS) affect their science courses. For this aim, how ISTs integrated the NOS and HOS in their elementary science courses for understanding of…

Data-driven predictions in the science of science.

PubMed

Clauset, Aaron; Larremore, Daniel B; Sinatra, Roberta

2017-02-03

The desire to predict discoveries-to have some idea, in advance, of what will be discovered, by whom, when, and where-pervades nearly all aspects of modern science, from individual scientists to publishers, from funding agencies to hiring committees. In this Essay, we survey the emerging and interdisciplinary field of the "science of science" and what it teaches us about the predictability of scientific discovery. We then discuss future opportunities for improving predictions derived from the science of science and its potential impact, positive and negative, on the scientific community. Copyright © 2017, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Can citizen science enhance public understanding of science?

PubMed

Bonney, Rick; Phillips, Tina B; Ballard, Heidi L; Enck, Jody W

2016-01-01

Over the past 20 years, thousands of citizen science projects engaging millions of participants in collecting and/or processing data have sprung up around the world. Here we review documented outcomes from four categories of citizen science projects which are defined by the nature of the activities in which their participants engage - Data Collection, Data Processing, Curriculum-based, and Community Science. We find strong evidence that scientific outcomes of citizen science are well documented, particularly for Data Collection and Data Processing projects. We find limited but growing evidence that citizen science projects achieve participant gains in knowledge about science knowledge and process, increase public awareness of the diversity of scientific research, and provide deeper meaning to participants' hobbies. We also find some evidence that citizen science can contribute positively to social well-being by influencing the questions that are being addressed and by giving people a voice in local environmental decision making. While not all citizen science projects are intended to achieve a greater degree of public understanding of science, social change, or improved science -society relationships, those projects that do require effort and resources in four main categories: (1) project design, (2) outcomes measurement, (3) engagement of new audiences, and (4) new directions for research. © The Author(s) 2015.

Islam and Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salam, Abdus

The following sections are included: * The Holy Quran and Science * Modem Science, A Greco- Islamic Legacy * The Decline of Sciences in Islam * The Limitations of Science * Faith and Science * The Present Picture of Sciences in the Islamic Countries * Renaissance of Sciences in Islam * Steps Needed for Building up Sciences in the Islamic Countries * Science Education * Science Foundations in Islam * Technology in Our Countries * Concluding Remarks * REFERENCES

Competitive Science: Is Competition Ruining Science?

PubMed Central

Casadevall, Arturo

2015-01-01

Science has always been a competitive undertaking. Despite recognition of the benefits of cooperation and team science, reduced availability of funding and jobs has made science more competitive than ever. Here we consider the benefits of competition in providing incentives to scientists and the adverse effects of competition on resource sharing, research integrity, and creativity. The history of science shows that transformative discoveries often occur in the absence of competition, which only emerges once fields are established and goals are defined. Measures to encourage collaboration and ameliorate competition in the scientific enterprise are discussed. PMID:25605760

Citizen Science: Opportunities for Girls' Development of Science Identity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brien, Sinead Carroll

Many students in the United States, particularly girls, have lost interest in science by the time they reach high school and do not pursue higher degrees or careers in science. Several science education researchers have found that the ways in which youth see themselves and position themselves in relation to science can influence whether they pursue science studies and careers. I suggest that participation in a citizen science program, which I define as a program in which girls interact with professional scientists and collect data that contributes to scientific research, could contribute to changing girls' perceptions of science and scientists, and promote their science identity work. I refer to science identity as self-recognition and recognition by others that one thinks scientifically and does scientific work. I examined a case study to document and analyze the relationship between girls' participation in a summer citizen science project and their development of science identity. I observed six girls between the ages of 16 and 18 during the Milkweed and Monarch Project, taking field notes on focal girls' interactions with other youth, adults, and the scientist, conducted highly-structured interviews both pre-and post- girls' program participation, and interviewed the project scientist and educator. I qualitatively analyzed field notes and interview responses for themes in girls' discussion of what it meant to think scientifically, roles they took on, and how they recognized themselves as thinking scientifically. I found that girls who saw themselves as thinking scientifically during the program seemed to demonstrate shifts in their science identity. The aspects of the citizen science program that seemed to most influence shifts in these girls' science identities were 1) the framing of the project work as "real science, 2) that it involved ecological field work, and 3) that it created a culture that valued data and scientific work. However, some of the girls only

Science as an Ideal: Teachers' Orientations to Science and Science Education Reform

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Witz, Klaus G.; Lee, Hyunju

2009-01-01

Two policy trends have characterized US science education in the last two decades: a strong movement to examine issues of science in society, and widespread adoption of state standards mandating curriculum courses related to science, technology and society, scientific literacy, and socio-scientific issues. However, these changes have not found an…

Young "Science Ambassadors" Raise the Profile of Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ridley, Katie

2014-01-01

Katie Ridley, science coordinator at St. Gregory's Catholic Primary School, Liverpool, UK, states that the inspiration for "science ambassadors" came after embarking on the Primary Science Quality Mark programme at their school. Ridley realized that science was just not recognised as such by the children, they talked about scientific…

Science teacher orientations and PCK across science topics in grade 9 earth science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Campbell, Todd; Melville, Wayne; Goodwin, Dawne

2017-07-01

While the literature is replete with studies examining teacher knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), few studies have investigated how science teacher orientations (STOs) shape classroom instruction. Therefore, this research explores the interplay between a STOs and the topic specificity of PCK across two science topics within a grade 9 earth science course. Through interviews and observations of one teacher's classroom across two sequentially taught, this research contests the notion that teachers hold a single way of conceptualising science teaching and learning. In this, we consider if multiple ontologies can provide potential explanatory power for characterising instructional enactments. In earlier work with the teacher in this study, using generic interview prompts and general discussions about science teaching and learning, we accepted the existence of a unitary STO and its promise of consistent reformed instruction in the classroom. However, upon close examination of instruction focused on different science topics, evidence was found to demonstrate the explanatory power of multiple ontologies for shaping characteristically different epistemological constructions across science topics. This research points to the need for care in generalising about teacher practice, as it reveals that a teacher's practice, and orientation, can vary, dependent on the context and science topics taught.

Is Science for Us? Black Students’ and Parents’ Views of Science and Science Careers

PubMed Central

DEWITT, JENNIFER; OSBORNE, JONATHAN

2015-01-01

ABSTRACT There are widespread policy concerns to improve (widen and increase) science, technology, engineering, and mathematics participation, which remains stratified by ethnicity, gender, and social class. Despite being interested in and highly valuing science, Black students tend to express limited aspirations to careers in science and remain underrepresented in post‐16 science courses and careers, a pattern which is not solely explained by attainment. This paper draws on survey data from nationally representative student cohorts and longitudinal interview data collected over 4 years from 10 Black African/Caribbean students and their parents, who were tracked from age 10–14 (Y6–Y9), as part of a larger study on children's science and career aspirations. The paper uses an intersectional analysis of the qualitative data to examine why science careers are less “thinkable” for Black students. A case study is also presented of two young Black women who “bucked the trend” and aspired to science careers. The paper concludes with implications for science education policy and practice. PMID:28579645

Risk and Infrastructure Science Center - Global Security Sciences

Science.gov Websites

delivers scientific tools and methodologies to inform decision making regarding the most challenging Sciences ASD Accelerator Systems AES APS Engineering Support XSD X-ray Science Physical Sciences and Leadership Strategic Alliance for Global Energy Solutions Overview Leadership Systems Science Center Overview

The presentation of science in everyday life: the science show

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Watermeyer, Richard

2013-09-01

This paper constitutes a case-study of the `science show' model of public engagement employed by a company of science communicators focused on the popularization of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subject disciplines with learner constituencies. It examines the potential of the science show to foster the interest and imagination of young learners in STEM; challenge popular pre/misconceptions of science and scientists; reveal the broadness, plurality and everyday relevance of science; and induce a more fluent and equitable science nexus between expert and non-expert or learner groups. Discussion focuses on conversations with members of a UK and university based science communication outfit who comment on the potential of the science show as a model of non-formal science education and science engagement and the necessary conditions for its success.

Science engagement and science achievement in the context of science instruction: a multilevel analysis of U.S. students and schools

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grabau, Larry J.; Ma, Xin

2017-05-01

Using data from the 2006 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), we explored nine aspects of science engagement (science self-efficacy, science self-concept, enjoyment of science, general interest in learning science, instrumental motivation for science, future-oriented science motivation, general value of science, personal value of science, and science-related activities) as outcomes and predictors of science achievement. Based on results from multilevel modelling with 4456 students nested within 132 schools, we found that all aspects of science engagement were statistically significantly and positively related to science achievement, and nearly all showed medium or large effect sizes. Each aspect was positively associated with one of the (four) practices (strategies) of science teaching. Focus on applications or models was positively related to the most aspects of science engagement (science self-concept, enjoyment of science, instrumental motivation for science, general value of science, and personal value of science). Hands-on activities were positively related to additional aspects of science engagement (science self-efficacy and general interest in learning science) and also showed a positive relationship with science achievement.

Adapting Practices of Science Journalism to Foster Science Literacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Polman, Joseph L.; Newman, Alan; Saul, Ellen Wendy; Farrar, Cathy

2014-01-01

In this paper, the authors describe how the practices of expert science journalists enable them to act as "competent outsiders" to science. We assert that selected science journalism practices can be used to design reform-based science instruction; these practices not only foster science literacy that is useful in daily life, but also…

Romanticism and Romantic Science: Their Contribution to Science Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hadzigeorgiou, Yannis; Schulz, Roland

2014-01-01

The unique contributions of romanticism and romantic science have been generally ignored or undervalued in history and philosophy of science studies and science education. Although more recent research in history of science has come to delineate the value of both topics for the development of modern science, their merit for the educational field…

Factors Influencing Science Content Accuracy in Elementary Inquiry Science Lessons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nowicki, Barbara L.; Sullivan-Watts, Barbara; Shim, Minsuk K.; Young, Betty; Pockalny, Robert

2013-06-01

Elementary teachers face increasing demands to engage children in authentic science process and argument while simultaneously preparing them with knowledge of science facts, vocabulary, and concepts. This reform is particularly challenging due to concerns that elementary teachers lack adequate science background to teach science accurately. This study examined 81 in-classroom inquiry science lessons for preservice education majors and their cooperating teachers to determine the accuracy of the science content delivered in elementary classrooms. Our results showed that 74 % of experienced teachers and 50 % of student teachers presented science lessons with greater than 90 % accuracy. Eleven of the 81 lessons (9 preservice, 2 cooperating teachers) failed to deliver accurate science content to the class. Science content accuracy was highly correlated with the use of kit-based resources supported with professional development, a preference for teaching science, and grade level. There was no correlation between the accuracy of science content and some common measures of teacher content knowledge (i.e., number of college science courses, science grades, or scores on a general science content test). Our study concluded that when provided with high quality curricular materials and targeted professional development, elementary teachers learn needed science content and present it accurately to their students.

Science Coursework and Pedagogical Beliefs of Science Teachers: The Case of Science Teachers in the Philippines

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Macugay, Eva B.; Bernardo, Allan B. I.

2013-01-01

Science coursework is an important element of the pre-service education of science teachers. In this study we test the hypothesis that more science coursework influences pedagogical beliefs of science teachers by studying the pedagogical beliefs of 305 Filipino science teachers. We compared pedagogical beliefs of primary school (less science…

NASA Earth Science Update with Information Science Technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Halem, Milton

2000-01-01

This viewgraph presentation gives an overview of NASA earth science updates with information science technology. Details are given on NASA/Earth Science Enterprise (ESE)/Goddard Space Flight Center strategic plans, ESE missions and flight programs, roles of information science, ESE goals related to the Minority University-Space Interdisciplinary Network, and future plans.

Analytical Microscopy and Imaging Science | Materials Science | NREL

Science.gov Websites

Microanalysis (EPMA) for quantitative compositional analysis. It relies on wavelength-dispersive spectroscopy to Science group in NREL's Materials Science Center. Mowafak Al-Jassim Group Manager Dr. Al-Jassim manages the Analytical Microscopy and Imaging Science group with the Materials Science Center. Email | 303-384

Romanticism and Romantic Science: Their Contribution to Science Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hadzigeorgiou, Yannis; Schulz, Roland

2014-10-01

The unique contributions of romanticism and romantic science have been generally ignored or undervalued in history and philosophy of science studies and science education. Although more recent research in history of science has come to delineate the value of both topics for the development of modern science, their merit for the educational field has not been explored. Romanticism was not only an obvious historical period, but a particular state of mind with its own extraordinary emotional sensitivity towards nature. It is especially the latter which we hope to revisit and reclaim for science education. After discussing several key historical contributions, we describe nine characteristics of `Romantic Science' in order to focus on six ideas/possibilities that we believe hold much value for transforming current science education: (1) the emotional sensitivity toward nature, (2) the centrality of sense experience, (3) the importance of "holistic experience", (4) the importance of the notions of mystery and wonder, (5) the power of science to transform people's outlook on the natural world, and (6) the importance of the relationship between science and philosophy. It is argued that in view of a pragmatist/utilitarian conception of school science prevalent today the aforementioned ideas (especially the notion of wonder and the poetic/non-analytical mode of knowledge), can provide food for thought for both science teachers and researchers seeking to work out an aesthetic conception, one that complements current approaches such as inquiry science and conceptual change.

The Bogus Science.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderson, C. C.

1981-01-01

Discusses three sorts of psychological science: Science 1, a natural science with conditional (causal) laws; Science 2, with probabilistic laws; and Science 3, a "human science" trying to capture the complexity of human experience and behavior. Argues that Science 2 and Science 3 should be treated as belief systems which people may find useful for…

Competitive science: is competition ruining science?

PubMed

Fang, Ferric C; Casadevall, Arturo

2015-04-01

Science has always been a competitive undertaking. Despite recognition of the benefits of cooperation and team science, reduced availability of funding and jobs has made science more competitive than ever. Here we consider the benefits of competition in providing incentives to scientists and the adverse effects of competition on resource sharing, research integrity, and creativity. The history of science shows that transformative discoveries often occur in the absence of competition, which only emerges once fields are established and goals are defined. Measures to encourage collaboration and ameliorate competition in the scientific enterprise are discussed. Copyright © 2015, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Using Citizen Science beyond Teaching Science Content: A Strategy for Making Science Relevant to Students' Lives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jenkins, Lynda L.

2011-01-01

I respond to Pike and Dunne by exploring the utilization of citizen science in science education. Their results indicate that students fail to pursue science beyond the secondary level, in part, because of prior educational experiences with science education. Students lack motivation to pursue degrees and careers in science because they feel…

STOP for Science! A School-Wide Science Enrichment Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Slane, P.; Slane, R.; Arcand, K. K.; Lestition, K.; Watzke, M.

2012-08-01

Young students are often natural scientists. They love to poke and prod, and they live to compare and contrast. What is the fastest animal? Where is the tallest mountain on Earth (or in the Solar System)? Where do the colors in a rainbow come from? And why do baseball players choke up on their bats? Educators work hard to harness this energy and enthusiasm in the classroom but, particularly at an early age, science enrichment - exposure outside the formal classroom - is crucial to help expand science awareness and hone science skills. Developed under a grant from NASA's Chandra X-ray Center, "STOP for Science!" is a simple but effective (and extensible) school-wide science enrichment program aimed at raising questions about science topics chosen to capture student interest. Created through the combined efforts of an astrophysicist and an elementary school principal, and strongly recommended by NASA's Earth & Space Science product review, "STOP for Science" combines aesthetic displays of science topics accompanied by level-selected questions and extensive facilitator resources to provide broad exposure to familiar, yet intriguing, science themes.

Preservice Science Teachers' Views on Science-Technology-Society

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dikmentepe, Emel; Yakar, Zeha

2016-01-01

The aim of this study is to investigate the views of pre-service science teachers on Science-Technology-Society (STS). In the research, a descriptive research method was used and data were collected using the Views on Science-Technology-Society (VOSTS) Questionnaire. In general, the results of this study revealed that pre-service science teachers…

A Festival of Contemporary Science for Science Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harrison, Tim; Berry, Bryan; Shallcross, Dudley

2010-01-01

In this article, the authors describe the first Festival of Contemporary Science for Science Teachers which was held in January 2010. Focusing on a number of leading-edge science topics, this new festival was organised by Bristol ChemLabS, in collaboration with the Science Learning Centre South West, and involved academics from several departments…

Global Security Sciences Home - Global Security Sciences

Science.gov Websites

Us About Our Research Global Security Sciences Leadership Strategic Initiatives Research Centers Center for Strategic Security Overview Leadership Risk and Infrastructure Science Center Overview Leadership Strategic Alliance for Global Energy Solutions Overview Leadership Systems Science Center Overview

Democratizing data science through data science training

PubMed Central

Van Horn, John Darrell; Fierro, Lily; Kamdar, Jeana; Gordon, Jonathan; Stewart, Crystal; Bhattrai, Avnish; Abe, Sumiko; Lei, Xiaoxiao; O’Driscoll, Caroline; Sinha, Aakanchha; Jain, Priyambada; Burns, Gully; Lerman, Kristina; Ambite, José Luis

2017-01-01

The biomedical sciences have experienced an explosion of data which promises to overwhelm many current practitioners. Without easy access to data science training resources, biomedical researchers may find themselves unable to wrangle their own datasets. In 2014, to address the challenges posed such a data onslaught, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) launched the Big Data to Knowledge (BD2K) initiative. To this end, the BD2K Training Coordinating Center (TCC; bigdatau.org) was funded to facilitate both in-person and online learning, and open up the concepts of data science to the widest possible audience. Here, we describe the activities of the BD2K TCC and its focus on the construction of the Educational Resource Discovery Index (ERuDIte), which identifies, collects, describes, and organizes online data science materials from BD2K awardees, open online courses, and videos from scientific lectures and tutorials. ERuDIte now indexes over 9,500 resources. Given the richness of online training materials and the constant evolution of biomedical data science, computational methods applying information retrieval, natural language processing, and machine learning techniques are required - in effect, using data science to inform training in data science. In so doing, the TCC seeks to democratize novel insights and discoveries brought forth via large-scale data science training. PMID:29218890

Democratizing data science through data science training.

PubMed

Van Horn, John Darrell; Fierro, Lily; Kamdar, Jeana; Gordon, Jonathan; Stewart, Crystal; Bhattrai, Avnish; Abe, Sumiko; Lei, Xiaoxiao; O'Driscoll, Caroline; Sinha, Aakanchha; Jain, Priyambada; Burns, Gully; Lerman, Kristina; Ambite, José Luis

2018-01-01

The biomedical sciences have experienced an explosion of data which promises to overwhelm many current practitioners. Without easy access to data science training resources, biomedical researchers may find themselves unable to wrangle their own datasets. In 2014, to address the challenges posed such a data onslaught, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) launched the Big Data to Knowledge (BD2K) initiative. To this end, the BD2K Training Coordinating Center (TCC; bigdatau.org) was funded to facilitate both in-person and online learning, and open up the concepts of data science to the widest possible audience. Here, we describe the activities of the BD2K TCC and its focus on the construction of the Educational Resource Discovery Index (ERuDIte), which identifies, collects, describes, and organizes online data science materials from BD2K awardees, open online courses, and videos from scientific lectures and tutorials. ERuDIte now indexes over 9,500 resources. Given the richness of online training materials and the constant evolution of biomedical data science, computational methods applying information retrieval, natural language processing, and machine learning techniques are required - in effect, using data science to inform training in data science. In so doing, the TCC seeks to democratize novel insights and discoveries brought forth via large-scale data science training.

Impact of Informal Science Education on Children's Attitudes About Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wulf, Rosemary; Mayhew, Laurel M.; Finkelstein, Noah D.

2010-10-01

The JILA Physics Frontier Center Partnerships for Informal Science Education in the Community (PISEC) provides informal afterschool inquiry-based science teaching opportunities for university participants with children typically underrepresented in science. We focus on the potential for this program to help increase children's interest in science, mathematics, and engineering and their understanding of the nature of science by validating the Children's Attitude Survey, which is based on the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey [1] and designed to measure shifts in children's attitudes about science and the nature of science. We present pre- and post-semester results for several semesters of the PISEC program, and demonstrate that, unlike most introductory physics courses in college, our after-school informal science programs support and promote positive attitudes about science.

When Nature of Science Meets Marxism: Aspects of Nature of Science Taught by Chinese Science Teacher Educators to Prospective Science Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wan, Zhi Hong; Wong, Siu Ling; Zhan, Ying

2013-01-01

Nature of science (NOS) is beginning to find its place in the science education in China. In a study which investigated Chinese science teacher educators' conceptions of teaching NOS to prospective science teachers through semi-structured interviews, five key dimensions emerged from the data. This paper focuses on the dimension, "NOS content…

Fort Collins Science Center-Fiscal year 2009 science accomplishments

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wilson, Juliette T.

2010-01-01

Public land and natural resource managers in the United States are confronted with increasingly complex decisions that have important ramifications for both ecological and human systems. The scientists and technical professionals at the U.S. Geological Survey Fort Collins Science Center?many of whom are at the forefront of their fields?possess a unique blend of ecological, socioeconomic, and technological expertise. Because of this diverse talent, Fort Collins Science Center staff are able to apply a systems approach to investigating complicated ecological problems in a way that helps answer critical management questions. In addition, the Fort Collins Science Center has a long record of working closely with the academic community through cooperative agreements and other collaborations. The Fort Collins Science Center is deeply engaged with other U.S. Geological Survey science centers and partners throughout the Department of the Interior. As a regular practice, we incorporate the expertise of these partners in providing a full complement of ?the right people? to effectively tackle the multifaceted research problems of today's resource-management world. In Fiscal Year 2009, the Fort Collins Science Center's scientific and technical professionals continued research vital to Department of the Interior's science and management needs. Fort Collins Science Center work also supported the science needs of other Federal and State agencies as well as non-government organizations. Specifically, Fort Collins Science Center research and technical assistance focused on client and partner needs and goals in the areas of biological information management and delivery, enterprise information, fisheries and aquatic systems, invasive species, status and trends of biological resources (including human dimensions), terrestrial ecosystems, and wildlife resources. In the process, Fort Collins Science Center science addressed natural-science information needs identified in the U

Talking Science: Language and Learning in Science Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roth, Wolff-Michael

2005-01-01

This book is about the fundamental nature of talk in school science. Language as a formal system provides resources for conducting everyday affairs, including the doing of science. While writing science is one aspect, talking science may in fact constitute a much more important means by which people navigate and know the world--the very medium…

Parents' Attitudes Towards Science and their Children's Science Achievement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perera, Liyanage Devangi H.

2014-12-01

Although countries worldwide are emphasizing the importance of science education for technological development and global economic competition, comparative findings from standardized international student assessments reveal a huge gap in science scores between developed and developing countries. Certain developed economies too have made little progress in raising science achievement over the past decade. Despite school improvement being placed high on the policy agenda, the results of such actions have been poor. Therefore, there is a need to explore additional ways in which science achievement can be enhanced. This study focuses on the family and examines whether parents' attitudes towards science (how much they value science and the importance they place on it) can influence their children's science achievement. Individual- and school-level data are obtained from the Program for International Student Assessment 2006 survey for 15 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and non-OECD countries. Hierarchical linear modelling is employed to estimate the equations. The findings indicate that parents' attitudes towards science have a positive and statistically significant effect on science achievement, after controlling for other important student- and school-level variables. Moreover, students from poor backgrounds appear to benefit from more positive parental science attitudes as much as students from high socioeconomic status, such that equality of student achievement is not affected. This study recommends that schools and teachers encourage parents to play a more pro-active role in their children's science education, as well as educate parents about the importance of science and strategies that can be adopted to support their children's science learning.

Understanding and Engagement in Places of Science Experience: Science Museums, Science Centers, Zoos, and Aquariums

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schwan, Stephan; Grajal, Alejandro; Lewalter, Doris

2014-01-01

Science museums, science centers, zoos, and aquariums (MCZAs) constitute major settings of science learning with unique characteristics of informal science education. Emphasis will be given to the analysis of four specific characteristics of MCZAs that seem relevant for educational research and practice, namely, conditions of mixed motives and…

Science Assessments for All: Integrating Science Simulations into Balanced State Science Assessment Systems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Quellmalz, Edys S.; Timms, Michael J.; Silberglitt, Matt D.; Buckley, Barbara C.

2012-01-01

This article reports on the collaboration of six states to study how simulation-based science assessments can become transformative components of multi-level, balanced state science assessment systems. The project studied the psychometric quality, feasibility, and utility of simulation-based science assessments designed to serve formative purposes…

Common Earth Science Misconceptions in Science Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

King, Chris

2012-01-01

A survey of the Earth science content of science textbooks found a wide range of misconceptions. These are discussed in this article with reference to the published literature on Earth science misconceptions. Most misconceptions occurred in the "sedimentary rocks and processes" and "Earth's structure and plate tectonics"…

Science + Maths = A Better Understanding of Science!

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Markwick, Andy; Clark, Kris

2016-01-01

Science and mathematics share a common purpose: to explore, understand and explain the pure beauty of our universe and how it works. Using mathematics in science enquiry can enhance children's understanding of science and also provide opportunities for children to apply their mathematical knowledge to "real" contexts. The authors…

The science knowledge, conceptions of the nature of science, attitudes about teaching science, and science instructional strategies of bilingual and English-only elementary teachers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alegria, Adelina Victoria

The goal of this study was to explore bilingual and English-only elementary teachers' science knowledge, their conceptions of the nature of science, their attitudes about teaching science, and their self-reported science instructional skills. In this study, a bilingual teacher was defined as a teacher who provides instruction in Spanish and English in core academic subjects and has completed and/or is completing a bilingual certification program. An English-only teacher was defined as a monolingual teacher that only speaks and instructs in English. The principal questions guiding this dissertation investigation were the following: How do bilingual elementary teachers differ from English-only elementary teachers in (a) their science knowledge, (b) their conceptions of the nature of science, (c) their attitude about teaching science, and (d) their self-reported science instructional skills? This dissertation study is a component of a three-year long Eisenhower Project granted to Hueneme School District and the University of California, Santa Barbara Southcoast Science Project. While the Project will last three years (1997--2000), this dissertation study was developed to answer only a subset of questions of the entire project and data was collected in 1998. The research design for this study consisted of a self-administered questionnaire that was given to Hueneme School District elementary teachers that teach science and was developed by reviewing the relevant literature about teachers' science knowledge, their conceptions of the nature of science, their attitudes about teaching science, and the instructional strategies that support science learning. The findings showed that both the bilingual and the English-only respondents demonstrated a similar science knowledge base, which is suggested, by this researcher, to be limited. That both bilingual and English-only teacher respondents demonstrated similar positive attitudes about teaching science and both reported making

Celebrating hydrologic science: The "Science is Essential" collection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clark, Martyn P.; Luce, Charles H.; van Meerveld, H. J. (Ilja)

2017-07-01

Water Resources Research published nine commentaries in the AGU "Science is Essential" collection. The goal of these papers is to celebrate the advances in hydrologic science, to show how hydrologic science is essential for society, and to illustrate how hydrologic science has influenced policies. Here we provide a brief introduction to these papers, to encourage you to explore them in full.

