Problem Solving in Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greene, Kim; Heyck-Williams, Jeff; Timpson Gray, Elicia

2017-01-01

Problem solving spans all grade levels and content areas, as evidenced by this compilation of projects from schools across the United States. In one project, high school girls built a solar-powered tent to serve their city's homeless population. In another project, 4th graders explored historic Jamestown to learn about the voices lost to history.…

Cooperative Learning in Science: Follow-up from primary to high school

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thurston, Allen; Topping, Keith J.; Tolmie, Andrew; Christie, Donald; Karagiannidou, Eleni; Murray, Pauline

2010-03-01

This paper reports a two-year longitudinal study of the effects of cooperative learning on science attainment, attitudes towards science, and social connectedness during transition from primary to high school. A previous project on cooperative learning in primary schools observed gains in science understanding and in social aspects of school life. This project followed 204 children involved in the previous project and 440 comparison children who were not as they undertook transition from 24 primary schools to 16 high schools. Cognitive, affective, and social gains observed in the original project survived transition. The implications improving the effectiveness of school transition by using cooperative learning initiatives are explored. Possibilities for future research and the implications for practice and policy are discussed.

Picture This: Seeing Diverse Youths' Ideas about Schools' Purposes, Supports, and Impediments--Students from the "Through Eyes" Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zenkov, Kristien; Harmon, Jim; van Lier, Piet

2008-01-01

The high school dropout crisis in diverse urban communities in the United States is evidence of an endemic disengagement from formal education. The project on which this essay reports utilized visual sociology methods to explore city students' perceptions of schools' purposes, as well as the supports for and impediments to their school success.…

KSC-04PD-0827

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2004-01-01

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. Astronaut Dr. David A. Wolf looks at students science project creating tornados during a visit to Carol City Elementary School, a NASA Explorer School, in Miami, Fla. Wolf is accompanying Center Director Jim Kennedy on a visit to the school to share Americas new vision for space exploration with the next generation of explorers. Kennedy is talking with students about our destiny as explorers, NASAs stepping stone approach to exploring Earth, the Moon, Mars and beyond, how space impacts our lives, and how people and machines rely on each other in space.

KSC-04pd0827

NASA Image and Video Library

2004-04-12

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Astronaut Dr. David A. Wolf looks at students’ science project creating tornados during a visit to Carol City Elementary School, a NASA Explorer School, in Miami, Fla. Wolf is accompanying Center Director Jim Kennedy on a visit to the school to share America’s new vision for space exploration with the next generation of explorers. Kennedy is talking with students about our destiny as explorers, NASA’s stepping stone approach to exploring Earth, the Moon, Mars and beyond, how space impacts our lives, and how people and machines rely on each other in space.

KSC-04pd0825

NASA Image and Video Library

2004-04-12

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Astronaut Dr. David A. Wolf learns about a science project from students at Carol City Elementary School, a NASA Explorer School, in Miami, Fla. Wolf is accompanying Center Director Jim Kennedy on a visit to the school to share America’s new vision for space exploration with the next generation of explorers. Kennedy is talking with students about our destiny as explorers, NASA’s stepping stone approach to exploring Earth, the Moon, Mars and beyond, how space impacts our lives, and how people and machines rely on each other in space.

Rural Experiment. How Three South Dakota Schools Are Opening Doors to Their Communities...Exploring Business Partnerships, Professional Alliances, Functional Building Designs, and Expanded Learning Environments for the Information Age.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Higbee, Paul S.

The Rural School and Community Development Project encourages South Dakota rural schools to take roles in local economic planning. This booklet profiles 3 of the project's 12 pilot schools: Takini School on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation, Estelline, and Belle Fourche. The three communities differ greatly in their histories, lifestyles,…

Effects of Implementing STEM-I Project-Based Learning Activities for Female High School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lou, Shi-Jer; Tsai, Huei-Yin; Tseng, Kuo-Hung; Shih, Ru-Chu

2014-01-01

This study aims to explore the application of STEM-I (STEM-Imagination) project-based learning activities and its effects on the effectiveness, processes, and characteristics of STEM integrative knowledge learning and imagination development for female high school students. A total of 72 female high school students were divided into 18 teams.…

Secondary Teacher Workload and Job Satisfaction: Do Successful Strategies for Change Exist?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Butt, Graham; Lance, Ann

2005-01-01

This article analyses the views of secondary school teachers involved in the Transforming the School Workforce: Pathfinder Project--a project designed to address issues of teacher workload and job satisfaction. The initiative was launched in 2002 by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) to enable 32 pilot schools to explore ways in which…

An Inquiry Safari

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomson, Norman; Chapman, Seri

2004-01-01

The Virtual Gorilla Modeling Project--a professional development project--is a collaboration of middle and high school inservice teachers, Zoo Atlanta primatologists, science and computer educators, and students. During a 10-day professional development summer workshop, middle and high school teachers explore the world of the gorilla through…

Housing Star Schools Reforms.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tushnet, Naida C.