Senator Fred Harris's National Social Science Foundation proposal: Reconsidering federal science policy, natural science-social science relations, and American liberalism during the 1960s.

PubMed

Solovey, Mark

2012-03-01

During the 1960s, a growing contingent of left-leaning voices claimed that the social sciences suffered mistreatment and undue constraints within the natural science-dominated federal science establishment. According to these critics, the entrenched scientific pecking order in Washington had an unreasonable commitment to the unity of the sciences, which reinforced unacceptable inequalities between the social and the natural sciences. The most important political figure who advanced this critique, together with a substantial legislative proposal for reform, was the Oklahoma Democratic Senator Fred Harris. Yet histories of science and social science have told us surprisingly little about Harris. Moreover, existing accounts of his effort to create a National Social Science Foundation have misunderstood crucial features of this story. This essay argues that Harris's NSSF proposal developed into a robust, historically unique, and increasingly critical liberal challenge to the post-World War II federal science establishment's treatment of the social sciences as "second-class citizens."

Guerilla Science: Mixing Science with Art, Music and Play

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosin, Mark; Koski, Olivia; Science, Guerilla

2013-01-01

Guerilla Science is an international organization at the boundaries of adult/teen science education and live entertainment. Dedicated to science by stealth we mix science with art, music and play in unconventional environments like music festivals, art galleries, banquets, department stores and theaters. Over the last five years, Guerilla Science has impacted over 11 thousand members of the public and worked with more than one hundred science-partners. Findings from three external evaluations confirm that these events have been successful, and Guerilla Science has been featured in international media including Wired, Scientific American, Getty Images, and the BBC. In this presentation, the US director, Mark Rosin, will discuss Guerilla Science's astronomical outreach efforts, including events like the Intergalactic Travel Bureau, Extra-Terrestrial Broadcasting, and Sex on other Planets. He will also discuss how to get involved with the project.

Topographic Science

USGS Publications Warehouse

Poppenga, Sandra K.; Evans, Gayla; Gesch, Dean; Stoker, Jason M.; Queija, Vivian R.; Worstell, Bruce; Tyler, Dean J.; Danielson, Jeff; Bliss, Norman; Greenlee, Susan

2010-01-01

The mission of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center Topographic Science is to establish partnerships and conduct research and applications that facilitate the development and use of integrated national and global topographic datasets. Topographic Science includes a wide range of research and applications that result in improved seamless topographic datasets, advanced elevation technology, data integration and terrain visualization, new and improved elevation derivatives, and development of Web-based tools. In cooperation with our partners, Topographic Science is developing integrated-science applications for mapping, national natural resource initiatives, hazards, and global change science. http://topotools.cr.usgs.gov/.

Science Indicators and Science Priorities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brooks, Harvey

1982-01-01

Discusses science/society interface and difficulties involved in developing realistic science indicators. Topics include: intrinsic vs. extrinsic indicators; four problems society faces as a result of technological activities (toxic chemicals, radioactive wastes, auto safety, cancer); research and development (R&D) priorities; international…

Science and religion: implications for science educators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reiss, Michael J.

2010-03-01

A religious perspective on life shapes how and what those with such a perspective learn in science; for some students a religious perspective can hinder learning in science. For such reasons Staver's article is to be welcomed as it proposes a new way of resolving the widely perceived discord between science and religion. Staver notes that Western thinking has traditionally postulated the existence and comprehensibility of a world that is external to and independent of human consciousness. This has led to a conception of truth, truth as correspondence, in which our knowledge corresponds to the facts in this external world. Staver rejects such a conception, preferring the conception of truth as coherence in which the links are between and among independent knowledge claims themselves rather than between a knowledge claim and reality. Staver then proposes constructivism as a vehicle potentially capable of resolving the tension between religion and science. My contention is that the resolution between science and religion that Staver proposes comes at too great a cost—both to science and to religion. Instead I defend a different version of constructivism where humans are seen as capable of generating models of reality that do provide richer and more meaningful understandings of reality, over time and with respect both to science and to religion. I argue that scientific knowledge is a subset of religious knowledge and explore the implications of this for science education in general and when teaching about evolution in particular.

Sociocultural influences on science and on science identities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guerra, Andreia; Rezende, Flavia

2017-06-01

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 identity of students and promoted a shift in perceptions from stereotypical to more diverse views of scientists. For the purpose of this forum paper, we concentrated on the unexpected results of Hispanic students in the IAS instrument. In the authors' interpretation, Hispanic students were classified as non science identities because they do not feel recognized as a particular kind of student in that school, being possibly more marginalized than other students. We tried to expand the discussion bringing the contribution of a sociocultural approach of science construction and of science identity to enrich some of the issues involved. Our concise analysis does not allow conclusions about the Hispanic students' results, but we believe it helped to understand sociocultural problems involved in their science identity and to reveal the inequality in science production as one of these problems.

New concepts of science and medicine in science and technology studies and their relevance to science education.

PubMed

Wang, Hsiu-Yun; Stocker, Joel F; Fu, Daiwie

2012-02-01

Science education often adopts a narrow view of science that assumes the lay public is ignorant, which seemingly justifies a science education limited to a promotional narrative of progress in the form of scientific knowledge void of meaningful social context. We propose that to prepare students as future concerned citizens of a technoscientific society, science education should be informed by science, technology, and society (STS) perspectives. An STS-informed science education, in our view, will include the following curricular elements: science controversy education, gender issues, historical perspective, and a move away from a Eurocentric view by looking into the distinctive patterns of other regional (in this case of Taiwan, East Asian) approaches to science, technology, and medicine. This article outlines the significance of some major STS studies as a means of illustrating the ways in which STS perspectives can, if incorporated into science education, enhance our understanding of science and technology and their relationships with society. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Teaching Science with the Social Studies of Science for Equity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lederman, Muriel

Integrating the social studies of science into science education would make explicit the cultures of science, which have been revealed by historians, philosophers, sociologists, and feminist science scholars. These cultures include the institutions of science, the interaction of science and the society in which it is practiced, and the internal culture of science. This pedagogy may be a route to increasing equity in science, by giving women and members of other under-represented groups an appreciation of the factors causing their alienation from the enterprise and the tools to change science for social justice. In this article, I present the theoretical basis of this position, along with the implementation strategies and preliminary assessment for a sophomore level biology course based on this perspective.

The effects of a summer science camp teaching experience on preservice elementary teachers' science teaching efficacy, science content knowledge, and understanding of the nature of science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Logerwell, Mollianne G.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a summer science camp teaching experience on preservice elementary teachers' science teaching efficacy, science content knowledge, and understanding of the nature of science. Master's degree students enrolled in the elementary Fairfax Partnership Schools (FPS, n = 21) cohort served as the treatment group, while those enrolled in the Loudoun Partnership Schools (LPS, n = 15) and Professional Development Schools (PDS, n = 24) cohorts at George Mason University served as the control groups. The treatment group planned for and taught a two-week inquiry- and problem-based summer science camp as part of their science methods course, while the control groups did not. The Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument (STEBI), a science content assessment, a personal data questionnaire, and a modified version of the Views of Nature of Science Questionnaire (VNOS-C) were administered to the participants at the beginning and end of their science methods course. Analyses revealed significant increases for the FPS group in general science teaching efficacy, personal science teaching efficacy, science teaching outcome expectancy, general science knowledge, biology content knowledge, chemistry content knowledge, and understanding of NOS; the LPS group in general science teaching efficacy, personal science teaching efficacy, chemistry content knowledge, and understanding of NOS; and, the PDS group in general science teaching efficacy, personal science teaching efficacy, and chemistry content knowledge. Additionally, the FPS group had significantly higher general science teaching efficacy than both control groups, personal science teaching efficacy than the PDS group, and understanding of NOS than the LPS group. Overall, the findings indicate that course length is not as important for developing preservice teachers' teaching efficacy and understanding of content as having connected, authentic field-based teaching experiences

Learning Science, Learning about Science, Doing Science: Different Goals Demand Different Learning Methods

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hodson, Derek

2014-01-01

This opinion piece paper urges teachers and teacher educators to draw careful distinctions among four basic learning goals: learning science, learning about science, doing science and learning to address socio-scientific issues. In elaboration, the author urges that careful attention is paid to the selection of teaching/learning methods that…

"Science Is Not My Thing": Exploring Deaf Non-Science Majors' Science Identities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gormally, Cara L.; Marchut, Amber

2017-01-01

Students who are deaf and hard-of-hearing are underrepresented in science majors, yet we know little about why. Students from other underrepresented groups in science--women and people of color--tend to highly value altruistic or communal career goals, while perceiving science as uncommunal. Research suggests that holding stereotypical conceptions…

Science.gov: gateway to government science information.

PubMed

Fitzpatrick, Roberta Bronson

2010-01-01

Science.gov is a portal to more than 40 scientific databases and 200 million pages of science information via a single query. It connects users to science information and research results from the U.S. government. This column will provide readers with an overview of the resource, as well as basic search hints.

When Nature of Science Meets Marxism: Aspects of Nature of Science Taught by Chinese Science Teacher Educators to Prospective Science Teachers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wan, Zhi Hong; Wong, Siu Ling; Zhan, Ying

2013-05-01

Nature of science (NOS) is beginning to find its place in the science education in China. In a study which investigated Chinese science teacher educators' conceptions of teaching NOS to prospective science teachers through semi-structured interviews, five key dimensions emerged from the data. This paper focuses on the dimension, NOS content to be taught to prospective science teachers. Among a total of twenty NOS elements considered by the Chinese science teacher educators to be important ideas to be taught, five were suggested by no less than a half of the educators. They are (1) empirical basis of scientific investigation, (2) logics in scientific investigation, (3) general process of scientific investigation, (4) progressive nature of scientific knowledge, and (5) realist views of mind and natural world. This paper discusses the influence of Marxism, a special socio-cultural factor in China, on Chinese science teacher educators' conceptions of NOS content to be taught to prospective science teachers. We argue the importance of considering ideological traditions (mainly those in general philosophy and religion) when interpreting views of NOS or its content to be taught in different countries and regions and understanding students' conceptual ecology of learning NOS.

Biopolitical science.

PubMed

Arnhart, Larry

2010-03-01

This article develops a theoretical framework for biopolitical science as a science of political animals. This science moves through three levels of deep political history: the universal political history of the species, the cultural political history of the group, and the individual political history of animals in the group. To illustrate the particular application of biopolitical science, this essay shows how this science would help us to understand Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863.

Science Matters

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Odell, Bill

2005-01-01

The spaces and structures used for undergraduate science often work against new teaching methods and fail to provide environments that attract the brightest students to science. The undergraduate science building often offers little to inspire the imaginations of young minds. The typical undergraduate science building also tends to work against…

Science Teachers' Views about the Science Fair at Primary Education Level

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tortop, Hasan Said

2013-01-01

Science fair is an environment where students present their scientific research projects. Opinions of science teachers who participated as a mentor in science fair are important for determining of the science fair quality and its contribution of science education. The aim of study was to determine science teachers' views about the science fair at…

Science Anxiety and Gender in Students Taking General Education Science Courses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Udo, M. K.; Ramsey, G. P.; Mallow, J. V.

2004-12-01

Earlier studies [Mallow, J. V. (1994). Gender-related science anxiety: A first binational study. Journal of Science Education and Technology 3: 227-238; Udo, M. K., Ramsey, G. P., Reynolds-Alpert, S., and Mallow, J. V. (2001). Does physics teaching affect gender-based science anxiety? Journal of Science Education and Technology 10: 237-247] of science anxiety in various student cohorts suggested that nonscience majors were highly science anxious (SA), regardless of what science courses they were taking. In this study, we investigated science anxiety in a cohort consisting mostly of nonscience majors taking general education science courses. Regression analysis shows that the leading predictors of science anxiety are (i) nonscience anxiety and (ii) gender, as they were for different cohorts in the earlier studies. We confirm earlier findings that females are more SA than males. Chi-square analysis of acute science anxiety shows an amplification of these differences. We found statistically significant levels of science anxiety in humanities and social science students of both genders, and gender differences in science anxiety, despite the fact that the students were all enrolled in general education science courses specifically designed for nonscience majors. We found acute levels of anxiety in several groups, especially education, nursing, and business majors. We describe specific interventions to alleviate science anxiety.

Environmental Science Literacy in Science Education, Biology and Chemistry Majors.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robinson, Mike; Crowther, David

2001-01-01

Questions whether biology majors are more environmental science literate than chemistry majors, preservice science teachers, and a general population sample of 1,492 students. Indicates that preservice science teachers are significantly more environmental science literate than chemistry majors, but not more science literate than biology majors.…

Exploring Girls' Science Affinities Through an Informal Science Education Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Todd, Brandy; Zvoch, Keith

2017-10-01

This study examines science interests, efficacy, attitudes, and identity—referred to as affinities, in the context of an informal science outreach program for girls. A mixed methods design was used to explore girls' science affinities before, during, and after participation in a cohort-based summer science camp. Multivariate analysis of survey data revealed that girls' science affinities varied as a function of the joint relationship between family background and number of years in the program, with girls from more affluent families predicted to increase affinities over time and girls from lower income families to experience initial gains in affinities that diminish over time. Qualitative examination of girls' perspectives on gender and science efficacy, attitudes toward science, and elements of science identities revealed a complex interplay of gendered stereotypes of science and girls' personal desires to prove themselves knowledgeable and competent scientists. Implications for the best practice in fostering science engagement and identities in middle school-aged girls are discussed.

Science Engagement and Science Achievement in the Context of Science Instruction: A Multilevel Analysis of U.S. Students and Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grabau, Larry J.; Ma, Xin

2017-01-01

Using data from the 2006 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), we explored nine aspects of science engagement (science self-efficacy, science self-concept, enjoyment of science, general interest in learning science, instrumental motivation for science, future-oriented science motivation, general value of science, personal value of…

Evaluation Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Patton, Michael Quinn

2018-01-01

Culturally and politically science is under attack. The core consequence of perceiving and asserting evaluation as science is that it enhances our credibility and effectiveness in supporting the importance of science in our world and brings us together with other scientists to make common cause in supporting and advocating for science. Other…

Literacy, science, and science education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McVittie, Janet Elizabeth

In examining the connections between literacy, science and science education, I laid out a number of questions. For example, what sorts of literate tools might facilitate writing to learn, and do children who are just becoming literate use these tools? I then examined the writing of children in science class in an attempt to determine if their writing can indeed facilitate their learning. The results of this research could help teachers make decisions about the use of writing in the learning of science. The kinds of literate tools I identified as being potentially helpful were transitionals---those words or grammatical devices which demonstrate how ideas are connected. Also, I suggested that data tables, sentences and paragraphs were also useful for students to learn. I found that grade 5/6 students used a wide range of literate tools, but that they were much more competent with those tools which were both oral and literate than those which could only be used for writing (punctuation, sentences, paragraphs, and data tables). When I attempted to determine if the children used their writing to learn, I found very little evidence that this was certainly so. However, there was some evidence that paragraphs had the potential to create a "dialogue" between student writing and thinking, so the students could make more explicit connections between science ideas. Lastly, I noticed certain gender difference in the classroom. Because of this, I contrasted the writing of the girls with the writing of the boys. I learned the girls were generally much more capable writers than the boys. More interesting, however, was that the girls generally attempted to explain their science concepts in different ways than did the boys. The girls were more likely to rely on their own reasoning, whereas the boys were more likely to persist in using culturally created science explanations. The research findings have important implications for analyzing students' learning and for finding ways to

The Nature of Science and Science Education: A Bibliography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bell, Randy; Abd-El-Khalick, Fouad; Lederman, Norman G.; Mccomas, William F.; Matthews, Michael R.

Research on the nature of science and science education enjoys a long history, with its origins in Ernst Mach's work in the late nineteenth century and John Dewey's at the beginning of the twentieth century. As early as 1909 the Central Association for Science and Mathematics Teachers published an article - A Consideration of the Principles that Should Determine the Courses in Biology in Secondary Schools - in School Science and Mathematics that reflected foundational concerns about science and how school curricula should be informed by them. Since then a large body of literature has developed related to the teaching and learning about nature of science - see, for example, the Lederman (1992)and Meichtry (1993) reviews cited below. As well there has been intense philosophical, historical and philosophical debate about the nature of science itself, culminating in the much-publicised Science Wars of recent time. Thereferences listed here primarily focus on the empirical research related to the nature of science as an educational goal; along with a few influential philosophical works by such authors as Kuhn, Popper, Laudan, Lakatos, and others. While not exhaustive, the list should prove useful to educators, and scholars in other fields, interested in the nature of science and how its understanding can be realised as a goal of science instruction. The authors welcome correspondence regarding omissions from the list, and on-going additions that can be made to it.

Citizen Science: Getting More Involved with Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leeder, Poppy

2014-01-01

One of the things that this author enjoys most about working at the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) is the science that she finds out about and the researchers she meets. Having loved science throughout school and then on into university, the author is always keen to learn more. The increase in citizen science projects over the last…

Science and Religion: Implications for Science Educators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reiss, Michael J.

2010-01-01

A religious perspective on life shapes how and what those with such a perspective learn in science; for some students a religious perspective can hinder learning in science. For such reasons Staver's article is to be welcomed as it proposes a new way of resolving the widely perceived discord between science and religion. Staver notes that Western…

Promoting science through science fiction and pseudoscience.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roslund, C.

1986-11-01

A great deal of physics can be learned from reading good science fiction. Many writers of this genre have shown great talent in explaining the laws of physics in language that is both lucid and accessible. Their writings can readily be used by the science teacher to enhance and to stimulate student understanding of physics and science.

The science between tsunami science and evacuation decisions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McCaughey, J.; Dewi, P. R.; Mundzir, I.; Rosemary, R.; Safrina, L.; Daly, P.; Patt, A.

2014-12-01

The science of rare natural hazards provides us an opportunity that our ancestors lacked: the chance to learn what hazards we could face, and how reliable any particular precursor may or may not be. Connecting hazard science to societal learning is far too complex a challenge for our intuitions to be of much use. Instead, we need to use evidence - the science of science communication - to identify what actually works. As practitioners, we first worked with NGOs and local governments in coastal Sumatran communities to develop tsunami evacuation guidance that is consistent with the science of tsunamis and suitable for the communities that face the threat. This work identified important practical questions that social science can address: how do people decide whether to evacuate, and how do hazard knowledge and experience influence this? How acceptable are false alarms? What modes of communicating tsunami science and its uncertainties may lead to greater willingness to evacuate, and greater acceptance of false alarms? Which parts of the vast body of research on communication, risk perception, and decision-making might be significant in these contexts? We are beginning research at the household level that will address these questions and feed back into our continuing science-communication practice.

Taking the Lead in Science Education: Forging Next-Generation Science Standards. International Science Benchmarking Report. Appendix

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Achieve, Inc., 2010

2010-01-01

This appendix accompanies the report "Taking the Lead in Science Education: Forging Next-Generation Science Standards. International Science Benchmarking Report," a study conducted by Achieve to compare the science standards of 10 countries. This appendix includes the following: (1) PISA and TIMSS Assessment Rankings; (2) Courses and…

Investigating Science Discourse in a High School Science Classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Swanson, Lauren Honeycutt

Science classrooms in the United States have become more diverse with respect to the variety of languages spoken by students. This qualitative study used ethnographic methods to investigate the discourse and practices of two ninth grade science classrooms. Approximately 44% of students included in the study were designated as English learners. The present work focused on addressing the following questions: 1) In what ways is science discourse taken up and used by students and their teacher? 2) Are there differences in how science discourse is used by students depending on their English language proficiency? Data collection consisted of interviewing the science teacher and the students, filming whole class and small group discussions during two lesson sequences, and collecting lesson plans, curricular materials, and student work. These data were analyzed qualitatively. Findings indicated that the teacher characterized science discourse along three dimensions: 1) the use of evidence-based explanations; 2) the practice of sharing one's science understandings publically; and 3) the importance of using precise language, including both specialized (i.e., science specific) and non-specialized academic words. Analysis of student participation during in-class activities highlighted how students progressed in each of these science discourse skills. However, this analysis also revealed that English learners were less likely to participate in whole class discussions: Though these students participated in small group discussions, they rarely volunteered to share individual or collective ideas with the class. Overall, students were more adept at utilizing science discourse during class discussions than in written assignments. Analysis of students' written work highlighted difficulties that were not visible during classroom interactions. One potential explanation is the increased amount of scaffolding the teacher provided during class discussions as compared to written

What is science?

USGS Publications Warehouse

Shrake, D.L.; Elfner, L.E.; Hummon, W.; Janson, R.W.; Free, M.

2006-01-01

In 2000 The Ohio Academy of Science published its definition of "Science." Response to this definition led the Academy to produce a position paper entitled What is Science? The Academy officially adopted the position paper version of What is Science?, http: //www.ohiosci.org/ Whatisscience.pdf, at the April 2004 Ohio Academy of Science Annual Meeting. Response to this fact sheet demonstrated a need to further expand this document. Thus, this expanded version builds on the April 2004 position paper, What is Science? This paper clarifies what is science, the scientific method, a scientific hypothesis, a scientific theory, the importance of science, and what is not science.

The role of science self-efficacy, science career efficacy, science career interest, and intentions to enroll in nonrequired science courses in the future selection of science-related careers for high school students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ballard, Sherri Patrice

1998-12-01

Underrepresentation of non-Asian minority groups and women in science and math related professions has been an area of concern for many years. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of career selection variables for African-American and European-American students on future aspirations of pursuing a science-related career. Other examined variables included gender, academic track and socioeconomic status. A survey was completed by 368 high school students in rural settings in the Southeastern portion of the United States. Gender, race, tracking, and socioeconomic differences in career selection variables and future aspirations of pursuing a science-related career were explored using a 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 MANOVA. Multiple regression was used to examine the predictiveness of career selection variables relative to future career aspirations of pursuing a science-related career. Results indicated that African-Americans reported higher total science career interest, and higher science career efficacy. European-American students reported higher levels of science self-efficacy relative to making a B or better in science courses and solving science-related problems. Also, European-Americans reported higher levels of interest in science-related tasks, a subscale on the science career interest variable. When the effect of gender was examined across the total sample, no differences were found. However, when gender was examined by race, European-American females reported higher levels of science career interest than European-American males. Students from high academic tracking groups reported greater efficacy for completing science-related technical skills. Science career interest was predictive of future career selection for this sample.

Cognitive Science and Science Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carey, Susan

1986-01-01

The premise behind the cognitive approach to teaching is that understanding results when new learning is integrated with existing knowledge. But the goal of science instruction is to replace existing ideas with new theories. Current research in science education seeks to resolve these conflicting instructional approaches. (Author/VM)

Elucidating elementary science teachers' conceptions of the nature of science: A view to beliefs about both science and teaching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keske, Kristina Palmer

The purpose of this interpretive case study was to elucidate the conceptions of the nature of science held by seven elementary science teachers. The constructivist paradigm provided the philosophical and methodological foundation for the study. Interviews were employed to collect data from the participants about their formal and informal experiences with science. In addition, the participants contributed their perspectives on four aspects of the nature of science: what is science; who is a scientist; what are the methods of science; and how is scientific knowledge constructed. Data analysis not only revealed these teachers' views of science, but also provided insights into how they viewed science teaching. Four themes emerged from the data. The first theme developed around the participants' portrayals of the content of science, with participant views falling on a continuum of limited to universal application of science as procedure. The second theme dealt with the participants' views of the absolute nature of scientific knowledge. Participants' perceptions of the tentative nature of science teaching provided the basis for the third theme concerning the need for absolutes in practice. The fourth theme drew parallels between participants' views of science and science teaching, with two participants demonstrating a consistency in beliefs about knowledge construction across contexts. This study revealed both personal and contextual factors which impacted how the participants saw science and science teaching. Many of the participants' memories of formal science revolved around the memorization of content and were viewed negatively. All the participants had limited formal training in science. Of the seven participants, only two had chosen to be science teachers at the beginning of their careers. The participants' limited formal experiences with science provided little time for exploration into historical, philosophical, and sociological studies of science, a necessary

Towards Building Science Teachers' Understandings of Contemporary Science Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lancaster, Greg; Corrigan, Deborah; Fazio, Lisa; Burke, Joanne; Overton, David

2017-01-01

Faculties of Education and Science at Monash University have designed a Masters unit to assist pre-service and in-service science teachers in exploring the practices of contemporary science and examine how varied understandings can influence science communication. Teachers are encouraged to explore their current understandings of the Nature of…

Science Indicators, 1978: Report of the National Science Board.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buzzelli, Donald E.; And Others

This eleventh annual report of the National Science Board presents the fourth assessment of the state of science in the United States. The assessment includes reports on the status of science, with the following indicators reviewed within the report: international science and technology, resources for research and development, resources for basic…

Learning Science, Learning about Science, Doing Science: Different goals demand different learning methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hodson, Derek

2014-10-01

This opinion piece paper urges teachers and teacher educators to draw careful distinctions among four basic learning goals: learning science, learning about science, doing science and learning to address socio-scientific issues. In elaboration, the author urges that careful attention is paid to the selection of teaching/learning methods that recognize key differences in learning goals and criticizes the common assertion that 'current wisdom advocates that students best learn science through an inquiry-oriented teaching approach' on the grounds that conflating the distinction between learning by inquiry and engaging in scientific inquiry is unhelpful in selecting appropriate teaching/learning approaches.

Home Culture, Science, School and Science Learning: Is Reconciliation Possible?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tan, Aik-Ling

2011-01-01

In response to Meyer and Crawford's article on how nature of science and authentic science inquiry strategies can be used to support the learning of science for underrepresented students, I explore the possibly of reconciliation between the cultures of school, science, school science as well as home. Such reconciliation is only possible when…

Space Science Projects. LC Science Tracer Bullet. TB 06-3

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shaw, Loretta, Comp.

2006-01-01

Space science, or the space sciences, are fields of science that are concerned with the study or utilization of outer space. There are several major fields of space science including astronomy, exobiology, space transport, and space exploration and colonization. In addition, space sciences impact or are related to many other fields, from the…

Science Indicators, 1976: Report of the National Science Board.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Science Foundation, Washington, DC. National Science Board.

This ninth annual report of the National Science Board presents the third assessment of the state of science in the United States. The assessment includes reports on the status and health of science including national resources and manpower. Indicators reviewed in the report include: international science and technology, resources for research and…

Links and Distinctions among Citizenship, Science, and Citizen Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cooper, Caren B.

2012-01-01

Mueller, Tippins, and Bryan (2012) presented a new conceptualization of citizen science that is meant to facilitate emerging trends in the democratization of science and science education to produce civically engaged students. I review some relevant trends in the field of citizen science, for clarity here referred to as public participation in…

Cases of Science Professors' Use of Nature of Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karakas, Mehmet

2009-01-01

This study provides qualitative analysis of data that answers the following research question: how do college science faculty teach science and NOS and incorporate aspects of NOS and the history of science into their undergraduate courses? The study concentrates on four cases and more specifically on three introductory science classes and on four…

Mars: A Freshmen Year Seminar of Science and Science-fiction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Svec, Michael; Moffett, D. A.; Winiski, M.

2013-06-01

"Mars: On the shoulder of giants" is a freshmen year seminar developed collaboratively between the physics, education, and center for teaching and learning. This course focuses on how scientific knowledge is developed through the lens of our changing view of Mars throughout history. Analyses of current studies of Mars are juxtaposed against historical understanding and perceptions of the planet found in scientific and popular literature of the day, as well as the movies. Kim Stanley Robinson’s "Red Mars" provides a unifying story throughout the course complimented by Fredrick Taylor’s "The Scientific Exploration of Mars" and Hartmann’s "A Traveler’s Guide to Mars." Based on the three-years of experience, the authors advocate the use of the speculative science-fiction novel and argue for its use in high school and undergraduate courses including those for science majors. Many of the students who selected this seminar went on to major in science and in subsequent interviews discussed the influence of science fiction on their decision to major in science. Science fiction provided story, science, and speculation that became a rich medium for critical-thinking skills and critical literacy. Student reflections indicated that science fiction served as a reminder of why they study science, a source for imagination, and exploration of science as a human endeavor. Based on this experience, we propose five elements for selecting science-fiction for inclusion in science classes: 1) Provides a deep description of the science content or technologies, 2) Describes science and technologies are plausible or accurate to the time period, 3) Contains a novum or plausible innovation that plays a key element in the speculation, 4) Exploration of the impact on society or humanity, and, 5) Shows science and technology as human endeavors.

The Science Identity and Entering a Science Occupation*

PubMed Central

Stets, Jan E.; Brenner, Philip S.; Burke, Peter J.; Serpe, Richard T.

2016-01-01

The initiative to increase the number of students in STEM disciplines and train them for a science-related job is a current national focus. Using longitudinal panel data from a national study that followed underrepresented college students in STEM fields, we investigate the neglected role that social psychological processes play in influencing science activity among the young. We study the impact of identity processes related to being a science student on entering a science occupation. More broadly, we examine whether an identity formulated in one institutional setting (education) has effects that persist to another institutional setting (the economy). We find that the science identity positively impacts the likelihood of entering a science occupation. It also serves as a mediator for other factors that are related to educational success. This provides insight into how an identity can guide behavior to move persons into structural positions across institutional domains. PMID:28364837

Science-Technology Coupling: The Case of Mathematical Logic and Computer Science.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wagner-Dobler, Roland

1997-01-01

In the history of science, there have often been periods of sudden rapprochements between pure science and technology-oriented branches of science. Mathematical logic as pure science and computer science as technology-oriented science have experienced such a rapprochement, which is studied in this article in a bibliometric manner. (Author)

Science Outside the Lab: Helping Graduate Students in Science and Engineering Understand the Complexities of Science Policy.

PubMed

Bernstein, Michael J; Reifschneider, Kiera; Bennett, Ira; Wetmore, Jameson M

2017-06-01

Helping scientists and engineers challenge received assumptions about how science, engineering, and society relate is a critical cornerstone for macroethics education. Scientific and engineering research are frequently framed as first steps of a value-free linear model that inexorably leads to societal benefit. Social studies of science and assessments of scientific and engineering research speak to the need for a more critical approach to the noble intentions underlying these assumptions. "Science Outside the Lab" is a program designed to help early-career scientists and engineers understand the complexities of science and engineering policy. Assessment of the program entailed a pre-, post-, and 1 year follow up survey to gauge student perspectives on relationships between science and society, as well as a pre-post concept map exercise to elicit student conceptualizations of science policy. Students leave Science Outside the Lab with greater humility about the role of scientific expertise in science and engineering policy; greater skepticism toward linear notions of scientific advances benefiting society; a deeper, more nuanced understanding of the actors involved in shaping science policy; and a continued appreciation of the contributions of science and engineering to society. The study presents an efficacious program that helps scientists and engineers make inroads into macroethical debates, reframe the ways in which they think about values of science and engineering in society, and more thoughtfully engage with critical mediators of science and society relationships: policy makers and policy processes.

Effects of Inquiry-Based Science Instruction on Science Achievement and Interest in Science: Evidence from Qatar

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Areepattamannil, Shaljan

2012-01-01

The author sought to investigate the effects of inquiry-based science instruction on science achievement and interest in science of 5,120 adolescents from 85 schools in Qatar. Results of hierarchical linear modeling analyses revealed the substantial positive effects of science teaching and learning with a focus on model or applications and…

Issues in Science Education: Changing Purposes of Science Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williamson, Stan

This paper addresses the role of science education in today's society and the objectives of instruction in science. Observing that science cannot solve all of the problems of the world, and that science education has had little effect on the willingness of the general public to accept superstitions, the author argues that instructional approaches…

Transforming Elementary Science Teacher Education by Bridging Formal and Informal Science Education in an Innovative Science Methods Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Riedinger, Kelly; Marbach-Ad, Gili; McGinnis, J. Randy; Hestness, Emily; Pease, Rebecca

2011-01-01

We investigated curricular and pedagogical innovations in an undergraduate science methods course for elementary education majors at the University of Maryland. The goals of the innovative elementary science methods course included: improving students' attitudes toward and views of science and science teaching, to model innovative science teaching…

Incorporating Earth Science into Other High School Science Classes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manning, C. L. B.; Holzer, M.; Colson, M.; Courtier, A. M. B.; Jacobs, B. E.

2016-12-01

As states begin to review their standards, some adopt or adapt the NGSS and others write their own, many basing these on the Framework for K-12 Science Education. Both the NGSS and the Frameworks have an increased emphasis on Earth Science but many high school teachers are being asked to teach these standards in traditional Biology, Chemistry and Physics courses. At the Earth Educators Rendezvous, teachers, scientists, and science education researchers worked together to find the interconnections between the sciences using the NGSS and identified ways to reference the role of Earth Sciences in the other sciences during lectures, activities and laboratory assignments. Weaving Earth and Space sciences into the other curricular areas, the teams developed relevant problems for students to solve by focusing on using current issues, media stories, and community issues. These and other lessons and units of study will be presented along with other resources used by teachers to ensure students are gaining exposure and a deeper understanding of Earth and Space Science concepts.

Science Anxiety, Science Attitudes, and Constructivism: A Binational Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bryant, Fred B.; Kastrup, Helge; Udo, Maria; Hislop, Nelda; Shefner, Rachel; Mallow, Jeffry

2013-08-01

Students' attitudes and anxieties about science were measured by responses to two self-report questionnaires. The cohorts were Danish and American students at the upper secondary- and university-levels. Relationships between and among science attitudes, science anxiety, gender, and nationality were examined. Particular attention was paid to constructivist attitudes about science. These fell into at least three broad conceptual categories: Negativity of Science Toward the Individual, Subjective Construction of Knowledge, and Inherent Bias Against Women. Multigroup confirmatory factor analyses revealed that these dimensions of constructivist attitudes were equally applicable and had the same meaning in both cultures. Gender differences in mean levels of constructivist attitudes were found; these varied across the two cultures. Constructivist beliefs were associated with science anxiety, but in different ways for females and males, and for Danes and Americans. In agreement with earlier studies, females in both the US and Danish cohorts were significantly more science anxious than males, and the gender differences for the Americans were larger than those for the Danes. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for reducing science anxiety by changing constructivist beliefs.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Willard, H.F.; Cremers, F.; Mandel, J.L.

A high-quality integrated genetic and physical map of the X chromosome from telomere to telomere, based primarily on YACs formatted with probes and STSs, is increasingly close to reality. At the Fifth International X Chromosome Workshop, organized by A.M. Poustka and D. Schlessinger in Heidelberg, Germany, April 24--27, 1994, substantial progress was recorded on extension and refinement of the physical map, on the integration of genetic and cytogenetic data, on attempts to use the map to direct gene searches, and on nascent large-scale sequencing efforts. This report summarizes physical and genetic mapping information presented at the workshop and/or published sincemore » the reports of the fourth International X Chromosome Workshop. The principle aim of the workshop was to derive a consensus map of the chromosome, in terms of physical contigs emphasizing the location of genes and microsatellite markers. The resulting map is presented and updates previous versions. This report also updates the list of highly informative microsatellites. The text highlights the working state of the map, the genes known to reside on the X, and the progress toward integration of various types of data.« less

Gender roles and science beliefs and their relationship to science interest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paolucci, Judith Jean

This study investigated adolescents' views about the nature of science (NOS) and conceptions of their gender identities, and revealed whether these conceptions and views are related to their science interest. Participants were 566 high school students enrolled in chemistry courses at three high schools in a New England state. A questionnaire was used to assess participants' science interest, gender role perceptions, and views about science, as well as to provide background and math and science achievement data. The study found that while student scores of NOS understanding did not differ by gender, some significant differences were noted on the student responses to statements about science. Students with higher-than-average science interest scores responded to these statements differently than students with lower science interest scores; their responses tended to more closely match statements about NOS taken from current reform documents. The study also found that math and science achievement, masculinity scores, and NOS scores accounted for a greater variance of science interest for girls than for boys, though all three also contributed significantly and positively to the regression equation for boys. These predictor variables predicted membership to the lower or higher science interest groups, but could not predict students' career aspiration groups. Thus, other mediating factors not considered in this study may translate high science interest to science career aspiration. The results of this study coed prior research, which found that science and math achievement and masculinity are positively and significantly related to science interest for boy boys and girls. Moreover, the study found that achievement in math and science courses is a greater predictor of science interest for girls than for boys. The results of this study provide a rationale for incorporating the nature of science into the science curriculum. Moreover, since the science interest of boys was

Science FEST: Preservice Teachers link Math and Science in Astronomy Lessons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

DeMuth, N. H.; Kasabian, J.; Hacking, P. B.

2005-12-01

Funded by the National Science Foundation and corporate sponsored by Northrop Grumman, Science FEST (Science for Future Elementary School Teachers) aims to develop the science content and pedagogy for project participants by connecting their college coursework to the science they will eventually teach. Working individually and in pairs, future elementary and secondary school teachers design a comprehensive module in astronomy that is inquiry-based and reflects national and state science standards. Project participants then teach their module in local elementary or middle school classrooms. Science FEST project participants report gaining a deep understanding of the science they are teaching, learning to engage all students to explore science concepts, and reflecting on their teaching and how it can be improved. The project's website can be found at www.science-fest.org.

Can participation in a school science fair improve middle school students' attitudes toward science and interest in science careers?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Finnerty, Valerie

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether participation in a school-based science fair affects middle school students' attitudes toward science and interest in science and engineering careers. A quasi-experimental design was used to compare students' pre- and posttest attitudes toward and interest in science. Forty-eight of the 258 participants completed a school-based science fair during the study. In addition, twelve middle school science teachers completed an online survey. Both the Survey of Science Attitudes and Interest I and II (SSAI-I and II) measured students' attitudes toward and interest in science and science and mathematics self-efficacy, asked about classroom inquiry experiences and gathered demographic information. An online survey gathered qualitative data about science teachers' perceptions of school science fairs. The results showed no significant interactions among completion of a science fair project and attitudes toward and interest in science, science and mathematics self-efficacy or gender. There were significant differences at both pre- and posttest in attitudes between the students who did and did not complete a science fair project. All participating teachers believed that participation in science fairs could have a positive effect on students' attitudes and interest, but cited lack of time as a major impediment. There was significant interaction between level of classroom inquiry and attitudes and interest in science; students who reported more experiences had higher scores on these measures. Classroom inquiry also interacted with the effects of a science fair and participants' pre- and posttest attitude scores. Finally, the amount and source of assistance on a science fair project had a significant impact on students' posttest measures. Major limitations which affect the generalization of these findings include the timing of the administration of the pretest, the number of participants in the experimental group and differences

Science in action: An interdisciplinary science education program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Horton, Linda L.

1992-01-01

Science in Action is an education outreach program for pre-collegiate students. It is based on the concept that, in order to interest students in science, they must see science and scientists at work. The program encompasses the full range of scientific disciplines - the core sciences, engineering, and mathematics. A unique aspect of the program is the involvement and support of scientists and engineers representing local professional societies, industries, business, and academic institutions. An outline of the program is given.

Science as theater, theater as science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lustig, Harry

2002-04-01

Beginning with Bertold Brecht's "Galileo" in 1942 and Friedrich Dürrenmatt's "The Physicists" in 1962, physics and other sciences have served a number of dramatists as backdrops for the exposition of existential problems, as well as the provision of entertainment. Michael Frayn's 1998 play "Copenhagen" broke new ground by giving a central role to the presentation of scientific substance and ideas and to the examination of recent controversial and emotionally charged events in the history of science and of the "real world". A rash of "science plays" erupted. How should we physicists react to this development? Surely, it can be argued, any exposure of science to the public is better than none and will help break down the barriers between the "two cultures". But what if the science or the scientists are badly misrepresented or the play is a weapon to strip science of its legitimacy and its claims to reality and truth? After reviewing a half dozen of the new plays, I conclude that "Copenhagen", though flawed, is not only the best of show, but a positive, even admirable endeavor. The contributions of Bohr, Heisenberg, Born, Schrödinger, and other scientists and their interactions in the golden years of the creation of quantum mechanics are accurately and thrillingly rendered. There may be no better non-technical exposition of complementarity and the uncertainty principle than the one that Frayn puts into the mouths of Bohr and Heisenberg. The treatment of the history of the atomic bomb and Heisenberg's role in Germany's failure to achieve a bomb is another matter. Frayn can also be criticized for applying uncertainly and complementarity to the macroscopic world and, in particular, to human interactions, thereby giving some aid and comfort to the post-modernists. These reservations aside, Copenhagen is a beautiful contribution to the appreciation of science.

Science Fair

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-05-27

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden (left) and Bill Nye, The Science Guy, speak with some students that participated in the White House Science Fair. The fourth White House Science Fair was held at the White House on May 27, 2014 and included 100 students from more than 30 different states who competed in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) competitions. (Photo Credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

ScienceFEST: Preservice Teachers link Math and Science in Astronomy Lessons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

DeMuth, N. H.; Kasabian, J.

2005-05-01

Funded by the National Science Foundation, Science FEST (Science for Future Elementary School Teachers) aims to develop the science content and pedagogy for project participants by connecting their college coursework to the science they will eventually teach. Working individually and in pairs, future elementary and middle school teachers design a comprehensive module in astronomy that is inquiry-based and reflects the national and state science standards. Project participants then teach their modules in local elementary or middle school classrooms. Science FEST project participants report gaining a deep understanding of the science they are teaching, learning to engage all students to explore science concepts, and reflecting on their teaching and how it can be improved. The session presenters will share some of the instructional materials developed by the college students and how their experiences in Science FEST have enhanced their pre-professional development. The project's website can be found at www.science-fest.org.

Preservice Elementary Teachers' Science Self-Efficacy Beliefs and Science Content Knowledge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Menon, Deepika; Sadler, Troy D.

2016-10-01

Self-efficacy beliefs that relate to teachers' motivation and performance have been an important area of concern for preservice teacher education. Research suggests high-quality science coursework has the potential to shape preservice teachers' science self-efficacy beliefs. However, there are few studies examining the relationship between science self-efficacy beliefs and science content knowledge. The purpose of this mixed methods study is to investigate changes in preservice teachers' science self-efficacy beliefs and science content knowledge and the relationship between the two variables as they co-evolve in a specialized science content course. Results from pre- and post-course administrations of the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument-B (Bleicher, 2004) and a physical science concept test along with semi-structured interviews, classroom observations and artifacts served as data sources for the study. The 18 participants belonged to three groups representing low, medium and high initial levels of self-efficacy beliefs. A repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance design was used to test the significance of differences between the pre- and post-surveys across time. Results indicated statistically significant gains in participants' science self-efficacy beliefs and science conceptual understandings. Additionally, a positive moderate relationship between gains in science conceptual understandings and gains in personal science teaching efficacy beliefs was found. Qualitative analysis of the participants' responses indicated positive shifts in their science teacher self-image and they credited their experiences in the course as sources of new levels of confidence to teach science. The study includes implications for preservice teacher education programs, science teacher education, and research.

DES Science Portal: II- Creating Science-Ready Catalogs

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fausti Neto, Angelo; et al.

We present a novel approach for creating science-ready catalogs through a software infrastructure developed for the Dark Energy Survey (DES). We integrate the data products released by the DES Data Management and additional products created by the DES collaboration in an environment known as DES Science Portal. Each step involved in the creation of a science-ready catalog is recorded in a relational database and can be recovered at any time. We describe how the DES Science Portal automates the creation and characterization of lightweight catalogs for DES Year 1 Annual Release, and show its flexibility in creating multiple catalogs withmore » different inputs and configurations. Finally, we discuss the advantages of this infrastructure for large surveys such as DES and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope. The capability of creating science-ready catalogs efficiently and with full control of the inputs and configurations used is an important asset for supporting science analysis using data from large astronomical surveys.« less

Science As A Second Language: Acquiring Fluency through Science Enterprises

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shope, R.; EcoVoices Expedition Team

2013-05-01

Science Enterprises are problems that students genuinely want to solve, questions that students genuinely want to answer, that naturally entail reading, writing, investigation, and discussion. Engaging students in personally-relevant science enterprises provides both a diagnostic opportunity and a context for providing students the comprehensible input they need. We can differentiate instruction by creating science enterprise zones that are set up for the incremental increase in challenge for the students. Comprehensible input makes reachable, those just-out-of-reach concepts in the mix of the familiar and the new. EcoVoices takes students on field research expeditions within an urban natural area, the San Gabriel River Discovery Center. This project engages students in science enterprises focused on understanding ecosystems, ecosystem services, and the dynamics of climate change. A sister program, EcoVoces, has been launched in Mexico, in collaboration with the Universidad Loyola del Pacífico. 1) The ED3U Science Inquiry Model, a learning cycle model that accounts for conceptual change: Explore { Diagnose, Design, Discuss } Use. 2) The ¿NQUIRY Wheel, a compass of scientific inquiry strategies; 3) Inquiry Science Expeditions, a way of laying out a science learning environment, emulating a field and lab research collaboratory; 4) The Science Educative Experience Scale, a diagnostic measure of the quality of the science learning experience; and 5) Mimedia de la Ciencia, participatory enactment of science concepts using techniques of mime and improvisational theater. BACKGROUND: Science has become a vehicle for teaching reading, writing, and other communication skills, across the curriculum. This new emphasis creates renewed motivation for Scientists and Science Educators to work collaboratively to explore the common ground between acquiring science understanding and language acquisition theory. Language Acquisition is an informal process that occurs in the midst of

Science access, career choices, achievement, and motivation: Perceptions of female science olympians

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Price, Kelly Rae

Women remain under-represented in science career fields and this is especially evident in the physical sciences. Female students maintain equal science interest and achievement to male students in elementary school but by middle and high school they fall behind their male peers. Reasons cited for girls' declining interest in science include battling traditional gender stereotypes, lack of encouragement, and lack of female role models. Four main science concerns related to girls/women as indicated by research literature were science access, career choices, achievement, and motivation. In Georgia, some girls have made a break from the research trends by demonstrating their fervor for science through participation in the academic activity, Science Olympiad. The purpose of this study was to examine the science perceptions of girls who demonstrated science success by their participation in Science Olympiad. Utilizing phenomenological and feminist perspectives, the qualitative research method of focus group interviewing was used to address the research questions comprising the four science concerns of female science access, career choices, achievement, and motivation. The study participants were all girls/women who participated in Science Olympiad. A total of five focus groups were studied. One of the focus groups had current college undergraduates, former Science Olympians, in it while the others were composed of high school girls. Through the description of their science experiences, the participants shared their perceptions of the four science concerns. When addressing these science concerns, the participants revealed four factors that had most affected their science perceptions: the importance of support, science needs Serious Fun, teachers matter, and the bonuses of extracurricular involvement. In their experiences, the participants found success in science because they had teachers, parents, and peers who supported their academic interests, including science, and

Understanding high school students' science internship: At the intersection of secondary school science and university science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hsu, Pei-Ling

In this dissertation I explore the nature of an internship for high school students in a university science laboratory and the issues that arise from it. The investigation of science internships is relatively new to science education; therefore, this exploration is urgently needed. Twenty-one participants were involved in the internship experience, including 13 students, one teacher, two research scientists, and five technicians. Data sources include observations, field notes, and videotapes. Drawing on four coherent and complementary research tools---cultural-historical activity theory, discourse analysis, conversation analysis, and phenomenography, I articulate a variety of phenomena from multiple perspectives. The phenomena identified in the dissertation include (a) the discursive resources deployed by a teacher for interesting and inviting students to participate in science; (b) the discursive resources high school students used for articulating their interests in science-related careers; (c) the natural pedagogical conversations for accomplishing the work of teaching and learning during the internship; (d) the theoretical concepts mobilized for describing the unfolding of science expertise in the internship; (e) participants' ways of experiencing the science internship; and (f) students' understandings of scientific practice after participating in the internship. The study identifies many useful resources for understanding the nature of the science internship and provides a foundation for future research. The findings reported here will also serve others as a springboard for establishing partnerships between high schools and science communities and improving teaching and learning in science education.

Security Science as an Applied Science?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Clifton

2001-01-01

Describes the development of a security science degree as the emerging applied science of the protection of individuals and assets. Proposes the themes of physical, electronic, information security and facility management as scientific applications for the course. (Author/MM)

A Science Products Inventory for Citizen-Science Planning and Evaluation

PubMed Central

Wiggins, Andrea; Bonney, Rick; LeBuhn, Gretchen; Parrish, Julia K; Weltzin, Jake F

2018-01-01

Abstract Citizen science involves a range of practices involving public participation in scientific knowledge production, but outcomes evaluation is complicated by the diversity of the goals and forms of citizen science. Publications and citations are not adequate metrics to describe citizen-science productivity. We address this gap by contributing a science products inventory (SPI) tool, iteratively developed through an expert panel and case studies, intended to support general-purpose planning and evaluation of citizen-science projects with respect to science productivity. The SPI includes a collection of items for tracking the production of science outputs and data practices, which are described and illustrated with examples. Several opportunities for further development of the initial inventory are highlighted, as well as potential for using the inventory as a tool to guide project management, funding, and research on citizen science. PMID:29867254

A Science Products Inventory for Citizen-Science Planning and Evaluation

PubMed Central

Wiggins, Andrea; Bonney, Rick; LeBuhn, Gretchen; Parrish, Julia K; Weltzin, Jake F

2018-01-01

Abstract Citizen science involves a range of practices involving public participation in scientific knowledge production, but outcomes evaluation is complicated by the diversity of the goals and forms of citizen science. Publications and citations are not adequate metrics to describe citizen-science productivity. We address this gap by contributing a science products inventory (SPI) tool, iteratively developed through an expert panel and case studies, intended to support general-purpose planning and evaluation of citizen-science projects with respect to science productivity. The SPI includes a collection of items for tracking the production of science outputs and data practices, which are described and illustrated with examples. Several opportunities for further development of the initial inventory are highlighted, as well as potential for using the inventory as a tool to guide project management, funding, and research on citizen science. PMID:29867253

A science products inventory for citizen-science planning and evaluation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wiggins, Andrea; Bonney, Rick; LeBuhn, Gretchen; Parrish, Julia K.; Weltzin, Jake F.

2018-01-01

Citizen science involves a range of practices involving public participation in scientific knowledge production, but outcomes evaluation is complicated by the diversity of the goals and forms of citizen science. Publications and citations are not adequate metrics to describe citizen-science productivity. We address this gap by contributing a science products inventory (SPI) tool, iteratively developed through an expert panel and case studies, intended to support general-purpose planning and evaluation of citizen-science projects with respect to science productivity. The SPI includes a collection of items for tracking the production of science outputs and data practices, which are described and illustrated with examples. Several opportunities for further development of the initial inventory are highlighted, as well as potential for using the inventory as a tool to guide project management, funding, and research on citizen science.

A Science Products Inventory for Citizen-Science Planning and Evaluation.

PubMed

Wiggins, Andrea; Bonney, Rick; LeBuhn, Gretchen; Parrish, Julia K; Weltzin, Jake F

2018-06-01

Citizen science involves a range of practices involving public participation in scientific knowledge production, but outcomes evaluation is complicated by the diversity of the goals and forms of citizen science. Publications and citations are not adequate metrics to describe citizen-science productivity. We address this gap by contributing a science products inventory (SPI) tool, iteratively developed through an expert panel and case studies, intended to support general-purpose planning and evaluation of citizen-science projects with respect to science productivity. The SPI includes a collection of items for tracking the production of science outputs and data practices, which are described and illustrated with examples. Several opportunities for further development of the initial inventory are highlighted, as well as potential for using the inventory as a tool to guide project management, funding, and research on citizen science.