The Star Schools Program has funded projects to explore innovative educational applications of technology in distance education. Funded projects have applied a variety of technologies, including videodisks, compressed data transmission, fiber optic technology, and computer networks. Program evaluation is a mandated aspect of the program. This…

Distributed Leadership as a Factor in and Outcome of Teacher Action Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dinham, Stephen; Aubusson, Peter; Brady, Laurie

2008-01-01

This paper reports an evaluation of Quality Teaching Action Learning (QTAL) projects conducted at New South Wales (NSW), Australia public (state) primary and secondary schools and explores how distributed leadership facilitated and was an outcome of the QTAL projects. The evaluation encompassed all 50 projects at 82 NSW public schools, and nine of…

Social Studies Education and Public Art: The Detroit Billboard Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Julie Anne; Iroha, Okezie

2015-01-01

The aim of this action-research project was to evaluate the impact of high school students' involvement in community-oriented, art-based work in the social studies. In Detroit, high school students engaged in persuasive writing and design while exploring community issues. The project culminated in the installation of student artwork on a billboard…

Children as Authors Handbook.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hawaii State Dept. of Education, Honolulu. Office of Instructional Services.

Intended for teachers, librarians, and administrators, this handbook explores the possibilities of implementing a "Children as Authors" project by using collaborative and integrative teaching strategies to motivate elementary school children to write. After describing the project and explaining its benefits, the handbook explores ways…

Exploring teachers' perspectives on the impact of out-of-school science-based programs for secondary level physics classrooms in Nebraska

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baquerizo-Birth, Marisol

This exploratory phenomenological study investigates the lived experiences of six high school physics teachers in Nebraska regarding their perceptions on the impact of participating in a science-based out-of-school program. By exploring the research question, we discover how this experience relates to these teachers' self-concept and professional growth. Open-ended, semi-structured, one-on-one interviews are used as the data collection method to explore teachers' perceptions. Responses reveal that teachers participating in the Cosmic Ray Observatory Project (CROP) as a means of exploring advanced, extracurricular physics projects perceive their participation as an opportunity for enrichment, collaboration, helping their students, and empowerment. Intertwined in the presented narratives, teachers refer to their schools' limited administrative support as a source of struggle tied to the challenge of balancing school and teaching responsibilities with CROP participants' responsibilities. This study proposes teachers must feel confident with their specific subject area to achieve a progressive view of self, and that supplemental professional development opportunities are crucial to physics teaching.

The Public-Private Partnership That Built a "Traditional" School: A Case Study from British Columbia. SAEE Research Series #7.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Daniel

This study examines the management and outcome of the public-private partnerships (P3s) school construction project used in the Auguston housing development in Abbotsford, British Columbia to build a traditionally-designed elementary school. The study explored the relationship between the project's major players, the fiscal incentives that drove…

From Doing to Learning: Changed Focus during a Pre-School Learning Study Project on Organic Decomposition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ljung-Djärf, Agneta; Magnusson, Andreas; Peterson, Sam

2014-01-01

We explored the use of the learning study (LS) model in developing Swedish pre-school science learning. This was done by analysing a 3-cycle LS project implemented to help a group of pre-school teachers (n?=?5) understand their science educational practice, by collaboratively and systematically challenging it. Data consisted of video recordings of…

The Careers Project: School Survey of Middle and High School Principals and Counselors in California. CRB 09-001

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Cos, Patricia L.; Chan, Julie

2009-01-01

The Careers Project is a study of the preparation all students in public middle and high schools receive to explore career options and the relationship between that preparation and California's state and regional economies. The California Research Bureau (CRB) undertook this research at the request of a bipartisan group of members of the…

Students' and Teachers' Perceptions: Initial Achievements of a Project-Based Engineering School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Terrón-López, María-José; Velasco-Quintana, Paloma-Julia; García-García, María-José; Ocampo, Jared R.