Advances in the NASA Earth Science Division Applied Science Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Friedl, L.; Bonniksen, C. K.; Escobar, V. M.

2016-12-01

The NASA Earth Science Division's Applied Science Program advances the understanding of and ability to used remote sensing data in support of socio-economic needs. The integration of socio-economic considerations in to NASA Earth Science projects has advanced significantly. The large variety of acquisition methods used has required innovative implementation options. The integration of application themes and the implementation of application science activities in flight project is continuing to evolve. The creation of the recently released Earth Science Division, Directive on Project Applications Program and the addition of an application science requirement in the recent EVM-2 solicitation document NASA's current intent. Continuing improvement in the Earth Science Applications Science Program are expected in the areas of thematic integration, Project Applications Program tailoring for Class D missions and transfer of knowledge between scientists and projects.

Science in History, Volume 4: The Social Sciences, Conclusion.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bernal, J. D.

This volume, the last of four, includes parts seven and eight of the eight parts in the series. Part Seven deals with the sciences of society which are described as the latest and most imperfect of the sciences. It is doubtful if, in their present form, they can be called sciences at all. The historical development of the social sciences is traced…

Promoting Single-Parent Family Children's Attitudes toward Science and Science Performance through Extracurricular Science Intervention in Taiwan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hong, Zuway-R.; Lin, Huann-shyang; Lawrenz, Frances

2008-01-01

This study investigated the efficacy of extracurricular science intervention in promoting students' science learning performance and attitudes toward science. The Junior High School Student Questionnaire (JSSQ) was used to measure attitudes toward science, sexist attitudes and perceptions of the classroom learning environment. Twenty-eight eighth…

A Science Information Infrastructure for Access to Earth and Space Science Data through the Nation's Science Museums

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Murray, S.

1999-01-01

In this project, we worked with the University of California at Berkeley/Center for Extreme Ultraviolet Astrophysics and five science museums (the National Air and Space Museum, the Science Museum of Virginia, the Lawrence Hall of Science, the Exploratorium., and the New York Hall of Science) to formulate plans for computer-based laboratories located at these museums. These Science Learning Laboratories would be networked and provided with real Earth and space science observations, as well as appropriate lesson plans, that would allow the general public to directly access and manipulate the actual remote sensing data, much as a scientist would.

Science as religion: when science becomes (too) irrational.

PubMed

Muzur, Amir; Rinčić, Iva

2017-04-01

Science is expected to be objective: however, since practiced and produced by humans, it has to reflect human flows - prejudices, stubbornness, malice, and the tendency to be misused. No wonder an excellent scientist like John Eccles proclaimed science to be among the most personal activities he had known. By analysing a few examples from the history of science (in particular the intellectual development of Van Rensselaer Potter, the American onco-biochemist and bioethics pioneer), as well as the current trend of the evidence-based approach, the present paper will try to demonstrate that denying, distrusting, and opposing science for the sake of religion, as seen so many times in human history, has significant similarities to the overestimation of science we more often encounter in our times.

Curriculum Trends: Science.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

White, Edwin P.; Teumac, Karen

1984-01-01

Brief descriptions and addresses are provided for the following: four handbooks for elementary principals on science programs, a study on women in science, a renewal of National Science Foundation funding for precollege-level science teaching projects, and a report outlining proposals for educational improvement in science. (TE)

In-Service Turkish Elementary and Science Teachers' Attitudes toward Science and Science Teaching: A Sample from Usak Province

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Turkmen, Lutfullah

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study is to reveal Turkish elementary teachers' and science teachers' attitudes toward science and science teaching. The sample of the study, 138 in-service elementary level science teachers from a province of Turkey, was selected by a clustered sampling method. The Science Teaching Attitude Scale-II was employed to measure the…

Polar Science Weekend: A University / Science Center Collaboration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stern, H. L.; Moritz, R. E.; Lettvin, E.; Schatz, D.; Russell, L.

2008-12-01

Polar Science Weekend (PSW) is a four-day event featuring hands-on activities, live demonstrations, and a variety of exhibits about the polar regions and current polar research, presented by scientists from the University of Washington's Polar Science Center, and held at Seattle's Pacific Science Center. PSW was conceived and organized jointly by the Polar Science Center and Pacific Science Center, which is Washington State's most well-attended museum. The first PSW in March 2006 drew over 5000 visitors, and subsequent PSWs in 2007 and 2008 have both surpassed that figure. The success of this university / science center partnership has made PSW an annual event, and has served as a model for Pacific Science Center's Portal to the Public program, in which partnerships with other scientific institutions have been built. Researchers at the Polar Science Center (PSC) study the physical processes controlling high-latitude oceans, atmosphere, sea ice, and ice sheets, and are involved in numerous IPY projects. PSC scientists also engage in many outreach efforts such as classroom visits and public lectures, but PSW stands out as the highlight of the year. The partnership with Pacific Science Center brings access to facilities, publicity, and a large audience that would not otherwise be readily available to PSC. Pacific Science Center, constructed for the 1962 World's Fair in Seattle, serves more than one million visitors per year. Pacific Science Center's mission is to inspire a lifelong interest in science, math and technology by engaging diverse communities through interactive and innovative exhibits and programs. PSW helps to advance this mission by bringing students, teachers, and families face-to-face with scientists who work in some of the most remote and challenging places on earth, to learn first-hand about polar research in a fun and informal setting. This is made possible only by the partnership with PSC. In this talk we will present descriptions and photos of PSW

Super Science Connections.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Janice, Ed.

This manual was developed to help K-3 teachers incorporate science and science activities as an integral part of their curricula. It integrates hands-on science activities with other curricular areas, particularly the language arts. The activities include science background information, science process skills, classroom management suggestions,…

Science Standards, Science Achievement, and Attitudes about Evolution

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Belin, Charlie M.; Kisida, Brian

2015-01-01

This article explores the relationships between (a) the quality of state science standards and student science achievement, (b) the public's belief in teaching evolution and the quality of state standards, and (c) the public's belief in teaching evolution and student science achievement. Using multiple measures, we find no evidence of a…

Geospatial Data Science Modeling | Geospatial Data Science | NREL

Science.gov Websites

Geospatial Data Science Modeling Geospatial Data Science Modeling NREL uses geospatial data science modeling to develop innovative models and tools for energy professionals, project developers, and consumers . Photo of researchers inspecting maps on a large display. Geospatial modeling at NREL often produces the

Nature of Science or Nature of the Sciences?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schizas, Dimitrios; Psillos, Dimitris; Stamou, George

2016-01-01

The present essay examines the emerging issue of domain-general versus domain-specific nature of science (NOS) understandings from a perspective that illuminates the value of domain-specific philosophies of science for the growth and development of the NOS educational field. Under the assumption that individual sciences do have their own…

Science, Math, and Technology. K-6 Science Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blueford, J. R.; And Others

Science, Math and Technology is one of the units of a K-6 unified science curriculum program. The unit consists of four organizing sub-themes: (1) science (with activities on observation, comparisons, and the scientific method); (2) technology (examining simple machines, electricity, magnetism, waves and forces); (3) mathematics (addressing skill…

Open Science: a first step towards Science Communication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grigorov, Ivo; Tuddenham, Peter

2015-04-01

As Earth Science communicators gear up to adopt the new tools and captivating approaches to engage citizen scientists, budding entrepreneurs, policy makers and the public in general, researchers have the responsibility, and opportunity, to fully adopt Open Science principles and capitalize on its full societal impact and engagement. Open Science is about removing all barriers to basic research, whatever its formats, so that it can be freely used, re-used and re-hashed, thus fueling discourse and accelerating generation of innovative ideas. The concept is central to EU's Responsible Research and Innovation philosophy, and removing barriers to basic research measurably contributes to engaging citizen scientists into the research process, it sets the scene for co-creation of solutions to societal challenges, and raises the general science literacy level of the public. Despite this potential, only 50% of today's basic research is freely available. Open Science can be the first passive step of communicating marine research outside academia. Full and unrestricted access to our knowledge including data, software code and scientific publications is not just an ethical obligation, but also gives solid credibility to a more sophisticated communication strategy on engaging society. The presentation will demonstrate how Open Science perfectly compliments a coherent communication strategy for placing Marine Research in societal context, and how it underpin an effective integration of Ocean & Earth Literacy principles in standard educational, as well mobilizing citizen marine scientists, thus making marine science Open Science.

Science in Cinema. Teaching Science Fact through Science Fiction Films.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dubeck, Leroy W.; And Others

Many feel that secondary school graduates are not prepared to compete in a world of rapidly expanding technology. High school and college students in the United States often prefer fantasy to science. This book offers a strategy for overcoming student apathy toward the physical sciences by harnessing the power of the cinema. In it, ten popular…

Equity in Informal Science Education: Developing an Access and Equity Framework for Science Museums and Science Centres

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dawson, Emily

2014-01-01

Informal science education (ISE) is a popular pursuit, with millions of people visiting science museums, science centres, zoos, botanic gardens, aquaria, science festivals and more around the world. Questions remain, however, about how accessible and inclusive ISE practices are. This article reviews research on participation in ISE through the…

Challenges in Science.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Staples, Greg; And Others

This publication is a collection of science activities designed to enrich elementary or junior high science curricula. These activities encourage students to investigate facets of life sciences, physical sciences, and earth sciences either with a teacher or independently. The 70 activities have been classified into 10 subareas under these three…

Advancing the Science of Team Science

PubMed Central

Falk‐Krzesinski, Holly J.; Börner, Katy; Contractor, Noshir; Fiore, Stephen M.; Hall, Kara L.; Keyton, Joann; Spring, Bonnie; Stokols, Daniel; Trochim, William; Uzzi, Brian

2010-01-01

Abstract The First Annual International Science of Team Science (SciTS) Conference was held in Chicago, IL April 22–24, 2010. This article presents a summary of the Conference proceedings. Clin Trans Sci 2010; Volume 3: 263–266. PMID:20973925

Citizen science can improve conservation science, natural resource management, and environmental protection

USGS Publications Warehouse

McKinley, Duncan C.; Miller-Rushing, Abe J.; Ballard, Heidi L.; Bonney, Rick; Brown, Hutch; Cook-Patton, Susan; Evans, Daniel M.; French, Rebecca A.; Parrish, Julia; Phillips, Tina B.; Ryan, Sean F.; Shanley, Lea A.; Shirk, Jennifer L.; Stepenuck, Kristine F.; Weltzin, Jake F.; Wiggins, Andrea; Boyle, Owen D.; Briggs, Russell D.; Chapin, Stuart F.; Hewitt, David A.; Preuss, Peter W.; Soukup, Michael A.

2017-01-01

Citizen science has advanced science for hundreds of years, contributed to many peer-reviewed articles, and informed land management decisions and policies across the United States. Over the last 10 years, citizen science has grown immensely in the United States and many other countries. Here, we show how citizen science is a powerful tool for tackling many of the challenges faced in the field of conservation biology. We describe the two interwoven paths by which citizen science can improve conservation efforts, natural resource management, and environmental protection. The first path includes building scientific knowledge, while the other path involves informing policy and encouraging public action. We explore how citizen science is currently used and describe the investments needed to create a citizen science program. We find that:Citizen science already contributes substantially to many domains of science, including conservation, natural resource, and environmental science. Citizen science informs natural resource management, environmental protection, and policymaking and fosters public input and engagement.Many types of projects can benefit from citizen science, but one must be careful to match the needs for science and public involvement with the right type of citizen science project and the right method of public participation.Citizen science is a rigorous process of scientific discovery, indistinguishable from conventional science apart from the participation of volunteers. When properly designed, carried out, and evaluated, citizen science can provide sound science, efficiently generate high-quality data, and help solve problems.

Parents' and children's beliefs about science and science careers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Telfer, Jo Ann

Science has become an essential part of our cultural, social and technological lives. Around the world economic policies are giving high priority to the production of new knowledge generated by scientists. Unfortunately, gender equality in science-related careers has not been achieved. Women who possess high intellectual and personal abilities are succeeding in many occupational areas previously closed to all but the most impervious women, but females are still largely underrepresented in physical science and mathematics related careers. The purpose of the current study was to examine the reasons for this underrepresentation of women in science-related careers. Participants included a subset of mothers (n = 174), fathers (n = 132) and children (n = 186) from a larger study at the University of Calgary entitled Gender Differences in Student Participation and Achievement in the Sciences: Choice or Chance ? Telephone interview and survey questionnaire data were examined for gender and achievement level differences, focusing on high achieving girls who are most likely to succeed in science-related careers. Relationships between parents' and children's responses were also examined using the theoretical construct of Eccles' Model of Achievement Related Choices. Gathered data were studied using factor analysis, multivariate analysis of variance, analysis of variance as well as categorical analysis of qualitative results. Girls and boys achieved similar grades on all academic measures except the Alberta Science Achievement Test, where boys scored significantly higher than girls. Mothers, fathers, and children indicated positive attitudes towards science, no gender stereotyping about science and science careers, and gender neutral beliefs about science achievement. Gender differences were found in expressed possibility of future career choice. Science/Professional Careers were viewed as male occupations by mothers and children, but as gender neutral occupations by fathers

Role Specific Pupil/Science Teacher Interpersonal Compatibility and Science Attitudes.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vargo, Robert A.; Schafer, Larry E.

As science teaching becomes more inquiry oriented, science teachers are interacting more frequently with individual students. With increased interaction, pupil/science teacher interpersonal compatibility most likely contributes significantly to the development of students' science attitudes. The purpose of the present study was to examine the…

Science Film: An Aperture into Science Advocacy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2015-04-01

The current funding environment for scientific research necessitates a change in how we foster support for the endeavor. Federal spending is not likely to grow unless constituents--APS members--help communicate the value of science to members of Congress and the public in a compelling and individual way. The event explores how popular film with science-based plots can help physicists communicate the value of science to members of Congress and an increasingly diverse electorate.

Salvaging Science Literacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Feinstein, Noah

2011-01-01

There is little evidence that the prevailing strategies of science education have an impact on the use and interpretation of science in daily life. Most science educators and science education researchers nonetheless believe that science education is intrinsically useful for students who do not go on to scientific or technical careers. This essay…

Qualitative science policy.

PubMed

Mitcham, Carl

2007-12-01

Qualitative research struggles against a tide of quantitative methods. To assist in this struggle, it is useful to consider the historical and philosophical origins of quantitative methods as well as criticisms that have been raised against them. Although these criticisms have often been restricted to discussions in the philosophy of science, they have become increasingly prominent in debates regarding science policy. This article thus reviews current science policy debates concerning scientific autonomy and the linear model of science-society relationships. Then, having considered the multiple meanings of quality, it argues for a science policy reassessment of quantitative research, for deeper engagements between science policy and the social sciences, and finally, for a more explicit alliance between science policy and qualitative methods.

Factors Influencing Science Content Accuracy in Elementary Inquiry Science Lessons

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nowicki, Barbara L.; Sullivan-Watts, Barbara; Shim, Minsuk K.; Young, Betty; Pockalny, Robert

2013-01-01

Elementary teachers face increasing demands to engage children in authentic science process and argument while simultaneously preparing them with knowledge of science facts, vocabulary, and concepts. This reform is particularly challenging due to concerns that elementary teachers lack adequate science background to teach science accurately. This…

Science Fiction in the Political Science Classroom: A Comment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Landers, Clifford E.

1977-01-01

Science fiction can be used for introducing and analyzing political concepts at the undergraduate level for either a specialized theory-oriented course such as Political Science Fiction or an Introduction to Political Science course. (Author/RM)

JPRS Report Science & Technology, USSR: Science & Technology Policy

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-02-17

Nikolay Ilich Ionov, doctor of physical and mathematical sciences, Mikhail Aleksandrovich Mitstev, Vladimir Ilich Paleyev, candidates of physical...Petrovich Stepa- nov, doctor of chemical sciences, deputy director, Niko- lay Grigoryevich Ilyushchenko, Vladimir Yakovlevich Kudyakov and Mikhail ...Shestakov, USSR Academy of Sciences corre- sponding member, Mikhail Viktorovich Gusev, Andrey Borisovich Rubin and Feliks Fedorovich Litvin

Learning Science and the Science of Learning. Science Educators' Essay Collection.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bybee, Rodger W., Ed.

This yearbook addresses critical issues in science learning and teaching. Contents are divided into four sections: (1) "How Do Students Learn Science?"; (2) "Designing Curriculum for Student Learning"; (3) "Teaching That Enhances Student Learning"; and (4) "Assessing Student Learning." Papers include: (1) "How Students Learn and How Teachers…

Transforming Elementary Science Teacher Education by Bridging Formal and Informal Science Education in an Innovative Science Methods Course

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Riedinger, Kelly; Marbach-Ad, Gili; Randy McGinnis, J.; Hestness, Emily; Pease, Rebecca

2011-02-01

We investigated curricular and pedagogical innovations in an undergraduate science methods course for elementary education majors at the University of Maryland. The goals of the innovative elementary science methods course included: improving students' attitudes toward and views of science and science teaching, to model innovative science teaching methods and to encourage students to continue in teacher education. We redesigned the elementary science methods course to include aspects of informal science education. The informal science education course features included informal science educator guest speakers, a live animal demonstration and a virtual field trip. We compared data from a treatment course ( n = 72) and a comparison course ( n = 26). Data collection included: researchers' observations, instructors' reflections, and teacher candidates' feedback. Teacher candidate feedback involved interviews and results on a reliable and valid Attitudes and Beliefs about the Nature of and the Teaching of Science instrument. We used complementary methods to analyze the data collected. A key finding of the study was that while benefits were found in both types of courses, the difference in results underscores the need of identifying the primary purpose for innovation as a vital component of consideration.

Links and Distinctions among Citizenship, Science, and Citizen Science. A Response to "The Future of Citizen Science"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cooper, Caren B.

2012-01-01

Mueller, Tippins, and Bryan (2012) presented a new conceptualization of citizen science that is meant to facilitate emerging trends in the democratization of science and science education to produce civically engaged students. I review some relevant trends in the field of citizen science, for clarity here referred to as public participation in…

Midwest Science Festival: Exploring Students' and Parents' Participation in and Attitudes Toward Science.

PubMed

Dippel, Elizabeth A; Mechels, Keegan B; Griese, Emily R; Laufmann, Rachel N; Weimer, Jill M

2016-08-01

Compared to national numbers, South Dakota has a higher proportion of students interested in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Interest in science can be influenced by exposure to science through formal and informal learning. Informal science activities (including exposures and participation) have been found to elicit higher levels of interest in science, likely impacting one's attitude towards science overall. The current study goal is to better understand the levels and relationships of attitude, exposure, and participation in science that were present among students and parents attending a free science festival. The project collected survey data from 65 students and 79 parents attending a science festival ranging from age 6 to 65. Informal science participation is significantly related to science attitudes in students and informal science exposure is not. No relationship was found for parents between science attitudes and participation. Students who indicated high levels of informal science participation (i.e., reading science-themed books) were positively related to their attitudes regarding science. However, informal science exposures, such as attending the zoo or independently visiting a science lab, was not significantly associated with positive attitudes towards science.

Science as a Second Language: Acquiring Fluency through Science Enterprises

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shope, R. E.

2012-12-01

Science Enterprises are problems that students genuinely want to solve, questions that students genuinely want to answer, that naturally entail reading, writing, exploration, investigation, and discussion. Engaging students in personally-relevant science enterprises provides both a diagnostic opportunity and a context for providing students the comprehensible input they need. We can differentiate instruction by creating science enterprise zones that are set up for the incremental increase in challenge for the students. Comprehensible input makes reachable, those just-out-of-reach concepts in the mix of the familiar and the new. We explore a series of science enterprise tools that have been developed and implemented in the context of informal science education projects that have reached over 10,000 urban youth in the Greater Los Angles area over the past six years. 1) The ED3U Science Inquiry Model, a learning cycle model that accounts for conceptual change; 2) The ¿NQUIRY Wheel, a compass of scientific inquiry strategies; 3) Inquiry Science Expeditions, a way of laying out a science learning environment, emulating a field and lab research collaboratory; 4) The Science Educative Experience Scale, a diagnostic measure of the quality of the science learning experience; and 5) Science Mimes, participatory enactment of science understanding. Practical examples of Science Enterprises will be presented, including a range of projects: Watershed Ecology; Astrobiology; Mars Rovers; Planetary Science; Icy Worlds. BACKGROUND: Language Acquisition is an informal process that occurs in the midst of exploring, solving problems, seeking answers to questions, playing, reading for pleasure, conversing, discussing, where the focus is not specifically on language development, but on the activity, which is of interest to the participant. Language Learning is a formal education process, the language arts aspect of the school day: the direct teaching of reading, writing, grammar

Life sciences flight experiments program mission science requirements document. The first life sciences dedicated Spacelab mission, part 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rummel, J. A.

1982-01-01

The Mission Science Requirements Document (MSRD) for the First Dedicated Life Sciences Mission (LS-1) represents the culmination of thousands of hours of experiment selection, and science requirement definition activities. NASA life sciences has never before attempted to integrate, both scientifically and operationally, a single mission dedicated to life sciences research, and the complexity of the planning required for such an endeavor should be apparent. This set of requirements completes the first phase of a continual process which will attempt to optimize (within available programmatic and mission resources) the science accomplished on this mission.

Home culture, science, school and science learning: is reconciliation possible?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tan, Aik-Ling

2011-09-01

In response to Meyer and Crawford's article on how nature of science and authentic science inquiry strategies can be used to support the learning of science for underrepresented students, I explore the possibly of reconciliation between the cultures of school, science, school science as well as home. Such reconciliation is only possible when science teachers are cognizant of the factors affecting the cultural values and belief systems of underrepresented students. Using my experience as an Asian learner of WMS, I suggest that open and honest dialogues in science classrooms will allow for greater clarity of the ideals that WMS profess and cultural beliefs of underrepresented students. This in-depth understanding will eliminate guesswork and unrealistic expectations and in the process promote tolerance and acceptance of diversity in ways of knowing.

The Presentation of Science in Everyday Life: The Science Show

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Watermeyer, Richard

2013-01-01

This paper constitutes a case-study of the "science show" model of public engagement employed by a company of science communicators focused on the popularization of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subject disciplines with learner constituencies. It examines the potential of the science show to foster the interest…

Science First.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Strycker, Jan Adkins

1995-01-01

Describes a teacher's efforts to put science first in the classroom. Discusses changing the place of science on the schedule and presents an activity to engage student interest. Concludes that a difference in teacher attitude towards science motivates students to learn. (NB)

Turkish Pre-Service Science Teachers' Views on Science-Technology-Society Issues

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yalvac, Bugrahan; Tekkaya, Ceren; Cakiroglu, Jale; Kahyaoglu, Elvan

2007-01-01

The international science education community recognises the role of pre-service science teachers' views about the interdependence of Science, Technology, and Society (STS) in achieving scientific literacy for all. To this end, pre-service science teachers' STS views signal the strengths and the weaknesses of science education reform movements.…

Science Anxiety, Science Attitudes, and Gender: Interviews from a Binational Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mallow, Jeffry; Kastrup, Helge; Bryant, Fred B.; Hislop, Nelda; Shefner, Rachel; Udo, Maria

2010-01-01

We conducted interviews with eleven groups of Danish and American students. The interview topics included gender and national components of science education, science anxiety, and attitudes toward science. The groups were science and nonscience students at the upper secondary and university levels, and one group of American science teachers who…

Science 101: What Constitutes a Good Science Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robertson, Bill

2016-01-01

Having written columns dealing with science fairs before, Bill Robertson notes that it's been a long time since he has tackled the subject of what passes for a "science fair" in schools these days. Because science fairs have changed over the years, Robertson revisits the topic and explains the scientific method. The main focus of the…

Science Lives: Women and Minorities in the Sciences.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Minnesota Univ., Minneapolis. KUOM Radio.

This pamphlet and accompanying brochure of the same title describe a radio series of 13 half hour programs on the participation of women and minorities in science in the United States. The series attempts to make the public aware of the crisis in the sciences and science education and provides role models for young people, particularly young women…

Constructivism in Science and Science Education: A Philosophical Critique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nola, Robert

This paper argues that constructivist science education works with an unsatisfactory account of knowledge which affects both its account of the nature of science and of science education. The paper begins with a brief survey of realism and anti-realism in science and the varieties of constructivism that can be found. In the second section the important conception of knowledge and teaching that Plato develops in the Meno is contrasted with constructivism. The section ends with an account of the contribution that Vico (as understood by constructivists), Kant and Piaget have made to constructivist doctrines. Section three is devoted to a critique of the theory of knowledge and the anti-realism of von Glaserfeld. The final section considers the connection, or lack of it, between the constructivist view of science and knowledge and the teaching of science.

Global Patterns in Students' Views of Science and Interest in Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Griethuijsen, Ralf A. L. F.; van Eijck, Michiel W.; Haste, Helen; den Brok, Perry J.; Skinner, Nigel C.; Mansour, Nasser; Savran Gencer, Ayse; BouJaoude, Saouma

2015-08-01

International studies have shown that interest in science and technology among primary and secondary school students in Western European countries is low and seems to be decreasing. In many countries outside Europe, and especially in developing countries, interest in science and technology remains strong. As part of the large-scale European Union funded `Science Education for Diversity' project, a questionnaire probing potential reasons for this difference was completed by students in the UK, Netherlands, Turkey, Lebanon, India and Malaysia. This questionnaire sought information about favourite courses, extracurricular activities and views on the nature of science. Over 9,000 students aged mainly between 10 and 14 years completed the questionnaire. Results revealed that students in countries outside Western Europe showed a greater interest in school science, in careers related to science and in extracurricular activities related to science than did Western European students. Non-European students were also more likely to hold an empiricist view of the nature of science and to believe that science can solve many problems faced by the world. Multilevel analysis revealed a strong correlation between interest in science and having such a view of the Nature of Science.

Teaching Science as Science Is Practiced: Opportunities and Limits for Enhancing Preservice Elementary Teachers' Self-Efficacy for Science and Science Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Avery, Leanne M.; Meyer, Daniel Z.

2012-01-01

Science teaching in elementary schools, or the lack thereof, continues to be an area of concern and criticism. Preservice elementary teachers' lack of confidence in teaching science is a major part of this problem. In this mixed-methods study, we report the impacts of an inquiry-based science course on preservice elementary teachers' self-efficacy…

Online citizen science games: Opportunities for the biological sciences.

PubMed

Curtis, Vickie

2014-12-01

Recent developments in digital technologies and the rise of the Internet have created new opportunities for citizen science. One of these has been the development of online citizen science games where complex research problems have been re-imagined as online multiplayer computer games. Some of the most successful examples of these can be found within the biological sciences, for example, Foldit, Phylo and EteRNA. These games offer scientists the opportunity to crowdsource research problems, and to engage with those outside the research community. Games also enable those without a background in science to make a valid contribution to research, and may also offer opportunities for informal science learning.

Science, Pseudo-Science, and Natural Theology.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ferre, Frederick

1983-01-01

Religions are unfalsifiable in the short run but open to long-term influence by science. Conversely, scientists sometimes extend their findings to mythic proportions. The struggle between evolutionary science and pseudo-scientific creationism rests on tensions resulting at this interface. Good education and social fairness require greater…

Science Theater as an Interpretive Technique in a Science Museum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Black, Dana Riley; Goldowsky, Alexander

This paper investigates high school students' reactions to the science theater play "Mapping the Soul," which was developed by the Museum of Science in Boston, Massachusetts. Science theater is both an educational technique and a type of museum theater. This study explores these questions: (1) Do students differentiate learning science from…

Taking the Lead in Science Education: Forging Next-Generation Science Standards. International Science Benchmarking Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Achieve, Inc., 2010

2010-01-01

In response to concerns over the need for a scientifically literate workforce, increasing the STEM pipeline, and aging science standards documents, the scientific and science education communities are embarking on the development of a new conceptual framework for science, led by the National Research Council (NRC), and aligned next generation…

Moving the Science of Team Science Forward: Collaboration and Creativity

PubMed Central

Hall, Kara L.; Feng, Annie X.; Moser, Richard P.; Stokols, Daniel; Taylor, Brandie K.

2012-01-01

Teams of scientists representing diverse disciplines are often brought together for purposes of better understanding and, ultimately, resolving urgent public health and environmental problems. Likewise, the emerging field of the science of team science draws on diverse disciplinary perspectives to better understand and enhance the processes and outcomes of scientific collaboration. In this supplement to the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, leading scholars in the nascent field of team science have come together with a common goal of advancing the field with new models, methods, and measures. This summary article highlights key themes reflected in the supplement and identifies several promising directions for future research organized around the following broad challenges: (1) operationalizing cross-disciplinary team science and training more clearly; (2) conceptualizing the multiple dimensions of readiness for team science; (3) ensuring the sustainability of transdisciplinary team science; (4) developing more effective models and strategies for training transdisciplinary scientists; (5) creating and validating improved models, methods, and measures for evaluating team science; and (6) fostering transdisciplinary cross-sector partnerships. A call to action is made to leaders from the research, funding, and practice sectors to embrace strategies of creativity and innovation in a collective effort to move the field forward, which may not only advance the science of team science but, ultimately, public health science and practice. PMID:18619406

Studying Students' Science Literacy: Non-Scientific Beliefs and Science Literacy Measures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Impey, C.; Buxner, S.

2015-11-01

We have been conducting a study of university students' science literacy for the past 24 years. Based on the work of the National Science Board's ongoing national survey of the US public, we have administered the same survey to undergraduate science students at the University of Arizona almost every year since 1989. Results have shown relatively little change in students' overall science literacy, descriptions of science, and knowledge of basic science topics for almost a quarter of a century despite an increase in education interventions, the rise of the internet, and increased access to knowledge. Several trends do exist in students' science literacy and descriptions of science. Students who exhibit beliefs in non-scientific phenomenon (e.g., lucky numbers, creationism) consistently have lower science literacy scores and less correct descriptions of scientific phenomenon. Although not surprising, our results support ongoing efforts to help students generate evidence based thinking.

COMETS Science. Career Oriented Modules to Explore Topics in Science.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Walter S.; And Others

COMETS Science (Career Oriented Modules to Explore Topics in Science) was developed to demonstrate to early adolescents that learning mathematics and science concepts can have payoff in a wide variety of careers and to encourage early adolescent students (grades 5-9), especially girls, to consider science-related careers. The program provides 24…

Science and Community Engagement: Connecting Science Students with the Community

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lancor, Rachael; Schiebel, Amy

2018-01-01

In this article we describe a course on science outreach that was developed as part of our college's goal that all students participate in a meaningful community engagement experience. The Science & Community Engagement course provides a way for students with science or science-related majors to learn how to effectively communicate scientific…

Science News Stories as Boundary Objects Affecting Engagement with Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Polman, Joseph L.; Hope, Jennifer M. G.

2014-01-01

This paper explores how participating in a program spanning an informal science institution and multiple school sites engaged youth with science in a different way. In particular, teens in the program selected and researched science topics of personal interest, and then authored, revised, and published science news stories about those topics in an…

Science of learning is learning of science: why we need a dialectical approach to science education research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roth, Wolff-Michael

2012-06-01

Research on learning science in informal settings and the formal (sometimes experimental) study of learning in classrooms or psychological laboratories tend to be separate domains, even drawing on different theories and methods. These differences make it difficult to compare knowing and learning observed in one paradigm/context with those observed in the other. Even more interestingly, the scientists studying science learning rarely consider their own learning in relation to the phenomena they study. A dialectical, reflexive approach to learning, however, would theorize the movement of an educational science (its learning and development) as a special and general case—subject matter and method—of the phenomenon of learning (in/of) science. In the dialectical approach to the study of science learning, therefore, subject matter, method, and theory fall together. This allows for a perspective in which not only disparate fields of study—school science learning and learning in everyday life—are integrated but also where the progress in the science of science learning coincides with its topic. Following the articulation of a contradictory situation on comparing learning in different settings, I describe the dialectical approach. As a way of providing a concrete example, I then trace the historical movement of my own research group as it simultaneously and alternately studied science learning in formal and informal settings. I conclude by recommending cultural-historical, dialectical approaches to learning and interaction analysis as a context for fruitful interdisciplinary research on science learning within and across different settings.

Review of the Draft 2014 Science Mission Directorate Science Plan

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2013-01-01

At the request of NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD), the National Research Council's (NRC's) Space Studies Board (SSB) initiated a study to review a draft of the SMD's 2014 Science Plan. The request for this review was made at a time when NASA is engaged in the final stages of a comprehensive, agency-wide effort to develop a new strategic plan and at a time when NASA's budget is under considerable stress. SMD's Science Plan serves to provide more detail on its four traditional science disciplines-astronomy and astrophysics, solar and space physics (also called heliophysics), planetary science, and Earth remote sensing and related activities-than is possible in the agency-wide Strategic Plan. In conducting its review of the draft Science Plan, the Committee on the Assessment of the NASA Science Mission Directorate 2014 Science Plan was charged to comment on the following specific areas: (1) Responsiveness to the NRC's guidance on key science issues and opportunities in recent NRC reports; (2) Attention to interdisciplinary aspects and overall scientific balance; (3) Identification and exposition of important opportunities for partnerships as well as education and public outreach; (4) Integration of technology development with the science program; (5) Clarity on how the plan aligns with SMD's strategic planning process; (6) General readability and clarity of presentation; and (7) Other relevant issues as determined by the committee. The main body of the report provides detailed findings and recommendations relating to the draft Science Plan. The highest-level, crosscutting issues are summarized here, and more detail is available in the main body of the report.

The Science of Sex Differences in Science and Mathematics

PubMed Central

Halpern, Diane F.; Benbow, Camilla P.; Geary, David C.; Gur, Ruben C.; Hyde, Janet Shibley; Gernsbacher, Morton Ann

2014-01-01

Summary Amid ongoing public speculation about the reasons for sex differences in careers in science and mathematics, we present a consensus statement that is based on the best available scientific evidence. Sex differences in science and math achievement and ability are smaller for the mid-range of the abilities distribution than they are for those with the highest levels of achievement and ability. Males are more variable on most measures of quantitative and visuospatial ability, which necessarily results in more males at both high- and low-ability extremes; the reasons why males are often more variable remain elusive. Successful careers in math and science require many types of cognitive abilities. Females tend to excel in verbal abilities, with large differences between females and males found when assessments include writing samples. High-level achievement in science and math requires the ability to communicate effectively and comprehend abstract ideas, so the female advantage in writing should be helpful in all academic domains. Males outperform females on most measures of visuospatial abilities, which have been implicated as contributing to sex differences on standardized exams in mathematics and science. An evolutionary account of sex differences in mathematics and science supports the conclusion that, although sex differences in math and science performance have not directly evolved, they could be indirectly related to differences in interests and specific brain and cognitive systems. We review the brain basis for sex differences in science and mathematics, describe consistent effects, and identify numerous possible correlates. Experience alters brain structures and functioning, so causal statements about brain differences and success in math and science are circular. A wide range of sociocultural forces contribute to sex differences in mathematics and science achievement and ability—including the effects of family, neighborhood, peer, and school

Plans of Mice and Men: From Bench Science to Science Policy

PubMed Central

Simon, Ian D.

2011-01-01

The transition from bench science to science policy is not always a smooth one, and my journey stretched as far as the unemployment line to the hallowed halls of the U.S. Capitol. While earning my doctorate in microbiology, I found myself more interested in my political activities than my experiments. Thus, my science policy career aspirations were born from merging my love of science with my interest in policy and politics. After receiving my doctorate, I accepted the Henry Luce Scholarship, which allowed me to live in South Korea for 1 year and delve into the field of science policy research. This introduction into science policy occurred at the South Korean think tank called the Science and Technology Policy Institute (STEPI). During that year, I used textbooks, colleagues, and hands-on research projects as my educational introduction into the social science of science and technology decision-making. However, upon returning to the United States during one of the worst job markets in nearly 80 years, securing a position in science policy proved to be very difficult, and I was unemployed for five months. Ultimately, it took more than a year from the end of the Luce Scholarship to obtain my next science policy position with the American Society for Microbiology Congressional Fellowship. This fellowship gave me the opportunity to work as the science and public health advisor to U.S. Senator Harry Reid. While there were significant challenges during my transition from the laboratory to science policy, those challenges made me tougher, more appreciative, and more prepared to move from working at the bench to working in the field of science policy. PMID:21966041

Plans of mice and men: from bench science to science policy.

PubMed

Simon, Ian D

2011-09-01

The transition from bench science to science policy is not always a smooth one, and my journey stretched as far as the unemployment line to the hallowed halls of the U.S. Capitol. While earning my doctorate in microbiology, I found myself more interested in my political activities than my experiments. Thus, my science policy career aspirations were born from merging my love of science with my interest in policy and politics. After receiving my doctorate, I accepted the Henry Luce Scholarship, which allowed me to live in South Korea for 1 year and delve into the field of science policy research. This introduction into science policy occurred at the South Korean think tank called the Science and Technology Policy Institute (STEPI). During that year, I used textbooks, colleagues, and hands-on research projects as my educational introduction into the social science of science and technology decision-making. However, upon returning to the United States during one of the worst job markets in nearly 80 years, securing a position in science policy proved to be very difficult, and I was unemployed for five months. Ultimately, it took more than a year from the end of the Luce Scholarship to obtain my next science policy position with the American Society for Microbiology Congressional Fellowship. This fellowship gave me the opportunity to work as the science and public health advisor to U.S. Senator Harry Reid. While there were significant challenges during my transition from the laboratory to science policy, those challenges made me tougher, more appreciative, and more prepared to move from working at the bench to working in the field of science policy. Copyright © 2011.

Bridging Science and Policy: The AGU Science Policy Conference

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hankin, E. R.; Uhlenbrock, K.; Landau, E. A.

2013-12-01

In recent years, science has become inextricably linked to the political process. As such, it is more important now than ever for science to forge a better relationship with politics, for the health of both science and society. To help meet this need, the American Geophysical Union (AGU) strives to engage its members, shape policy, and inform society about the excitement of Earth and space science and its role in developing solutions for the sustainability of the planet. In June 2013, AGU held its second annual Science Policy Conference in Washington, D.C. The goal of the conference is to provide a new forum for diverse discussions and viewpoints on the challenges and opportunities of science policy, with a focus on applications of Earth and space science that serve local, national, and international communities. The meeting brought together more than 300 scientists, policy makers, industry professionals, members of the press, and other stakeholders to discuss the topics concerning the Arctic, climate change, oceans, energy, technology and infrastructure, and natural hazards science as they relate to challenges impacting society. Sessions such as 'The Water-Energy Nexus,' 'Potential for Megadisasters,' 'The Changing Ocean and Impacts on Human Health,' and 'Drowning and Drought: Agricultural Impacts of Climate Change' are examples of some of the intriguing and timely science policy issues addressed at the conference. The findings from the conference were used to develop a summary report. The report highlights key facts and figures to be used as a resource in discussions with policy makers and other stakeholders regarding the conference topics. This presentation will discuss the goals and outcomes of the conference and how the event represents one of the many ways AGU is approaching its 'Science and Society' priority objective as part of the Union's strategic plan; namely by increasing the effectiveness and recognition of AGU among policy makers as an authoritative

The Next Generation Science Standards: A Focus on Physical Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krajcik, Joe

2013-01-01

This article describes ways to adapt U.S. science curriculum to the U.S. National Research Council (NRC) "Framework for K-12 Science Education" and "Next Generation of Science Standards" (NGSS), noting their focus on teaching the physical sciences. The overall goal of the Framework and NGSS is to help all learners develop the…

Science-Technology-Society (STS): A New Paradigm in Science Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mansour, Nasser

2009-01-01

Changes in the past two decades of goals for science education in schools have induced new orientations in science education worldwide. One of the emerging complementary approaches was the science-technology-society (STS) movement. STS has been called the current megatrend in science education. Others have called it a paradigm shift for the field…

Congressional Science Fellow tackles science policy for U.K.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moses, Julie J.

After an AGU Congressional Science Fellowship in 1997-1998,I decided to pursue science policy further. I spied an ad in the Sunday Washington Post advertising for someone with a science degree, who also had knowledge of the United Kingdom, and science policy experience on Capitol Hill. In addition to my Ph.D. from the University of California at Los Angeles and the Congressional Science Fellowship, I had spent two years in the U.K. as a post-doc at Queen Mary and Westfield College in London.I applied for the job, which was at the British Embassy in Washington, D.C., and was hired. The UK Foreign Office has a tradition of hiring many of its embassy staff locally; they consider knowledge of local politics and issues very use ful for their interests. Now I cover hard science issues, including space and the Internet for Her Majesty's Government.

Collaborative, Data-Intensive Science Key to Science & Commerce Challenges

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kleese van Dam, Kerstin

2013-05-28

This article coincides with the release of "Data-Intensive Science," co-edited by Dr. Kerstin Kleese van Dam. In the piece, Dr. Kleese van Dam explains how data-intensive science has the potential to transform not only how we do science but how quickly we can translate scientific progress into complete solutions, policies, decisions and, ultimately, economic success. In the article, she states it is clear that nations that can most effectively transform tons of scientific data into actionable knowledge are going to be the leaders in the future of science and commerce and how creating the required new insights for complex challengesmore » cannot be done without effective collaboration. Because many science domains already are unable to explore all of the data they collect (or which is relevant to their research), progress in collaborative, data-intensive science is crucial toward unlocking the potential of big data.« less

Big Science, Team Science, and Open Science for Neuroscience.

PubMed

Koch, Christof; Jones, Allan

2016-11-02

The Allen Institute for Brain Science is a non-profit private institution dedicated to basic brain science with an internal organization more commonly found in large physics projects-large teams generating complete, accurate and permanent resources for the mouse and human brain. It can also be viewed as an experiment in the sociology of neuroscience. We here describe some of the singular differences to more academic, PI-focused institutions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Turkish Preservice Elementary Science Teachers' Conceptions of Learning Science and Science Teaching Efficacy Beliefs: Is There a Relationship?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bahcivan, Eralp; Kapucu, Serkan

2014-01-01

This study has been conducted to investigate conceptions of learning science (COLS) and personal science teaching efficacy belief (PSTE) of Turkish preservice elementary science teachers (PSTs) and to explore the relationship between these variables. Two instruments COLS questionnaire and PSTE subscale of Science Teaching Efficacy Beliefs…

The Behavioral and Social Sciences Survey: Mathematical Sciences and Social Sciences.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kruskal, William, Ed.

This book, one of a series prepared in connection with the Behavioral and Social Sciences Survey (BASS) conducted between 1967 and 1969, deals with problems of statistics, mathematics, and computation as they related to the social sciences. Chapter 1 shows how these subjects help in their own ways for studying learning behavior with irregular…

Making Philosophy of Science Education Practical for Science Teachers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Janssen, F. J. J. M.; van Berkel, B.

2015-04-01

Philosophy of science education can play a vital role in the preparation and professional development of science teachers. In order to fulfill this role a philosophy of science education should be made practical for teachers. First, multiple and inherently incomplete philosophies on the teacher and teaching on what, how and why should be integrated. In this paper we describe our philosophy of science education (ASSET approach) which is composed of bounded rationalism as a guideline for understanding teachers' practical reasoning, liberal education underlying the why of teaching, scientific perspectivism as guideline for the what and educational social constructivism as guiding choices about the how of science education. Integration of multiple philosophies into a coherent philosophy of science education is necessary but not sufficient to make it practical for teachers. Philosophies are still formulated at a too abstract level to guide teachers' practical reasoning. For this purpose, a heuristic model must be developed on an intermediate level of abstraction that will provide teachers with a bridge between these abstract ideas and their specific teaching situation. We have developed and validated such a heuristic model, the CLASS model in order to complement our ASSET approach. We illustrate how science teachers use the ASSET approach and the CLASS model to make choices about the what, the how and the why of science teaching.

A call for more science in forensic science.

PubMed

Bell, Suzanne; Sah, Sunita; Albright, Thomas D; Gates, S James; Denton, M Bonner; Casadevall, Arturo

2018-05-01

Forensic science is critical to the administration of justice. The discipline of forensic science is remarkably complex and includes methodologies ranging from DNA analysis to chemical composition to pattern recognition. Many forensic practices developed under the auspices of law enforcement and were vetted primarily by the legal system rather than being subjected to scientific scrutiny and empirical testing. Beginning in the 1990s, exonerations based on DNA-related methods revealed problems with some forensic disciplines, leading to calls for major reforms. This process generated a National Academy of Science report in 2009 that was highly critical of many forensic practices and eventually led to the establishment of the National Commission for Forensic Science (NCFS) in 2013. The NCFS was a deliberative body that catalyzed communication between nonforensic scientists, forensic scientists, and other stakeholders in the legal community. In 2017, despite continuing problems with forensic science, the Department of Justice terminated the NCFS. Just when forensic science needs the most support, it is getting the least. We urge the larger scientific community to come to the aid of our forensic colleagues by advocating for urgently needed research, testing, and financial support.

Science in an Indigenous School: Insight into Teacher Beliefs about Science Inquiry and Their Development as Science Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rofe, Craig; Moeed, Azra; Anderson, Dayle; Bartholomew, Rex

2016-01-01

School science aspires for students to develop conceptual, procedural and nature of science understandings as well as developing scientific literacy. Issues and complexities surrounding the development of science curriculum for Indigenous schools in New Zealand is a concern as little is known about these aspects of science learning in…

Understandings of Nature of Science and Multiple Perspective Evaluation of Science News by Non-science Majors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leung, Jessica Shuk Ching; Wong, Alice Siu Ling; Yung, Benny Hin Wai

2015-10-01

Understandings of nature of science (NOS) are a core component of scientific literacy, and a scientifically literate populace is expected to be able to critically evaluate science in the media. While evidence has remained inconclusive on whether better NOS understandings will lead to critical evaluation of science in the media, this study aimed at examining the correlation therein. Thirty-eight non-science majors, enrolled in a science course for non-specialists held in a local community college, evaluated three health news articles by rating the extent to which they agreed with the reported claims and providing as many justifications as possible. The majority of the participants were able to evaluate and justify their viewpoint from multiple perspectives. Students' evaluation was compared with their NOS conceptions, including the social and cultural embedded NOS, the tentative NOS, the peer review process and the community of practice. Results indicated that participants' understanding of the tentative NOS was significantly correlated with multiple perspective evaluation of science news reports of socioscientific nature (r = 0.434, p < 0.05). This moderate correlation suggested the association between understanding of the tentative NOS and multiple perspective evaluation of science in the media of socioscientific nature. However, the null result for other target NOS aspects in this study suggested a lack of evidence to assume that understanding the social dimensions of science would have significant influence on the evaluation of science in the media. Future research on identifying the reasons for why and why not NOS understandings are applied in the evaluation will move this field forward.

Sports-science roundtable: does sports-science research influence practice?

PubMed

Bishop, David; Burnett, Angus; Farrow, Damian; Gabbett, Tim; Newton, Robert

2006-06-01

As sports scientists, we claim to make a significant contribution to the body of knowledge that influences athletic practice and performance. Is this the reality? At the inaugural congress of the Australian Association for Exercise and Sports Science, a panel of well-credentialed academic experts with experience in the applied environment debated the question, Does sports-science research influence practice? The first task was to define "sports-science research," and it was generally agreed that it is concerned with providing evidence that improves sports performance. When practices are equally effective, sports scientists also have a role in identifying practices that are safer, more time efficient, and more enjoyable. There were varying views on the need for sports-science research to be immediately relevant to coaches or athletes. Most agreed on the importance of communicating the results of sports-science research, not only to the academic community but also to coaches and athletes, and the need to encourage both short- and long-term research. The panelists then listed examples of sports-science research that they believe have influenced practice, as well as strategies to ensure that sports-science research better influences practice.

Senior High School Earth Sciences and Marine Sciences.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hackenberg, Mary; And Others

This guide was developed for earth sciences and marine sciences instruction in the senior high schools of Duval County, Jacksonville, Florida. The subjects covered are: (1) Earth Science for 10th, 11th, and 12th graders; (2) Marine Biology I for 10th, 11th, and 12th graders; (3) Marine Biology II, Advanced, for 11th and 12th graders; (4) Marine…

U-Science (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borne, K. D.

2009-12-01

The emergence of e-Science over the past decade as a paradigm for Internet-based science was an inevitable evolution of science that built upon the web protocols and access patterns that were prevalent at that time, including Web Services, XML-based information exchange, machine-to-machine communication, service registries, the Grid, and distributed data. We now see a major shift in web behavior patterns to social networks, user-provided content (e.g., tags and annotations), ubiquitous devices, user-centric experiences, and user-led activities. The inevitable accrual of these social networking patterns and protocols by scientists and science projects leads to U-Science as a new paradigm for online scientific research (i.e., ubiquitous, user-led, untethered, You-centered science). U-Science applications include components from semantic e-science (ontologies, taxonomies, folksonomies, tagging, annotations, and classification systems), which is much more than Web 2.0-based science (Wikis, blogs, and online environments like Second Life). Among the best examples of U-Science are Citizen Science projects, including Galaxy Zoo, Stardust@Home, Project Budburst, Volksdata, CoCoRaHS (the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow network), and projects utilizing Volunteer Geographic Information (VGI). There are also scientist-led projects for scientists that engage a wider community in building knowledge through user-provided content. Among the semantic-based U-Science projects for scientists are those that specifically enable user-based annotation of scientific results in databases. These include the Heliophysics Knowledgebase, BioDAS, WikiProteins, The Entity Describer, and eventually AstroDAS. Such collaborative tagging of scientific data addresses several petascale data challenges for scientists: how to find the most relevant data, how to reuse those data, how to integrate data from multiple sources, how to mine and discover new knowledge in large databases, how to

Science & Engineering Indicators. National Science Board. NSB 14-01

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Science Foundation, 2014

2014-01-01

The "Science and Engineering Indicators" series was designed to provide a broad base of quantitative information about U.S. science, engineering, and technology for use by policymakers, researchers, and the general public. "Science and Engineering Indicators 2014" contains analyses of key aspects of the scope, quality, and…

Making the Science Literacy Connection: After-School Science Clubs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moore-Hart, Margaret A.; Liggit, Peggy; Daisey, Peggy

2004-01-01

Children make discoveries spontaneously while participating in hands-on science learning experiences. The students in this study were attending an after-school science program that was organized around authentic literacy activities and hands-on science learning experiences related to the theme of wetlands. Literacy connections formed natural…

Science Anxiety, Science Attitudes, and Constructivism: A Binational Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bryant, Fred B.; Kastrup, Helge; Udo, Maria; Hislop, Nelda; Shefner, Rachel; Mallow, Jeffry

2013-01-01

Students' attitudes and anxieties about science were measured by responses to two self-report questionnaires. The cohorts were Danish and American students at the upper secondary- and university-levels. Relationships between and among science attitudes, science anxiety, gender, and nationality were examined. Particular attention was paid to…

From learning science to teaching science: What transfers?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harlow, Danielle Boyd

As educational researchers and teacher educators, we have the responsibility to help teachers gain the skills and knowledge necessary to provide meaningful learning activities for their students. For elementary school science, this means helping teachers create situations in which children can participate in the practices associated with scientific inquiry. Through the framework of transfer I investigated how a professional development course based on an inquiry-based physics curriculum influenced five elementary teachers teaching practices and identified the factors that led to or hindered this transfer. In this study, evidence of transfer consisted of episodes where the teachers used the ideas learned in the physics course to solve new problems such as transforming activities to be appropriate for their students and responding to unexpected students' ideas. The findings of this study highlight the many different ways that teachers use what they learn in content courses to teach science to elementary children. While some teachers transferred pedagogical practices along with the content, others transformed the content to be useful in already existing pedagogical frameworks, and still others show little or no evidence of transfer. What the teachers transferred depended upon their existing teaching context as well as their prior ideas about teaching science and physics content. Specifically, the findings of this study suggest that the teachers transferred only what they sought from the course. One implication of this study is that the sort of science training we provide teachers can affect far more than just the teachers' conceptual understanding of science and performance on written conceptual exams. Science courses have the potential to impact the sort of science education that K-5 children receive in elementary classrooms in terms of the topics taught but the way that science is represented. An additional implication is that teaching science to teachers in ways

Putting Science into Elementary Science Fairs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Russell, Helen Ross

In a world where science has become too confined to books and too reliant on technology, and science fairs have been taken over by parents, this paper offers suggestions to help young people have actual hands-on experience with nature. Topics include soil formation; ants; earthworms; temperature; weather predictions; rain acidity; physical science…

Science as Content, Science as Context: Working in the Science Department

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wildy, Helen; Wallace, John

2004-01-01

In this study we explored how the science department shaped the relationship between a science department head, Mr Greg, and a teacher, Ms Horton, as they grappled with their expectations of, and responsibilities for, teaching and leadership in the daily life in the department. We found that, from their life histories and their positions in the…

How does a Next Generation Science Standard Aligned, Inquiry Based, Science Unit Impact Student Achievement of Science Practices and Student Science Efficacy in an Elementary Classroom?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whittington, Kayla Lee

This study examined the impact of an inquiry based Next Generation Science Standard aligned science unit on elementary students' understanding and application of the eight Science and Engineering Practices and their relation in building student problem solving skills. The study involved 44 second grade students and three participating classroom teachers. The treatment consisted of a school district developed Second Grade Earth Science unit: What is happening to our playground? that was taught at the beginning of the school year. Quantitative results from a Likert type scale pre and post survey and from student content knowledge assessments showed growth in student belief of their own abilities in the science classroom. Qualitative data gathered from student observations and interviews performed at the conclusion of the Earth Science unit further show gains in student understanding and attitudes. This study adds to the existing literature on the importance of standard aligned, inquiry based science curriculum that provides time for students to engage in science practices.

Engaging a Rural Community with Science through a Science Café

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adams, P. E.

2012-12-01

Public awareness about science and science issues is often lacking in the general community; in a rural community there are even fewer options for an interested person to engage with others on science topics. One approach to address this issue is through the use of the Science Café model of citizen science at the local level. The Science Café concept, for the United States, originated in Boston (http://www.sciencecafes.org/). Science Café events are held in informal settings, such as restaurants, pubs, or coffee houses with presentations being provided by experts on the subject. The format is designed to promote discussion and questions. Fort Hays State University Science and Mathematics Institute (SMEI), located in Hays, KS, is now in its fifth year of hosting a science café in a community of 20,000 people. The program in Hays started as a grassroots effort from an area high school teacher asking SMEI to organize and support the program. Attendance at the Science Café has range from 14 to 75 people (fire code capacity!), with an average attendance of 30 people. The audience for our Science Café has been citizens, college students, high school students, and university faculty. The presenters at the Hays Science Café have ranged from scientists to engineers, high school students to hobbyists. Our topics have ranged from searching for life in the universe, wind energy, paleo-life in Kansas, climate change, honey bees, and planetary science. The program has developed a strong following in the community and has led to the formation of additional Science Café programs in Kansas. Selection of topics is based on community interest and timeliness. Publicity occurs through posters, e-mail, and social media outlets. Participants have found the sessions to be of interest and a place to learn more about the world and become informed about issues in the news. The Science Café in Hays has had a positive impact on the community.

Emerging areas of science: Recommendations for Nursing Science Education from the Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science Idea Festival.

PubMed

Henly, Susan J; McCarthy, Donna O; Wyman, Jean F; Heitkemper, Margaret M; Redeker, Nancy S; Titler, Marita G; McCarthy, Ann Marie; Stone, Patricia W; Moore, Shirley M; Alt-White, Anna C; Conley, Yvette P; Dunbar-Jacob, Jacqueline

2015-01-01

The Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science aims to "facilitate and recognize life-long nursing science career development" as an important part of its mission. In light of fast-paced advances in science and technology that are inspiring new questions and methods of investigation in the health sciences, the Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science convened the Idea Festival for Nursing Science Education and appointed the Idea Festival Advisory Committee (IFAC) to stimulate dialogue about linking PhD education with a renewed vision for preparation of the next generation of nursing scientists. Building on the 2005 National Research Council report Advancing The Nation's Health Needs and the 2010 American Association of Colleges of Nursing Position Statement on the Research-Focused Doctorate Pathways to Excellence, the IFAC specifically addressed the capacity of PhD programs to prepare nursing scientists to conduct cutting-edge research in the following key emerging and priority areas of health sciences research: omics and the microbiome; health behavior, behavior change, and biobehavioral science; patient-reported outcomes; big data, e-science, and informatics; quantitative sciences; translation science; and health economics. The purpose of this article is to (a) describe IFAC activities, (b) summarize 2014 discussions hosted as part of the Idea Festival, and (c) present IFAC recommendations for incorporating these emerging areas of science and technology into research-focused doctoral programs committed to preparing graduates for lifelong, competitive careers in nursing science. The recommendations address clearer articulation of program focus areas; inclusion of foundational knowledge in emerging areas of science in core courses on nursing science and research methods; faculty composition; prerequisite student knowledge and skills; and in-depth, interdisciplinary training in supporting area of science content and methods. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc

The influence of the history of science course on pre-service science teachers' understanding of the nature of science concepts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akcay, Behiye

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of a history of science course on pre-service science teachers' understanding of the nature of science concepts. Subjects in the study were divided in two groups: (1) students who enrolled in only in the history of science course, (2) students who enrolled both the meaning of science and the history of science courses. An interpretative-descriptive approach and constant comparative analysis were used to identify similarities and differences among pre-service teachers' views about nature of scientific knowledge prior to and after the history of science course. The results of this study indicate that explicitly addressing certain aspects of the nature of science is effective in promoting adequate understanding of the nature of science for pre-service science teachers. Moreover, the results indicate that a student's prior experience with the history of science helps to improve their understanding of the history and nature of science. The history of science course helped pre-service teachers to develop the following views which are parallel with these advocated in both the Benchmarks (AAAS, 1993) and the National Science Education Standards (NRC, 1996) concerning the nature of scientific knowledge: (1) Scientific knowledge is empirically based and an ongoing process of experimentation, investigation, and observation. (2) Science is a human endeavor. (3) People from different cultures, races, genders, and nationality contribute to science. (4) Scientific knowledge is not based on myths, personal beliefs, and religious values. (5) Science background and prior knowledge have important roles for scientific investigations. (6) Scientific theories and laws represent different kinds of knowledge. (7) Science is affected by political, social, and cultural values. (8) Creativity and imagination are used during all stages of scientific investigations. (9) Theories change because of new evidence and new views of existing

Is Science for Us? Black Students' and Parents' Views of Science and Science Careers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Archer, Louise; Dewitt, Jennifer; Osborne, Jonathan

2015-01-01

There are widespread policy concerns to improve (widen and increase) science, technology, engineering, and mathematics participation, which remains stratified by ethnicity, gender, and social class. Despite being interested in and highly valuing science, Black students tend to express limited aspirations to careers in science and remain…

Exoplanet Science in the National Science Olympiad

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Komacek, Thaddeus D.; Young, Donna

2015-11-01

The National Science Olympiad is one of the United States' largest science competitions, reaching over 6,000 schools in 48 states. The Olympiad includes a wide variety of events, stretching a full range of potential future STEM careers, from biological sciences to engineering to earth and space sciences. The Astronomy event has been a mainstay at the high school level for well over a decade, and nominally focuses on aspects of stellar evolution. For the 2014-2015 competition season, the event focus was aligned to include exoplanet discovery and characterization along with star formation. Teams studied both the qualitative features of exoplanets and exoplanetary systems and the quantitative aspects behind their discovery and characterization, including basic calculations with the transit and radial velocity methods. Students were also expected to have a qualitative understanding of stellar evolution and understand the differences between classes of young stars including T Tauri and FU Orionis variables, and Herbig Ae/Be stars. Based on the successes of this event topic, we are continuing this event into the 2015-2016 academic year. The key modification is the selection of new exoplanetary systems for students to research. We welcome feedback from the community on how to improve the event and the related educational resources that are created for Science Olympiad students and coaches. We also encourage any interested community members to contact your regional or state Science Olympiad tournament directors and volunteer to organize competitions and supervise events locally.

Science Teachers' Interpretations of Islamic Culture Related to Science Education versus the Islamic Epistemology and Ontology of Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mansour, Nasser

2010-01-01

The debate about Islam and science extends to a debate about the relationship between Islam and science education. In this paper, I explore Egyptian teachers' views of the relationship between science and religion within the Islamic context. Teachers' key vision of the relationship between science and religion was that "religion comes first…

Controversial Conversations in Science: Incorporating the Science "Sex Box"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gill, Puneet

2016-01-01

Science classrooms--and science textbooks--are proving to be challenging spaces for education that contradicts abstinence-only-until-marriage (AOUM) sex education. However, science educators can teach against this knowledge in a way that is critical of oppressive language. In fact, having explicit dialogue about gender identities and sexual…

Valid and Reliable Science Content Assessments for Science Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tretter, Thomas R.; Brown, Sherri L.; Bush, William S.; Saderholm, Jon C.; Holmes, Vicki-Lynn

2013-01-01

Science teachers' content knowledge is an important influence on student learning, highlighting an ongoing need for programs, and assessments of those programs, designed to support teacher learning of science. Valid and reliable assessments of teacher science knowledge are needed for direct measurement of this crucial variable. This paper…

The "Next Generation Science Standards" and the Life Sciences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bybee, Rodger W.

2013-01-01

Publication of the "Next Generation Science Standards" will be just short of two decades since publication of the "National Science Education Standards" (NRC 1996). In that time, biology and science education communities have advanced, and the new standards will reflect that progress (NRC 1999, 2007, 2009; Kress and Barrett…

Project-Based Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krajcik, Joe

2015-01-01

Project-based science is an exciting way to teach science that aligns with the "Next Generation Science Standards" ("NGSS"). By focusing on core ideas along with practices and crosscutting concepts, classrooms become learning environments where teachers and students engage in science by designing and carrying out…

Community science, philosophy of science, and the practice of research.

PubMed

Tebes, Jacob Kraemer

2005-06-01

Embedded in community science are implicit theories on the nature of reality (ontology), the justification of knowledge claims (epistemology), and how knowledge is constructed (methodology). These implicit theories influence the conceptualization and practice of research, and open up or constrain its possibilities. The purpose of this paper is to make some of these theories explicit, trace their intellectual history, and propose a shift in the way research in the social and behavioral sciences, and community science in particular, is conceptualized and practiced. After describing the influence and decline of logical empiricism, the underlying philosophical framework for science for the past century, I summarize contemporary views in the philosophy of science that are alternatives to logical empiricism. These include contextualism, normative naturalism, and scientific realism, and propose that a modified version of contextualism, known as perspectivism, affords the philosophical framework for an emerging community science. I then discuss the implications of perspectivism for community science in the form of four propositions to guide the practice of research.

Citizen Science Initiatives: Engaging the Public and Demystifying Science

PubMed Central

Van Vliet, Kim; Moore, Claybourne

2016-01-01

The Internet and smart phone technologies have opened up new avenues for collaboration among scientists around the world. These technologies have also expanded citizen science opportunities and public participation in scientific research (PPSR). Here we discuss citizen science, what it is, who does it, and the variety of projects and methods used to increase scientific knowledge and scientific literacy. We describe a number of different types of citizen-science projects. These greatly increase the number of people involved, helping to speed the pace of data analysis and allowing science to advance more rapidly. As a result of the numerous advantages of citizen-science projects, these opportunities are likely to expand in the future and increase the rate of novel discoveries. PMID:27047582

Valid and Reliable Science Content Assessments for Science Teachers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tretter, Thomas R.; Brown, Sherri L.; Bush, William S.; Saderholm, Jon C.; Holmes, Vicki-Lynn

2013-03-01

Science teachers' content knowledge is an important influence on student learning, highlighting an ongoing need for programs, and assessments of those programs, designed to support teacher learning of science. Valid and reliable assessments of teacher science knowledge are needed for direct measurement of this crucial variable. This paper describes multiple sources of validity and reliability (Cronbach's alpha greater than 0.8) evidence for physical, life, and earth/space science assessments—part of the Diagnostic Teacher Assessments of Mathematics and Science (DTAMS) project. Validity was strengthened by systematic synthesis of relevant documents, extensive use of external reviewers, and field tests with 900 teachers during assessment development process. Subsequent results from 4,400 teachers, analyzed with Rasch IRT modeling techniques, offer construct and concurrent validity evidence.

Citizen Science Initiatives: Engaging the Public and Demystifying Science.

PubMed

Van Vliet, Kim; Moore, Claybourne

2016-03-01

The Internet and smart phone technologies have opened up new avenues for collaboration among scientists around the world. These technologies have also expanded citizen science opportunities and public participation in scientific research (PPSR). Here we discuss citizen science, what it is, who does it, and the variety of projects and methods used to increase scientific knowledge and scientific literacy. We describe a number of different types of citizen-science projects. These greatly increase the number of people involved, helping to speed the pace of data analysis and allowing science to advance more rapidly. As a result of the numerous advantages of citizen-science projects, these opportunities are likely to expand in the future and increase the rate of novel discoveries.

Science without laws.

PubMed

Schweber, Silvan S

2009-01-01

During the 1970s, something deeply consequential happened in the cultural, economic, and social relationships between science and technology. Paul Forman has proposed that the abrupt reversal of the culturally ascribed primacy in the science-technology relationship circa 1980 be taken as a demarcation of postmodernity from modernity. Modernity's most basic cultural presuppositions-the superiority of theory to practice, the elevation of the public over the private and that of the disinterested over the interested, and the belief that the means sanctify the ends-were ascribed to science. In postmodernity, science is subsumed under technology, and the status of technology relative to science reflects our pragmatic-utilitarian subordination of means to ends. These cultural changes have resonated with deep epistemological and ontological changes within the sciences themselves, and all these have manifested themselves in universities becoming entrepreneurial, and the consequences thereof. Science Without Laws insightfully illustrates some of the changes within the life and human sciences by analyzing the role played by model systems and case studies.

Recontextualization of Science from Lab to School: Implications for Science Literacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sharma, Ajay; Anderson, Charles W.

2009-01-01

Scientists' science differs remarkably from school science. In order to be taught to students, science is recontextualized from scientific research communities to science classrooms. This paper examines scientific discourse in scientific research communities, and discusses its transformation from an internally-persuasive and authoritative…

Cognitive knowledge, attitude toward science, and skill development in virtual science laboratories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Babaie, Mahya

The purpose of this quantitative, descriptive, single group, pretest posttest design study was to explore the influence of a Virtual Science Laboratory (VSL) on middle school students' cognitive knowledge, skill development, and attitudes toward science. This study involved 2 eighth grade Physical Science classrooms at a large urban charter middle school located in Southern California. The Buoyancy and Density Test (BDT), a computer generated test, assessed students' scientific knowledge in areas of Buoyancy and Density. The Attitude Toward Science Inventory (ATSI), a multidimensional survey assessment, measured students' attitudes toward science in the areas of value of science in society, motivation in science, enjoyment of science, self-concept regarding science, and anxiety toward science. A Virtual Laboratory Packet (VLP), generated by the researcher, captured students' mathematical and scientific skills. Data collection was conducted over a period of five days. BDT and ATSI assessments were administered twice: once before the Buoyancy and Density VSL to serve as baseline data (pre) and also after the VSL (post). The findings of this study revealed that students' cognitive knowledge and attitudes toward science were positively changed as expected, however, the results from paired sample t-tests found no statistical significance. Analyses indicated that VSLs were effective in supporting students' scientific knowledge and attitude toward science. The attitudes most changed were value of science in society and enjoyment of science with mean differences of 1.71 and 0.88, respectively. Researchers and educational practitioners are urged to further examine VSLs, covering a variety of topics, with more middle school students to assess their learning outcomes. Additionally, it is recommended that publishers in charge of designing the VSLs communicate with science instructors and research practitioners to further improve the design and analytic components of these

Research methods from social science can contribute much to the health sciences.

PubMed

Wensing, Michel

2008-06-01

Research methods from social science, such as social network analysis, random coefficient modeling, and advanced measurement techniques, can contribute much to the health sciences. There is, however, a slow rate of transmission of social science methodology into the health sciences. This paper identifies some of the barriers for adoption and proposes ideas for the future. Commentary. Contributions of social science to the health sciences are not always recognized as such. It may help if the professional profile of social science in the health sciences would be higher and if its focus would be more on making useful predictions. Clinical epidemiologists may assume that their discipline includes all relevant methods and that social science is largely based on qualitative research. These perceptions need to be challenged in order to widen the scope of clinical epidemiology and include relevant methods from other sciences. New methods help to ask new research questions and to provide better to old questions. This paper has sketched challenges for both social science researchers and clinical epidemiologists.

Students' awareness of science teachers' leadership, attitudes toward science, and positive thinking

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Ying-Yan; Chen, Hsiang-Ting; Hong, Zuway-R.; Yore, Larry D.

2016-09-01

There appears to be a complex network of cognitive and affective factors that influence students' decisions to study science and motivate their choices to engage in science-oriented careers. This study explored 330 Taiwanese senior high school students' awareness of their science teacher's learning leadership and how it relates to the students' attitudes toward science and positive thinking. Initial results revealed that the optimism of positive thinking is highly and positively correlated with the future participation in science and learning science in school attitudes toward science and self-concept in science. Moreover, structural equation modelling (SEM) results indicated that the subscale of teachers' leadership with idealised influence was the most predictive of students' attitudes toward science (β = .37), and the leadership with laissez-faire was predictive of students' positive thinking (β = .21). In addition, the interview results were consistent with the quantitative findings. The correlation and SEM results indicate some of the associations and potential relationships amongst the motivational and affective factors studied and students' attitudes toward and intentions to study science, which will increase their likelihood of future involvement in science careers.

Competitive Science Events: Gender, Interest, Science Self-Efficacy, and Academic Major Choice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Forrester, Jennifer Harris

Understanding present barriers to choosing a STEM major is important for science educators so that we may better prepare and inspire future generations of scientists and engineers. This study examined the relationships between participation in competitive science events, gender, race, science self-efficacy, interest in science, and choosing a STEM discipline as a college major. The participants included 1,488 freshman students at a large southeastern public university. Students completed a survey of pre-college experiences with science events, science interests, and college major, as well as, an assessment of science self-efficacy. A subsample of sixty students (30 STEM; 30 non-STEM majors) were interviewed about their participation and academic major choice. Results showed that science, engineering, and non-STEM disciplines were the most frequently reported academic majors. Significant gender differences were found for science self-efficacy and academic major choice. There were significant race differences for participation in specific types of science competitions. Study participants also reported being motivated to participate in a competitive science event as a result of their teacher or parents' encouragement.

Safer Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roy, Ken

2011-01-01

This column provides best safety practices for the science classroom and laboratory. In this month's issue, pregnancy policy in the laboratory is discussed. One can't ignore the fact that student and faculty pregnancies--and the resulting potential hazards in the science laboratory--exist at the high school level. Science teachers need to be…

Sound Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sickel, Aaron J.; Lee, Michele H.; Pareja, Enrique M.

2010-01-01

How can a teacher simultaneously teach science concepts through inquiry while helping students learn about the nature of science? After pondering this question in their own teaching, the authors developed a 5E learning cycle lesson (Bybee et al. 2006) that concurrently embeds opportunities for fourth-grade students to (a) learn a science concept,…

Sublime Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Girod, Mark

2007-01-01

One of the shortcomings in most efforts to integrate art and science is that many people have a shallow understanding of art, which inevitably leads to shallow connections between art and science. Coloring drawings of planets, building sculptures of volcanoes, and decorating scientific diagrams are fine activities, but they do not link science and…

JPRS Report, Science & Technology, USSR: Science & Technology Policy.

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-07-07

fully reflect the end results of scientific and technical progress. The formation of the unified fund for the development of science and technology ...209058 JPRS-UST-87-009 7 JULY 1987 /ffifr FOREIGN BROADCAST INFORMATION SERVICE JPRS Repor Science & Technology USSR: Science... Technology Policy 19980715 121 REPRODUCED BY U.S. DEPARTMENTOF COMMERCE NATIONAL TECHNICAL •^ INFORMATIONSERVICE A rf *r*lQ ürjA T Tw» SPRINGFIELD, VA

The Story behind the Science: Bringing Science and Scientists to Life in Post-Secondary Science Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clough, Michael P.

2011-01-01

With funding from the United States National Science Foundation, 30 historical short stories designed to teach science content and draw students' attention to the nature of science (NOS) have been created for post-secondary introductory astronomy, biology, chemistry, geology, and physics courses. The project rationale, story development and…

Dimensions of science capital: exploring its potential for understanding students' science participation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

DeWitt, Jennifer; Archer, Louise; Mau, Ada

2016-11-01

As concerns about participation rates in post-compulsory science continue unabated, considerable research efforts have been focused on understanding and addressing the issue, bringing various theoretical lenses to bear on the problem. One such conceptual lens is that of 'science capital' (science-related forms of social and cultural capital), which has begun to be explored as a tool for examining differential patterns of aspiration and participation in science. This paper continues this line of work, attempting to further refine our conceptualisation of science capital and to consider potential insights it might offer beyond existing, related constructs. We utilise data from two surveys conducted in England as part of the wider Enterprising Science project, a broader national survey and a more targeted survey, completed by students from schools generally serving more disadvantaged populations. Logistic regression analyses indicated that science capital was more closely related than cultural capital to science aspirations-related outcome variables. In addition, further analyses reflected that particular dimensions of science capital (science literacy, perceived transferability and utility of science, family influences) seem to be more closely related to anticipated future participation and identity in science than others. These patterns held for both data sets. While these findings are generally in alignment with previous research, we suggest that they highlight the potential value of science capital as a distinct conceptual lens, which also carries particular implications for the types of interventions that may prove valuable in considering ways to address disparities in science engagement and participation.

Science sequence design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koskela, P. E.; Bollman, W. E.; Freeman, J. E.; Helton, M. R.; Reichert, R. J.; Travers, E. S.; Zawacki, S. J.

1973-01-01

The activities of the following members of the Navigation Team are recorded: the Science Sequence Design Group, responsible for preparing the final science sequence designs; the Advanced Sequence Planning Group, responsible for sequence planning; and the Science Recommendation Team (SRT) representatives, responsible for conducting the necessary sequence design interfaces with the teams during the mission. The interface task included science support in both advance planning and daily operations. Science sequences designed during the mission are also discussed.

Using a Science/Technology/Society Approach to Prepare Reform-Oriented Science Teachers: The Case of a Secondary Science Methods Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dass, Pradeep M.

2005-01-01

Reformed preparation of science teachers is indeed vital for the vision of science teaching reform to be accomplished. Typically, a critical component of a preservice science teacher preparation program is the science teaching methods course. The usual intent of this course is to help preservice science students develop an understanding of various…

Fort Collins Science Center- Policy Analysis and Science Assistance Branch : Integrating social, behavioral, economic and biological sciences

USGS Publications Warehouse

2010-01-01

The Fort Collins Science Center's Policy Analysis and Science Assistance (PASA) Branch is a team of approximately 22 scientists, technicians, and graduate student researchers. PASA provides unique capabilities in the U.S. Geological Survey by leading projects that integrate social, behavioral, economic, and biological analyses in the context of human-natural resource interactions. Resource planners, managers, and policymakers in the U.S. Departments of the Interior (DOI) and Agriculture (USDA), State and local agencies, as well as international agencies use information from PASA studies to make informed natural resource management and policy decisions. PASA scientists' primary functions are to conduct both theoretical and applied social science research, provide technical assistance, and offer training to advance performance in policy relevant research areas. Management and research issues associated with human-resource interactions typically occur in a unique context, involve difficult to access populations, require knowledge of both natural/biological science in addition to social science, and require the skill to integrate multiple science disciplines. In response to these difficult contexts, PASA researchers apply traditional and state-of-the-art social science methods drawing from the fields of sociology, demography, economics, political science, communications, social-psychology, and applied industrial organization psychology. Social science methods work in concert with our rangeland/agricultural management, wildlife, ecology, and biology capabilities. The goal of PASA's research is to enhance natural resource management, agency functions, policies, and decision-making. Our research is organized into four broad areas of study.

Science and engineering research opportunities at the National Science Foundation.

PubMed

Demir, Semahat S

2004-01-01

Research at the interface of the physical sciences and life sciences has produced remarkable advances and understanding in biology and medicine over the past fifty years. These bases for many of these healthcare and research advances have been discoveries in the quantitative sciences and engineering approaches to applying them. The National Science Foundation supports research and development in the physical sciences which underpins multi-disciplinary approaches to addressing problems in biology and medicine. This presentation will cover research opportunities offered by the NSF and collaborative programs with the NIH to transfer the resulting advances and technologies.

Understanding Science and Technology Interactions Through Ocean Science Exploration: A Summer Course for Science Teachers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baldauf, J.; Denton, J.

2003-12-01

In order to replenish the national supply of science and mathematics educators, the National Science Foundation has supported the formation of the Center for Applications of Information Technology in the Teaching and Learning of Science (ITS) at Texas A&M University. The center staff and affiliated faculty work to change in fundamental ways the culture and relationships among scientists, educational researchers, and teachers. ITS is a partnership among the colleges of education, science, geosciences, agriculture and life science at Texas A&M University. Participants (teachers and graduate students) investigate how science is done and how science is taught and learned; how that learning is assessed, and how scholarly networks among all engaged in this work can be encouraged. While the center can offer graduate degrees most students apply as non-degree seekers. ITS participants are schooled on classroom technology applications, experience working on project teams, and access very current research work being conducted by scientists. ITS offers a certificate program consisting of two summer sessions over two years that results in 12 hours of graduate credit that can be applied to a degree. Interdisciplinary project teams spend three intense weeks connecting current research to classroom practices. During the past summer with the beginning of the two-year sequence, a course was implemented that introduced secondary teachers to Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) contributions to major earth science themes, using core and logging data, engineering (technology) tools and processes. Information Technology classroom applications were enhanced through hands-on laboratory exercises, web resources and online databases. The course was structured around the following objectives. 1. Distinguish the purpose and goals of the Ocean Drilling Program from the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program and describe the comparable science themes (ocean circulation, marine sedimentation, climate history

Vision science literature of Nepal in the database "Web of Science".

PubMed

Risal, S; Prasad, H N

2012-01-01

Vision Science is considered to be a quite developed discipline in Nepal, with much research currently in progress. Though the results of these endeavors are published in scientific journals, formal citation analyses have not been performed on works contributed by Nepalese vision scientists. To study Nepal's contribution to vision science literature in the database "Web of Science". The primary data source of this paper was Web of Science, a citation database of Thomas Reuters. All bibliometric analyses were performed with the help of Web of Science analysis service. In the current database of vision science literature, Nepalese authors contributed 112 publications to Web of Science, 95 of which were original articles. Pokharel GP had the highest number of citations among contributing authors of Nepal. Hennig A contributed the highest number of article as a first author. The Nepal Eye Hospital contributed the highest number of articles as an institution to the field of Vision Science. Currently, only two journals from Nepal including Journal of Nepal Medical Association (JAMA) are indexed in the Web of Science database (Sieving, 2012). To evaluate the total productivity of vision science literature from Nepal, total publication counts from national journals and articles indexed in other databases such as PubMed and Scopus must also be considered. © NEPjOPH.

Science for Life

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Umphrey, Jan

2011-01-01

The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) is committed to promoting excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all students. Through the National Science Education Standards, NSTA calls attention to the importance of science standards for all students and the need for a scientifically literate populace. NSTA is also…

Personal Health—Personalized Science: A new driver for science education?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roth, Wolff-Michael

2014-06-01

Since the 1950s, originating with and driven by the Sputnik shock, there have been tremendous efforts to improve science education. Over the past two decades, the initial focus on science content has been abandoned, at least among many science education researchers, in favor of socio-scientific issues. Yet even this social turn does not appear to make much difference, as scores of students continue to be turned off in/by school science. In this contribution, based on a first-person (phenomenological) investigation, I suggest why and under which condition health and environment may constitute suitable contexts for (also) teaching science. I conclude that more than content and approach (science) educators need to reconsider the very structure of schooling, which may be the real problem in making learning an authentic endeavor.

Making Philosophy of Science Education Practical for Science Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Janssen, F. J. J. M.; van Berkel, B.

2015-01-01

Philosophy of science education can play a vital role in the preparation and professional development of science teachers. In order to fulfill this role a philosophy of science education should be made practical for teachers. First, multiple and inherently incomplete philosophies on the teacher and teaching on what, how and why should be…

The Next Generation Science Standards and the Life Sciences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bybee, Rodger W.

2013-01-01

Using the life sciences, this article first reviews essential features of the "NRC Framework for K-12 Science Education" that provided a foundation for the new standards. Second, the article describes the important features of life science standards for elementary, middle, and high school levels. Special attention is paid to the teaching…

Science gateways for semantic-web-based life science applications.

PubMed

Ardizzone, Valeria; Bruno, Riccardo; Calanducci, Antonio; Carrubba, Carla; Fargetta, Marco; Ingrà, Elisa; Inserra, Giuseppina; La Rocca, Giuseppe; Monforte, Salvatore; Pistagna, Fabrizio; Ricceri, Rita; Rotondo, Riccardo; Scardaci, Diego; Barbera, Roberto

2012-01-01

In this paper we present the architecture of a framework for building Science Gateways supporting official standards both for user authentication and authorization and for middleware-independent job and data management. Two use cases of the customization of the Science Gateway framework for Semantic-Web-based life science applications are also described.

From Science as "Content" to Science as "Interpretive Key": Experiences and Reflections from a Science Course in Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Colucci-Gray, Laura; Fraser, Christine

2012-01-01

Despite science's central role in European culture, public perception of, and participation with, science is characterised by contradictions and conflicting agenda. School curriculum reform, for example by Scottish Government, promotes "science for citizenship", yet teachers' understandings of the nature of science and its relationship…

Science Fiction on Film.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burmester, David

1985-01-01

Reviews science fiction films used in a science fiction class. Discusses feature films, short science fiction films, short story adaptations, original science fiction pieces and factual science films that enrich literature. (EL)

The impact of different college science courses on students' attitude towards science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flohic, Helene

2015-08-01

For non-science majors, a general education course in college is often the last science course they will ever take. General education courses are often regarded by students as a right of passage in which they have no interest. Thus strict coursework might aggravate students against the matter taught, and decrease their general interest in the subject. To test whether general education courses killed the students' interest in science, we administered a science attitude inventory at the beginning and at the end of an introductory astronomy course. We compared the gain/loss in science attitude with that experienced by students of a writing course as a baseline. Finally, we evaluated the gain/loss in science attitude for students enrolled in a general education seminar on science and society, where no formal science knowledge was taught, but where the students discussed the different aspects of the relation between science and society.We find that the science and society seminar had a more positive impact on students' attitude towards science than the astronomy class, which decreased the students' confidence in their ability to understand science. This study (once tested on a larger scale) could serve as a guideline for educational policies aiming to foster a positive attitude in the population of college graduates.

Theoretical computer science and the natural sciences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marchal, Bruno

2005-12-01

I present some fundamental theorems in computer science and illustrate their relevance in Biology and Physics. I do not assume prerequisites in mathematics or computer science beyond the set N of natural numbers, functions from N to N, the use of some notational conveniences to describe functions, and at some point, a minimal amount of linear algebra and logic. I start with Cantor's transcendental proof by diagonalization of the non enumerability of the collection of functions from natural numbers to the natural numbers. I explain why this proof is not entirely convincing and show how, by restricting the notion of function in terms of discrete well defined processes, we are led to the non algorithmic enumerability of the computable functions, but also-through Church's thesis-to the algorithmic enumerability of partial computable functions. Such a notion of function constitutes, with respect to our purpose, a crucial generalization of that concept. This will make easy to justify deep and astonishing (counter-intuitive) incompleteness results about computers and similar machines. The modified Cantor diagonalization will provide a theory of concrete self-reference and I illustrate it by pointing toward an elementary theory of self-reproduction-in the Amoeba's way-and cellular self-regeneration-in the flatworm Planaria's way. To make it easier, I introduce a very simple and powerful formal system known as the Schoenfinkel-Curry combinators. I will use the combinators to illustrate in a more concrete way the notion introduced above. The combinators, thanks to their low-level fine grained design, will also make it possible to make a rough but hopefully illuminating description of the main lessons gained by the careful observation of nature, and to describe some new relations, which should exist between computer science, the science of life and the science of inert matter, once some philosophical, if not theological, hypotheses are made in the cognitive sciences. In the

Making Science Relevant

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eick, Charles; Deutsch, Bill; Fuller, Jennifer; Scott, Fletcher

2008-01-01

Science teachers are always looking for ways to demonstrate the relevance of science to students. By connecting science learning to important societal issues, teachers can motivate students to both enjoy and engage in relevant science (Bennet, Lubben, and Hogarth 2007). To develop that connection, teachers can help students take an active role in…

Integrating science with humanities-loosing the fear of science

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pinto, W.L.; Raphalides, S.; Edwards, D.

1994-12-31

This presentation illustrates the approach and effectiveness of an interactive seminar program for K-12 non-science teachers (funded by the NJ Dept. of Higher Education) aimed at integrating the humanities and science, especially environmental sciences. Teachers become comfortable dealing with the commonality of science, literature, and human culture. In a collaborative format between seminar organizers and K-12 teachers, participants contribute their understanding of literature, history, politics, and culture to develop a new outlook on {open_quotes}environmental awareness{close_quotes} and on pollution`s impact on society. Prehistoric, medieval, 18th century, modern western cultures, Oriental, Native American, and tropical island cultures are explored to shed lightmore » upon today`s environmental attitudes. This provides a better understanding of the way science, within a cultural context, approaches environmental problems.« less

Science Matters Special Edition: Wildland Fire Science

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

EPA is applying its extensive expertise in air quality science to the study of wildland fires to help states and communities that are impacted. This issue of Science Matters newsletter highlights some of the research projects under way by EPA and partners.

The Implications for Science Education of Heidegger's Philosophy of Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shaw, Robert

2013-01-01

Science teaching always engages a philosophy of science. This article introduces a modern philosophy of science and indicates its implications for science education. The hermeneutic philosophy of science is the tradition of Kant, Heidegger, and Heelan. Essential to this tradition are two concepts of truth, truth as correspondence and truth as…

Science.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roach, Linda E., Ed.

This document contains the following papers on science instruction and technology: "A 3-D Journey in Space: A New Visual Cognitive Adventure" (Yoav Yair, Rachel Mintz, and Shai Litvak); "Using Collaborative Inquiry and Interactive Technologies in an Environmental Science Project for Middle School Teachers: A Description and…

Interactions of Economics of Science and Science Education: Investigating the Implications for Science Teaching and Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Erduran, Sibel; Mugaloglu, Ebru Z.

2013-01-01

In recent years, there has been upsurge of interest in the applications of interdisciplinary perspectives on science in science education. Within this framework, the implications of the so-called "economics of science" is virtually an uncharted territory. In this paper, we trace a set of arguments that provide a dialectic engagement with…

Improving Student Science Literacy through an Inquiry-Based, Integrated Science Curriculum and Review of Science Media.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bardeen, Karen

This project studied the effects of an inquiry-based, integrated science course on student science literacy. The course was aligned to state and national science standards. The target population consisted of sophomore, junior, and senior high-school students in an upper-middle class suburb of a major Midwestern city. Questionnaires, tests, and…

GSFC Heliophysics Science Division 2008 Science Highlights

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gilbert, Holly R.; Strong, Keith T.; Saba, Julia L. R.; Firestone, Elaine R.

2009-01-01

This report is intended to record and communicate to our colleagues, stakeholders, and the public at large about heliophysics scientific and flight program achievements and milestones for 2008, for which NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's Heliophysics Science Division (HSD) made important contributions. HSD comprises approximately 261 scientists, technologists, and administrative personnel dedicated to the goal of advancing our knowledge and understanding of the Sun and the wide variety of domains that its variability influences. Our activities include Lead science investigations involving flight hardware, theory, and data analysis and modeling that will answer the strategic questions posed in the Heliophysics Roadmap; Lead the development of new solar and space physics mission concepts and support their implementation as Project Scientists; Provide access to measurements from the Heliophysics Great Observatory through our Science Information Systems, and Communicate science results to the public and inspire the next generation of scientists and explorers.

GSFC Heliophysics Science Division 2009 Science Highlights

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Strong, Keith T.; Saba, Julia L. R.; Strong, Yvonne M.

2009-01-01

This report is intended to record and communicate to our colleagues, stakeholders, and the public at large about heliophysics scientific and flight program achievements and milestones for 2009, for which NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's Heliophysics Science Division (HSD) made important contributions. HSD comprises approximately 299 scientists, technologists, and administrative personnel dedicated to the goal of advancing our knowledge and understanding of the Sun and the wide variety of domains that its variability influences. Our activities include: Leading science investigations involving flight hardware, theory, and data analysis and modeling that will answer the strategic questions posed in the Heliophysics Roadmap; Leading the development of new solar and space physics mission concepts and support their implementation as Project Scientists; Providing access to measurements from the Heliophysics Great Observatory through our Science Information Systems; and Communicating science results to the public and inspiring the next generation of scientists and explorers.

North Central Climate Science Center--science agenda 2012-2017

USGS Publications Warehouse

Morisette, Jeffrey T.

2012-01-01

The information presented here provides the five-year science agenda for the North Central Climate Science Center. It is meant to be a high-level guide that describes the spatial context of the center, the primary partners and stakeholders, and the strategic framework the center will use in applying climate science to inform management.

Science packages

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1997-01-01

Primary science teachers in Scotland have a new updating method at their disposal with the launch of a package of CDi (Compact Discs Interactive) materials developed by the BBC and the Scottish Office. These were a response to the claim that many primary teachers felt they had been inadequately trained in science and lacked the confidence to teach it properly. Consequently they felt the need for more in-service training to equip them with the personal understanding required. The pack contains five disks and a printed user's guide divided up as follows: disk 1 Investigations; disk 2 Developing understanding; disks 3,4,5 Primary Science staff development videos. It was produced by the Scottish Interactive Technology Centre (Moray House Institute) and is available from BBC Education at £149.99 including VAT. Free Internet distribution of science education materials has also begun as part of the Global Schoolhouse (GSH) scheme. The US National Science Teachers' Association (NSTA) and Microsoft Corporation are making available field-tested comprehensive curriculum material including 'Micro-units' on more than 80 topics in biology, chemistry, earth and space science and physics. The latter are the work of the Scope, Sequence and Coordination of High School Science project, which can be found at http://www.gsh.org/NSTA_SSandC/. More information on NSTA can be obtained from its Web site at http://www.nsta.org.

Interdisciplinary team science and the public: Steps toward a participatory team science.

PubMed

Tebes, Jacob Kraemer; Thai, Nghi D

2018-01-01

Interdisciplinary team science involves research collaboration among investigators from different disciplines who work interdependently to share leadership and responsibility. Although over the past several decades there has been an increase in knowledge produced by science teams, the public has not been meaningfully engaged in this process. We argue that contemporary changes in how science is understood and practiced offer an opportunity to reconsider engaging the public as active participants on teams and coin the term participatory team science to describe public engagement in team science. We discuss how public engagement can enhance knowledge within the team to address complex problems and suggest a different organizing framework for team science that aligns better with how teams operate and with participatory approaches to research. We also summarize work on public engagement in science, describe opportunities for various types of engagement, and provide an example of participatory team science carried out across research phases. We conclude by discussing implications of participatory team science for psychology, including changing the default when assembling an interdisciplinary science team by identifying meaningful roles for public engagement through participatory team science. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Science and Human Experience

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cooper, Leon N.

2015-01-01

Part I. Science and Society: 1. Science and human experience; 2. Does science undermine our values?; 3. Can science serve mankind?; 4. Modern science and contemporary discomfort: metaphor and reality; 5. Faith and science; 6. Art and science; 7. Fraud in science; 8. Why study science? The keys to the cathedral; 9. Is evolution a theory? A modest proposal; 10. The silence of the second; 11. Introduction to Copenhagen; 12. The unpaid debt; Part II. Thought and Consciousness: 13. Source and limits of human intellect; 14. Neural networks; 15. Thought and mental experience: the Turing test; 16. Mind as machine: will we rubbish human experience?; 17. Memory and memories: a physicist's approach to the brain; 18. On the problem of consciousness; Part III. On the Nature and Limits of Science: 19. What is a good theory?; 20. Shall we deconstruct science?; 21. Visible and invisible in physical theory; 22. Experience and order; 23. The language of physics; 24. The structure of space; 25. Superconductivity and other insoluble problems; 26. From gravity to light and consciousness: does science have limits?

Science and Human Experience

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cooper, Leon N.

2014-12-01

Part I. Science and Society: 1. Science and human experience; 2. Does science undermine our values?; 3. Can science serve mankind?; 4. Modern science and contemporary discomfort: metaphor and reality; 5. Faith and science; 6. Art and science; 7. Fraud in science; 8. Why study science? The keys to the cathedral; 9. Is evolution a theory? A modest proposal; 10. The silence of the second; 11. Introduction to Copenhagen; 12. The unpaid debt; Part II. Thought and Consciousness: 13. Source and limits of human intellect; 14. Neural networks; 15. Thought and mental experience: the Turing test; 16. Mind as machine: will we rubbish human experience?; 17. Memory and memories: a physicist's approach to the brain; 18. On the problem of consciousness; Part III. On the Nature and Limits of Science: 19. What is a good theory?; 20. Shall we deconstruct science?; 21. Visible and invisible in physical theory; 22. Experience and order; 23. The language of physics; 24. The structure of space; 25. Superconductivity and other insoluble problems; 26. From gravity to light and consciousness: does science have limits?

How Do Turkish Middle School Science Coursebooks Present the Science Process Skills?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aslan, Oktay

2015-01-01

An important objective in science education is the acquisition of science process skills (SPS) by the students. Therefore, science coursebooks, among the main resources of elementary science curricula, are to convey accurate SPS. This study is a qualitative study based on the content analysis of the science coursebooks used at middle schools. In…

Digital science games' impact on sixth and eighth graders' perceptions of science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peng, Li-Wei

2009-12-01

The quasi-experimental study investigated sixth and eighth graders' perceptions of science with gender, grade levels, and educational experiences as the variables. The Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1985) claims that attitude toward the behavior, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control play a major role in people's intentions, and these intentions ultimately impact their behavior. The study adopted a quantitative research approach by conducting a science perceptions survey for examining students' self-efficacy in learning science (i.e., perceived behavioral control), value of science (i.e., attitude toward the behavior), motivation in science (i.e., attitude toward the behavior), and perceptions of digital science games in science classes (i.e., perceived behavioral control). A total of 255 participants' responses from four rural Appalachian middle school science classrooms in southeastern Ohio were analyzed through a three-way ANCOVA factorial pre-test and post-test data analysis with experimental and comparison groups. Additionally, the study applied a semi-structured, in-depth interview as a qualitative research approach to further examine STEAM digital science games' and Fellows' impact on students' perceptions of science. Eight students in the experimental group were interviewed. Interview data were analyzed with an inductive method. The results found in the three-way ANCOVA data analysis indicated that the diversity of educational experiences was a significant factor that impacted sixth and eighth graders' perceptions of science. Additionally, the interaction of gender and educational experiences was another significant factor that impacted sixth and eighth graders' perceptions of science. The findings of the two short-answer questions identified the reasons why the participants liked or disliked science, as well as why the participants would or would not choose a career in science. The conclusions of the semi-structured, in-depth interview

Understandings of Nature of Science and Multiple Perspective Evaluation of Science News by Non-Science Majors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leung, Jessica Shuk Ching; Wong, Alice Siu Ling; Yung, Benny Hin Wai

2015-01-01

Understandings of nature of science (NOS) are a core component of scientific literacy, and a scientifically literate populace is expected to be able to critically evaluate science in the media. While evidence has remained inconclusive on whether better NOS understandings will lead to critical evaluation of science in the media, this study aimed at…

Inservice Science Supervisors' Assessments of a Novice Science Teacher's Videotaped Lesson.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zuckerman, June Trop

The purpose of this paper is to inform novice science teachers and science teacher educators of the pedagogy that science teacher supervisors value. As expert practitioners, supervisors have a perspective quite different from that of both novice teachers and teacher educators. Nine inservice science teacher supervisors assessed a novice teacher's…

Learning from Science: Case Studies of Science Offerings in Afterschool Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lundh, Patrik; House, Ann; Means, Barbara; Harris, Christopher J.

2013-01-01

Afterschool programs have increasingly gained attention as settings that can help enrich students' science learning. Even though science is widely included in afterschool activities, sites often lack adequate materials and staff know-how to implement quality science. To address this need, this article examines afterschool science in light of the…

Cultivation of science identity through authentic science in an urban high school classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chapman, Angela; Feldman, Allan

2017-06-01

This study examined how a contextually based authentic science experience affected the science identities of urban high school students who have been marginalized during their K-12 science education. We examined students' perceptions of the intervention as an authentic science experience, how the experience influenced their science identity, as well as their perceptions about who can do science. We found that the students believed the experience to be one of authentic science, that their science identity was positively influenced by participation in the experience, and that they demonstrated a shift in perceptions from stereotypical to more diverse views of scientists. Implications for science education are discussed.

Using an Inquiry Approach to Teach Science to Secondary School Science Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McBride, John W.; Bhatti, Muhammad I.; Hannan, Mohammad A.; Feinberg, Martin

2004-01-01

Leaders in science education have actively promoted inquiry science since the 1960s and continue to do so today. The US National Science Education Standards recommend that science instruction and learning should be well grounded in inquiry. In spite of these efforts, however, little has changed in the way science is taught. Teacher-talk and…

Designing Science Games and Science Toys from the Perspective of Scientific Creativity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Demir Kaçan, Sibel

2015-01-01

This study was conducted with the participation of 21 pre-service science teachers attending the faculty of education of a university in Turkey. The study aims to evaluate pre-service science teachers' science games and science toy designs in terms of scientific creativity. Participants were given a four-week period to design science games or…

Learning science through talking science in elementary classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tank, Kristina Maruyama; Coffino, Kara

2014-03-01

Elementary students in grade two make sense of science ideas and knowledge through their contextual experiences. Mattis Lundin and Britt Jakobson find in their research that early grade students have sophisticated understandings of human anatomy and physiology. In order to understand what students' know about human body and various systems, both drawings and spoken responses provide rich evidence of their understanding of the connections between science drawings and verbal explanations. In this forum contribution, we present several theoretical connections between everyday language and science communication and argue that building communication skills in science are essential. We also discuss how young participants should be valued and supported in research. Finally we discuss the need for multimodal research methods when the research participants are young.

Teaching Science Fact with Science Fiction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Raham, R. Gary

2004-01-01

The literature of science fiction packs up the facts and discoveries of science and runs off to futures filled with both wonders and warnings. Kids love to take the journeys it offers for the thrill of the ride, but they can learn as they travel, too. This book will provide the reader with: (1) an overview of the past 500 years of scientific…

Popular Science Writing Bringing New Perspectives into Science Students' Theses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pelger, Susanne

2018-01-01

This study analyses which perspectives occur in science students' texts at different points in time during the process of writing a popular science article. The intention is, thus, to explore how popular science writing can help students discover and discuss different perspectives on science matter. For this purpose, texts written by 12 bachelor…

Toward a Big Data Science: A challenge of "Science Cloud"

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murata, Ken T.; Watanabe, Hidenobu

2013-04-01

During these 50 years, along with appearance and development of high-performance computers (and super-computers), numerical simulation is considered to be a third methodology for science, following theoretical (first) and experimental and/or observational (second) approaches. The variety of data yielded by the second approaches has been getting more and more. It is due to the progress of technologies of experiments and observations. The amount of the data generated by the third methodologies has been getting larger and larger. It is because of tremendous development and programming techniques of super computers. Most of the data files created by both experiments/observations and numerical simulations are saved in digital formats and analyzed on computers. The researchers (domain experts) are interested in not only how to make experiments and/or observations or perform numerical simulations, but what information (new findings) to extract from the data. However, data does not usually tell anything about the science; sciences are implicitly hidden in the data. Researchers have to extract information to find new sciences from the data files. This is a basic concept of data intensive (data oriented) science for Big Data. As the scales of experiments and/or observations and numerical simulations get larger, new techniques and facilities are required to extract information from a large amount of data files. The technique is called as informatics as a fourth methodology for new sciences. Any methodologies must work on their facilities: for example, space environment are observed via spacecraft and numerical simulations are performed on super-computers, respectively in space science. The facility of the informatics, which deals with large-scale data, is a computational cloud system for science. This paper is to propose a cloud system for informatics, which has been developed at NICT (National Institute of Information and Communications Technology), Japan. The NICT science

Taking Science to School: Learning and Teaching Science in Grades K-8

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duschl, Richard A., Ed.; Schweingruber, Heidi A., Ed.; Shouse, Andrew W., Ed.

2007-01-01

What is science for a child? How do children learn about science and how to do science? Drawing on a vast array of work from neuroscience to classroom observation, "Taking Science to School" provides a comprehensive picture of what we know about teaching and learning science from kindergarten through eighth grade. By looking at a broad range of…

Reconceptualizing the Nature of Science for Science Education: Why Does it Matter?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dagher, Zoubeida R.; Erduran, Sibel

2016-01-01

Two fundamental questions about science are relevant for science educators: (a) What is the nature of science? and (b) what aspects of nature of science should be taught and learned? They are fundamental because they pertain to how science gets to be framed as a school subject and determines what aspects of it are worthy of inclusion in school…

Understanding How Science Works: The Nature of Science as The Foundation for Science Teaching and Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McComas, William F.

2017-01-01

The nature of science (NOS) is a phrase used to represent the rules of the game of science. Arguably, NOS is the most important content issue in science instruction because it helps students understand the way in which knowledge is generated and validated within the scientific enterprise. This article offers a proposal for the elements of NOS that…

Real Science for Real Science Teachers: Providing Astrobiology Science Content and Contemporary Pedagogy for Today's Educators Online

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Offerdahl, E. G.; Prather, E. E.; Slater, T. F.

2003-12-01

As teachers strive to improve the way science is taught in the classroom, many are turning to the interdisciplinary science of astrobiology as a way integrate inquiry effectively in the science classroom. However, it is generally recognized that teachers do not often have easy access to understandable and usable cutting-edge science to enrich their science lessons. Through the generous support of the NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI), middle and high school teachers have the opportunity to learn current and provocative scientific results within the context of astrobiology as well as receive training in pedagogically sound methods of incorporating astrobiology appropriately in the classroom. In Astrobiology for Teachers, a 15-week on-line distance learning course co-sponsored by NAI, the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) Professional Development Institute, National Teachers Enhancement Network (NTEN), Montana State University, and the Department of Astronomy at University of Arizona, teachers engage in a virtual classroom facilitated by an integrated teaching team of educators and scientists using a standards-based, inquiry curriculum. The collaborative nature of the course encourages, demonstrates, and enhances a professional exchange among scientists and educators which, in turn, fosters implementation of innovative science teaching in today's classroom.

Citizen(s') Science. A Response to "The Future of Citizen Science"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Calabrese Barton, Angela M.

2012-01-01

Citizen science is fundamentally about participation within and for communities. Attempts to merge citizen science with schooling must call not only for a democratization of schooling and science but also for the democratization of the ways in which science is taken up by, with, and for citizen participants. Using this stance, along with critical…

Middle School Students' Attitudes toward Science, Scientists, Science Teachers and Classes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kapici, Hasan Özgür; Akçay, Hakan

2016-01-01

It is an indispensable fact that having a positive attitude towards science is one of the important factors that promotes students for studying in science. The study is a kind of national study that aims to investigate middle school students', from different regions of Turkey, attitudes toward science, scientists and science classes. The study was…

Science Anxiety and Gender in Students Taking General Education Science Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Udo, M. K.; Ramsey, G. P.; Mallow, J. V.

2004-01-01

Earlier studies [Mallow, J. V. (1994). Gender-related science anxiety: A first binational study. "Journal of Science Education and Technology" 3: 227-238; Udo, M. K., Ramsey, G. P., Reynolds-Alpert, S., and Mallow, J. V. (2001). Does physics teaching affect gender-based science anxiety? "Journal of Science Education and Technology" 10: 237-247] of…

Science-for-Teaching Discourse in Science Teachers' Professional Learning Communities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lohwasser, Karin

Professional learning communities (PLCs) provide an increasingly common structure for teachers' professional development. The effectiveness of PLCs depends on the content and quality of the participants' discourse. This dissertation was conducted to add to an understanding of the science content needed to prepare to teach science, and the discourse characteristics that create learning opportunities in teachers' PLCs. To this end, this study examined how middle school science teachers in three PLCs addressed science-for-teaching, and to what effect. Insight into discourse about content knowledge for teaching in PLCs has implications for the analysis, interpretation, and support of teachers' professional discourse, their collaborative learning, and consequently their improvement of practice. This dissertation looked closely at the hybrid space between teachers' knowledge of students, of teaching, and of science, and how this space was explored in the discourse among teachers, and between teachers and science experts. At the center of the study were observations of three 2-day PLC cycles in which participants worked together to improve the way they taught their curriculum. Two of the PLC cycles were supported, in part, by a science expert who helped the teachers explore the science they needed for teaching. The third PLC worked without such support. The following overarching questions were explored in the three articles of this dissertation: (1) What kind of science knowledge did teachers discuss in preparation for teaching? (2) How did the teachers talk about content knowledge for science teaching, and to what effect for their teaching practice? (3) How did collaborating teachers' discursive accountabilities provide opportunities for furthering the teachers' content knowledge for science teaching? The teachers' discourse during the 2-day collaboration cycles was analyzed and interpreted based on a sociocultural framework that included concepts from the practice

How high school science-related experiences influenced science career persistence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shaw, Andrew D.

The events of 9/11 brought into focus two ongoing trends that were present before this tragedy and have continued since: (1) The United States needs more scientists if it is to ensure its freedoms and maintain its economy. (2) The number of scientists in the "pipeline" is declining because of the diminished presence of foreign scientists (they are wanted in their own countries), the under-representation of minorities and women, and the reduced numbers of students able and willing to take on the scholastic rigors necessary for a science or engineering degree. Though much has been written about improving science education, and numerous projects have been conducted to promote it, few education researchers have questioned the scientists themselves about the experiences, practices, and people that positively influenced them, particularly during their pre-college years. Towards this end, thirty-two scientists were interviewed in order to address four research questions: (1) How did practicing scientists' personal relationships with their science teachers influence their decision to pursue a career in science? (2) What pedagogical methods (e.g. lectures, demonstrations, "hands-on" work, problem solving, small groups) used in their high school science courses, if any, played a significant role in propelling certain students towards a career as a practicing scientist? (3) What high school science-related support structures (e.g. labs, equipment, textbooks, technology), if any, played a significant role in propelling certain students towards a career as a practicing scientist? (4) What high school science-related educational activities (e.g. science fairs, clubs, summer internships), if any, played a significant role in propelling certain students towards a career as a practicing scientist? Some of the scientists reported that they knew they were headed towards a career in science before they even entered high school, while others did not make a decision about a science

Do science coaches promote inquiry-based instruction in the elementary science classroom?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wicker, Rosemary Knight

The South Carolina Mathematics and Science Coaching Initiative established a school-based science coaching model that was effective in improving instruction by increasing the level of inquiry-based instruction in elementary science classrooms. Classroom learning environment data from both teacher groups indicated considerable differences in the quality of inquiry instruction for those classrooms of teachers supported by a science coach. All essential features of inquiry were demonstrated more frequently and at a higher level of open-ended inquiry in classrooms with the support of a science coach than were demonstrated in classrooms without a science coach. However, from teacher observations and interviews, it was determined that elementary schoolteacher practice of having students evaluate conclusions and connect them to current scientific knowledge was often neglected. Teachers with support of a science coach reported changes in inquiry-based instruction that were statistically significant. This mixed ethnographic study also suggested that the Mathematics and Science Coaching Initiative Theory of Action for Instructional Improvement was an effective model when examining the work of science coaches. All components of effective school infrastructure were positively impacted by a variety of science coaching strategies intended to promote inquiry. Professional development for competent teachers, implementation of researched-based curriculum, and instructional materials support were areas highly impacted by the work of science coaches.

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Science, Worldviews, and Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gauch, Hugh G.

2009-06-01

Whether science can reach conclusions with substantial worldview import, such as whether supernatural beings exist or the universe is purposeful, is a significant but unsettled aspect of science. For instance, various scientists, philosophers, and educators have explored the implications of science for a theistic worldview, with opinions spanning the spectrum from positive to neutral to negative. To delineate a mainstream perspective on science, seven key characterizations or “pillars” of science are adopted from position papers from the world’s largest scientific organization, the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Based on those pillars and an examination of scientific method, I argue that the presuppositions and reasoning of science can and should be worldview independent, but empirical and public evidence from the sciences and humanities can support conclusions that are worldview distinctive. I also critique several problematic perspectives: asserting that science can say nothing about worldviews and the opposite extreme of insisting that science decisively supports one particular worldview; weakening science so severely that it lacks truth claims; and burdening science with unnecessary presuppositions. Worldview-distinctive conclusions based on empirical evidence are suitable for individual convictions and public discussions, but not for institutional endorsements and scientific literacy requirements.

Science Fairs for Science Literacy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mackey, Katherine; Culbertson, Timothy

2014-03-01

Scientific discovery, technological revolutions, and complex global challenges are commonplace in the modern era. People are bombarded with news about climate change, pandemics, and genetically modified organisms, and scientific literacy has never been more important than in the present day. Yet only 29% of American adults have sufficient understanding to be able to read science stories reported in the popular press [Miller, 2010], and American students consistently rank below other nations in math and science [National Center for Education Statistics, 2012].

Secondary Science Teachers' and Students' Involvement in a Primary School Community of Science Practice: How It Changed Their Practices and Interest in Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Forbes, Anne; Skamp, Keith

2016-02-01

MyScience is a primary science education initiative in which being in a community of practice is integral to the learning process. In this initiative, stakeholder groups—primary teachers, primary students and mentors—interact around the `domain' of `investigating scientifically'. This paper builds on three earlier publications and interprets the findings of the views of four secondary science teachers and five year 9 secondary science students who were first-timer participants—as mentors—in MyScience. Perceptions of these mentors' interactions with primary students were analysed using attributes associated with both `communities of practice' and the `nature of science'. Findings reveal that participation in MyScience changed secondary science teachers' views and practices about how to approach the teaching of science in secondary school and fostered primary-secondary links. Year 9 students positively changed their views about secondary school science and confidence in science through participation as mentors. Implications for secondary science teaching and learning through participation in primary school community of science practice settings are discussed.

Conducting Science Fair Activities: Reflections of the Prospective Science Teachers on Their Expectations, Opinions, and Suggestions Regarding Science Fairs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Durmaz, Hüsnüye; Oguzhan Dinçer, Emrah; Osmanoglu, Ashhan

2017-01-01

The aim of this study is to examine the reflections of the prospective science teachers on their expectations, opinions, and suggestions towards science fairs. The study was conducted with 34 prospective science teachers. All participants had education in junior class of Science Teaching Program of a university located in western part of Turkey in…

More than "Cool Science": Science Fiction and Fact in the Classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Vandana

2014-02-01

The unfortunate negative attitude toward physics among many students, including science majors, warrants creative approaches to teaching required physics courses. One such approach is to integrate science fiction into the curriculum, either in the form of movies or the written word. Historically this has been done since at least the 1970s, and by now many universities and colleges have courses that incorporate science fiction stories or film. The intent appears to be to a) increase student interest in physics, b) increase the imaginative grasp of the student, and c) enable a clearer understanding of physics concepts. Reports on these experiments, from Freedman and Little's classic 1980 paper to more recent work like that of Dubeck et al.,2 Dark,3 and Smith,4 indicate that such innovative approaches do work. I was curious as to whether a combination of science fiction and science fact (in the form of a science news article) might enhance the benefits of including science fiction. Below I describe how I used a science fiction story along with a science article on a related theme to pique the interest of students in a new and exciting area of research that was nevertheless connected to the course material.

The pedagogy of argumentation in science education: science teachers' instructional practices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Özdem Yilmaz, Yasemin; Cakiroglu, Jale; Ertepinar, Hamide; Erduran, Sibel

2017-07-01

Argumentation has been a prominent concern in science education research and a common goal in science curriculum in many countries over the past decade. With reference to this goal, policy documents burden responsibilities on science teachers, such as involving students in dialogues and being guides in students' spoken or written argumentation. Consequently, teachers' pedagogical practices regarding argumentation gain importance due to their impact on how they incorporate this practice into their classrooms. In this study, therefore, we investigated the instructional strategies adopted by science teachers for their argumentation-based science teaching. Participants were one elementary science teacher, two chemistry teachers, and four graduate students, who have a background in science education. The study took place during a graduate course, which was aimed at developing science teachers' theory and pedagogy of argumentation. Data sources included the participants' video-recorded classroom practices, audio-recorded reflections, post-interviews, and participants' written materials. The findings revealed three typologies of instructional strategies towards argumentation. They are named as Basic Instructional Strategies for Argumentation, Meta-level Instructional ‌St‌‌rategies for ‌Argumentation, and Meta-strategic Instructional ‌St‌‌rategies for ‌Argumentation. In conclusion, the study provided a detailed coding framework for the exploration of science teachers' instructional practices while they are implementing argumentation-based lessons.

The science writing tool

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schuhart, Arthur L.

This is a two-part dissertation. The primary part is the text of a science-based composition rhetoric and reader called The Science Writing Tool. This textbook has seven chapters dealing with topics in Science Rhetoric. Each chapter includes a variety of examples of science writing, discussion questions, writing assignments, and instructional resources. The purpose of this text is to introduce lower-division college science majors to the role that rhetoric and communication plays in the conduct of Science, and how these skills contribute to a successful career in Science. The text is designed as a "tool kit," for use by an instructor constructing a science-based composition course or a writing-intensive Science course. The second part of this part of this dissertation reports on student reactions to draft portions of The Science Writing Tool text. In this report, students of English Composition II at Northern Virginia Community College-Annandale were surveyed about their attitudes toward course materials and topics included. The findings were used to revise and expand The Science Writing Tool.

Revolutionary Science.

PubMed

Casadevall, Arturo; Fang, Ferric C

2016-03-01

On rare occasions in the history of science, remarkable discoveries transform human society and forever alter mankind's view of the world. Examples of such discoveries include the heliocentric theory, Newtonian physics, the germ theory of disease, quantum theory, plate tectonics and the discovery that DNA carries genetic information. The science philosopher Thomas Kuhn famously described science as long periods of normality punctuated by times of crisis, when anomalous observations culminate in revolutionary changes that replace one paradigm with another. This essay examines several transformative discoveries in the light of Kuhn's formulation. We find that each scientific revolution is unique, with disparate origins that may include puzzle solving, serendipity, inspiration, or a convergence of disparate observations. The causes of revolutionary science are varied and lack an obvious common structure. Moreover, it can be difficult to draw a clear distinction between so-called normal and revolutionary science. Revolutionary discoveries often emerge from basic science and are critically dependent on nonrevolutionary research. Revolutionary discoveries may be conceptual or technological in nature, lead to the creation of new fields, and have a lasting impact on many fields in addition to the field from which they emerge. In contrast to political revolutions, scientific revolutions do not necessarily require the destruction of the previous order. For humanity to continue to benefit from revolutionary discoveries, a broad palette of scientific inquiry with a particular emphasis on basic science should be supported. Copyright © 2016 Casadevall and Fang.

Revolutionary Science

PubMed Central

Fang, Ferric C.

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT On rare occasions in the history of science, remarkable discoveries transform human society and forever alter mankind’s view of the world. Examples of such discoveries include the heliocentric theory, Newtonian physics, the germ theory of disease, quantum theory, plate tectonics and the discovery that DNA carries genetic information. The science philosopher Thomas Kuhn famously described science as long periods of normality punctuated by times of crisis, when anomalous observations culminate in revolutionary changes that replace one paradigm with another. This essay examines several transformative discoveries in the light of Kuhn’s formulation. We find that each scientific revolution is unique, with disparate origins that may include puzzle solving, serendipity, inspiration, or a convergence of disparate observations. The causes of revolutionary science are varied and lack an obvious common structure. Moreover, it can be difficult to draw a clear distinction between so-called normal and revolutionary science. Revolutionary discoveries often emerge from basic science and are critically dependent on nonrevolutionary research. Revolutionary discoveries may be conceptual or technological in nature, lead to the creation of new fields, and have a lasting impact on many fields in addition to the field from which they emerge. In contrast to political revolutions, scientific revolutions do not necessarily require the destruction of the previous order. For humanity to continue to benefit from revolutionary discoveries, a broad palette of scientific inquiry with a particular emphasis on basic science should be supported. PMID:26933052

76 FR 7235 - NASA Advisory Council; Science Committee; Planetary Science Subcommittee; Meeting

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Primary and Secondary School Science.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Educational Documentation and Information, 1984

1984-01-01

This 344-item annotated bibliography presents overview of science teaching in following categories: science education; primary school science; integrated science teaching; teaching of biology, chemistry, physics, earth/space science; laboratory work; computer technology; out-of-school science; science and society; science education at…

Professional Development of Elementary and Science Teachers in a Summer Science Camp: Changing Nature of Science Conceptions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karaman, Ayhan

2016-01-01

Many countries all over the world have recently integrated nature of science (NOS) concepts into their science education standards. Providing professional support to teachers about NOS concepts is crucially important for successful implementation of the standards. For this purpose, a summer science camp was offered to elementary and science…

Science and Art

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moore, John W.

2001-10-01

Science and art diverge in that art usually represents a single individual's conception and viewpoint, even when many others are involved in bringing a work to fruition, whereas science progresses by extending consensus among those knowledgeable in a field. Art usually communicates at an emotional level. It values individual expression and impact on the emotions at the expense of objectivity. Science, especially in its archival record, values objectivity and reproducibility and does not express the imagination and joy of discovery inherent in its practice. This is too bad, because it does not give a realistic picture of how science is really done and because individuality and emotion are inherently more interesting than consensus. Leaving out the personal, emotional side can make science seem boring and pedestrian, when exactly the opposite is true. In teaching science we need to remember that communication always benefits from imagination and esthetic sense. If we present science artistically and imaginatively, as well as objectively and precisely, students will develop a more complete understanding of what science and scientists are about--one that is likely to capture their imaginations, emotions, and best efforts.

SSMA Science Reviewers' Forecasts for the Future of Science Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jinks, Jerry; Hoffer, Terry

1989-01-01

Described is a study which was conducted as an exploratory assessment of science reviewers' perceptions for the future of science education. Arrives at interpretations for identified categories of computers and high technology, science curriculum, teacher education, training, certification, standards, teaching methods, and materials. (RT)

Differentiating Science Instruction: Success Stories of High School Science Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maeng, Jennifer Lynn Cunningham

2011-01-01

This study investigated the characteristics and practices of high school science teachers who differentiate instruction. Specifically teachers' beliefs about science teaching and student learning and how they planned for and implemented differentiated instruction in their classrooms were explored. Understanding how high school science teachers…

Exploring Connections Between Earth Science and Biology - Interdisciplinary Science Activities for Schools

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vd Flier-Keller, E.; Carolsfeld, C.; Bullard, T.

2009-05-01

To increase teaching of Earth science in schools, and to reflect the interdisciplinary nature and interrelatedness of science disciplines in today's world, we are exploring opportunities for linking Earth science and Biology through engaging and innovative hands-on science activities for the classroom. Through the NSERC-funded Pacific CRYSTAL project based at the University of Victoria, scientists, science educators, and teachers at all levels in the school system are collaborating to research ways of enriching the preparation of students in math and science, and improving the quality of science education from Kindergarten to Grade 12. Our primary foci are building authentic, engaging science experiences for students, and fostering teacher leadership through teacher professional development and training. Interdisciplinary science activities represent an important way of making student science experiences real, engaging and relevant, and provide opportunities to highlight Earth science related topics within other disciplines, and to expand the Earth science taught in schools. The Earth science and Biology interdisciplinary project builds on results and experiences of existing Earth science education activities, and the Seaquaria project. We are developing curriculum-linked activities and resource materials, and hosting teacher workshops, around two initial areas; soils, and marine life and the fossil record. An example activity for the latter is the hands-on examination of organisms occupying the nearshore marine environment using a saltwater aquarium and touch tank or beach fieldtrip, and relating this to a suite of marine fossils to facilitate student thinking about representation of life in the fossil record e.g. which life forms are typically preserved, and how are they preserved? Literacy activities such as fossil obituaries encourage exploration of paleoenvironments and life habits of fossil organisms. Activities and resources are being tested with teachers

Integrating the history of science into a middle school science curriculum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huybrechts, Jeanne Marie

This study examined the effect of incorporating the history of science into a middle school physical science curriculum on student attitudes toward science and the work of scientists. While there is wide support for including some science history in middle school science lessons within both the science and science-education communities, there is little curriculum designed to meet that objective. A series of five lessons was written specifically for the study. Each lesson included a brief biography of a scientist whose work was of historical significance, and a set of directions for duplicating one or more of the experiments done by that scientist. A thirty-question, Likert scale survey of the attitudes of middle school students toward science and the work of scientists was also written for this study. The survey was administered to two groups of students in a single middle school: One group---the experimental group---subsequently used the science history curriculum; the second (control) group did not. The same attitude survey was readministered to both groups of students after study of the science-history curriculum was completed. The results of the study indicate that there was no statistically significant difference between the pretest and posttest scores of either the experimental or control group students. Further analysis was done to determine whether there were differences between the pretest and posttest scores of boys and girls, or between "regular" or "honors" students. In both cases no statistically significant difference was found.

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Biographical Sources in the Sciences--Life, Earth and Physical Sciences (1989-2006). LC Science Tracer Bullet. TB 06-4

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Freitag, Ruth, Comp.; Bradley, Michelle Cadoree, Comp.

2006-01-01

This guide offers a systematic approach to the wide variety of published biographical information on men and women of science in the life, earth and physical sciences, primarily from 1989 to 2006, and complements Library of Congress Science Tracer Bullet "TB88-3" ("Biographical Sources in the Sciences," compiled 1988 [ED306074]) and "TB06-7"…

A mirror for science.

PubMed

Jasanoff, Sheila

2014-01-01

Early conceptions of the public understanding of science suffered from a narrow framing of what science means and a presumption that science is divided from its publics by walls of ignorance and indifference. Those assumptions amplified misunderstanding and led to faulty policies. It is time to reopen each element in the term "public understanding of science" to renewed reflection. This journal can advance that goal by encouraging research on actual rather than imagined public responses to science, on representations of science in the public sphere, and on interactions between science, technology and society.

Science teacher’s idea about environmental concepts in science learning as the first step of science teacher training

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tapilouw, M. C.; Firman, H.; Redjeki, S.; Chandra, D. T.

2018-05-01

To refresh natural environmental concepts in science, science teacher have to attend a teacher training. In teacher training, all participant can have a good sharing and discussion with other science teacher. This study is the first step of science teacher training program held by education foundation in Bandung and attended by 20 science teacher from 18 Junior High School. The major aim of this study is gathering science teacher’s idea of environmental concepts. The core of questions used in this study are basic competencies linked with environmental concepts, environmental concepts that difficult to explain, the action to overcome difficulties and references in teaching environmental concepts. There are four major findings in this study. First finding, most environmental concepts are taught in 7th grade. Second finding, most difficult environmental concepts are found in 7th grade. Third finding, there are five actions to overcome difficulties. Fourth finding, science teacher use at least four references in mastering environmental concepts. After all, teacher training can be a solution to reduce difficulties in teaching environmental concepts.

Help | ScienceCinema

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ScienceCinema Database Search DOE ScienceCinema for Multimedia × Find + Fielded Search Audio Search × Fielded Search Title: × Description/Abstract: × Bibliographic Data: × Author/Speaker: × Name Name ORCID Media ScienceCinema? ScienceCinema allows users to search for specific words and phrases spoken within video files

Science Teacher Orientations and PCK across Science Topics in Grade 9 Earth Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campbell, Todd; Melville, Wayne; Goodwin, Dawne

2017-01-01

While the literature is replete with studies examining teacher knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), few studies have investigated how science teacher orientations (STOs) shape classroom instruction. Therefore, this research explores the interplay between a STOs and the topic specificity of PCK across two science topics within a grade…

Effects of 3D Printing Project-based Learning on Preservice Elementary Teachers' Science Attitudes, Science Content Knowledge, and Anxiety About Teaching Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Novak, Elena; Wisdom, Sonya

2018-05-01

3D printing technology is a powerful educational tool that can promote integrative STEM education by connecting engineering, technology, and applications of science concepts. Yet, research on the integration of 3D printing technology in formal educational contexts is extremely limited. This study engaged preservice elementary teachers (N = 42) in a 3D Printing Science Project that modeled a science experiment in the elementary classroom on why things float or sink using 3D printed boats. The goal was to explore how collaborative 3D printing inquiry-based learning experiences affected preservice teachers' science teaching self-efficacy beliefs, anxiety toward teaching science, interest in science, perceived competence in K-3 technology and engineering science standards, and science content knowledge. The 3D printing project intervention significantly decreased participants' science teaching anxiety and improved their science teaching efficacy, science interest, and perceived competence in K-3 technological and engineering design science standards. Moreover, an analysis of students' project reflections and boat designs provided an insight into their collaborative 3D modeling design experiences. The study makes a contribution to the scarce body of knowledge on how teacher preparation programs can utilize 3D printing technology as a means of preparing prospective teachers to implement the recently adopted engineering and technology standards in K-12 science education.

Bringing Up Girls in Science (BUGS): The Effectiveness of an Afterschool Environmental Science Program for Increasing Female Students' Interest in Science Careers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tyler-Wood, Tandra; Ellison, Amber; Lim, Okyoung; Periathiruvadi, Sita

2012-02-01

Bringing Up Girls in Science (BUGS) was an afterschool program for 4th and 5th grade girls that provided authentic learning experiences in environmental science as well as valuable female mentoring opportunities in an effort to increase participants' academic achievement in science. BUGS participants demonstrated significantly greater amounts of gain in science knowledge as measured by the Iowa Test of Basic Skills in Science (ITBS-S). The original BUGS participants and contrasts have now completed high school and entered college, allowing researchers to assess the long-term impact of the BUGS program. Fourteen former BUGS participants completed two instruments to assess their perceptions of science and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers. Their results were compared to four contrast groups composed entirely of females: 12 former BUGS contrasts, 10 college science majors, 10 non-science majors, and 9 current STEM professionals. Results indicate that BUGS participants have higher perceptions of science careers than BUGS contrasts. There were no significant differences between BUGS participants, Science Majors, and STEM professionals in their perceptions of science and STEM careers, whereas the BUGS contrast group was significantly lower than BUGS participants, Science Majors, and STEM Professionals. Additional results and implications are discussed within.

Disciplinary Literacy in Science: Developing Science Literacy through Trade Books

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fang, Zhihui

2014-01-01

Developing science literacy requires not only firsthand explorations of the material world but also secondhand investigations with text. A potentially powerful kind of text in science is trade books. This column describes four classroom ploys for using science trade books to enhance students' secondhand experiences.

The Role of Philosophy of Science in Science Teacher Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bentley, Michael L.; Garrison, James W.

1991-01-01

Discusses teacher knowledge of nature of science. Asserts this is aspect of science content knowledge frequently neglected in teacher education. Differentiates between positivism and postpositivism. Describes textbook's role in fostering student misconceptions of nature of science. Suggests students be given chance to carry out their own…

Investigating elementary principals' science beliefs and knowledge and its relationship to students' science outcomes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khan, Uzma Zafar

The aim of this quantitative study was to investigate elementary principals' beliefs about reformed science teaching and learning, science subject matter knowledge, and how these factors relate to fourth grade students' superior science outcomes. Online survey methodology was used for data collection and included a demographic questionnaire and two survey instruments: the K-4 Physical Science Misconceptions Oriented Science Assessment Resources for Teachers (MOSART) and the Beliefs About Reformed Science Teaching and Learning (BARSTL). Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used to assess the separate and collective contributions of background variables such as principals' personal and school characteristics, principals' science teaching and learning beliefs, and principals' science knowledge on students' superior science outcomes. Mediation analysis was also used to explore whether principals' science knowledge mediated the relationship between their beliefs about science teaching and learning and students' science outcomes. Findings indicated that principals' science beliefs and knowledge do not contribute to predicting students' superior science scores. Fifty-two percent of the variance in percentage of students with superior science scores was explained by school characteristics with free or reduced price lunch and school type as the only significant individual predictors. Furthermore, principals' science knowledge did not mediate the relationship between their science beliefs and students' science outcomes. There was no statistically significant variation among the variables. The data failed to support the proposed mediation model of the study. Implications for future research are discussed.

Contextualized Science for Teaching Science and Technology.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koul, Ravinder; Dana, Thomas M.

1997-01-01

Discusses science education in India, arguing that a contextualized curriculum is a powerful means of improvement. The paper presents results from an analysis of the treatment of the nature of science and technology in current Indian textbooks and uses India's controversial Sadar Sarovar Hydro-Electric Project as a case example. (SM)

Science & Engineering Indicators 2016. National Science Board

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Science Foundation, 2016

2016-01-01

"Science and Engineering Indicators" (SEI) is first and foremost a volume of record comprising high-quality quantitative data on the U.S. and international science and engineering enterprise. SEI includes an overview and seven chapters that follow a generally consistent pattern. The chapter titles are as follows: (1) Elementary and…

Environmental Science: High-School Science Fair Experiments.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dashefsky, H. Steven

This book contains 23 suggestions for experiments involving environmental science that can be used to create a science fair project. Aimed at grades 10-12, a wide range of environmental topics is covered. These topics include soil ecosystems, aquatic ecosystems, applied ecology, global warming and the greenhouse effect, deforestation and…

National Science Bowl | NREL

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and high school student teams on science and math topics. The National Science Bowl provides an opportunity for students to develop science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) skills in a non tournament challenges students' knowledge of science. Student teams are questioned on life science, math