2017-01-01

A unified academic model based on the project-based learning (PBL) methodology was implemented, in the 2012-2013 period, in the School of Engineering at Universidad Europea de Madrid. The purpose of this paper is to explore whether teachers and students participating in the capstone projects feel that the objectives for which this methodology was…

The Cognitive Academic Learning Approaches through E.S.L. Content Areas with Career Exploration Strategies Program for Bilingual High School Students in New York City. Project CALA, 1988-89. OREA Final Evaluation Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berney, Tomi D.; And Others

Project CALA was a special alternative program at the International High School in Queens (New York City). In its first year, the project provided instructional and support services, emphasizing career education, to 171 high school students of limited English proficiency (LEP) who had lived in the United States for less than 4 years. The project…

The Purchasing Power of Collaboration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rosenthal, Amy; Mavrolas, Pamela; Rusmore, Barbara; Liquori, Toni

2017-01-01

Purpose/Objectives: School Food Focus (Focus) developed the Focus Midwest project on the premise that school food professionals (SFPs) could work together to minimize effort and maximize potential to find new or improved products to serve. Focus designed this project as an experiment to explore how and to what extent this collaborative approach…

Teachers' Journeys towards Critical Use of ICT

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schibeci, Renato; MacCallum, Judith; Cumming-Potvin, Wendy; Durrant, Cal; Kissane, Barry; Miller, Erica-Jane

2008-01-01

Teachers have a central role in developing new learning models in schools. This paper describes a study that explored teachers' confidence and competence in using Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) as they participated in an ICT development project conducted by an Australian education system in 12 primary schools. The project aimed…

Designing Schools Based on Brain Research.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chermayeff, Peter; Townsend, Ted

An audiotape explains an Iowa rainforest project that promotes experiential learning for children, and explores the effects of the physical environment on the brain. The project is a one-of-a-kind private/partnership that has created a fully integrated, seamless educational facility that combines a public school (prekindergarten through fifth…

Exploring Musical Expectations: Understanding the Impact of a Year-Long Primary School Music Project in the Context of School, Home and Prior Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pitts, Stephanie E.

2014-01-01

This article reports on a year-long project carried out in three UK primary schools, which aimed to understand the expectations and experiences of children participating in a series of workshops delivered by the chamber music organisation, Music in the Round. Through drawings, discussions, questionnaires and observations, the children's developing…

Dialogic Practice in Primary Schools: How Primary Head Teachers Plan to Embed Philosophy for Children into the Whole School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lyle, Sue; Thomas-Williams, Junnine

2012-01-01

The Philosophy for Children in Schools Project is an ongoing research project to explore the impact of philosophy for children (P4C) on classroom practice. This paper reports on the responses of head teachers, teachers and local educational authority (LA) officers in South Wales, UK, to the initial training programme in Philosophy for Children…

Everybody Dreams: Preparing a New Generation. NASA Explorer Schools Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2005

2005-01-01

NASA Explorer Schools provides unique opportunities for students and teachers by offering access to technology and resources that are seemingly beyond reach. Combining new technologies with NASA content, lesson plans, and real-world experiments enables teachers to enhance inquiry-based learning and augment student engagement. This publication…

Sparkling Science Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Allen, Denise

1995-01-01

Reviews five compact disc-read only memory (CD-ROM) products and one video series that focus on science projects: (1) "Body Park" (Virtual Entertainment); (2) "The Magic School Bus Explores the Solar System" (Microsoft); (3) "The Magic School Bus Explores the Human Body" (Microsoft); (4) "Science Curriculum Assistance Program" (Demco); and (5)…

Addressing the Professional Development Needs of Teachers Working in the Area of Special Education/Inclusion in Mainstream Schools in Ireland

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Gorman, Elizabeth; Drudy, Sheelagh

2010-01-01

This paper gives an account of one aspect of a recent research project that explored dimensions of inclusion in mainstream schools in Ireland. In particular, the working lives of teachers who have specific responsibility for students with disabilities and/or special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream schools were explored. In Ireland, such…

Give Water a Hand. School Site Action Guide. Organizing Water Conservation and Pollution Prevention Service Projects in Your Community.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wisconsin Univ., Madison. Coll. of Agricultural and Life Sciences.

Students grades 4-8 can use this guide to explore the topics of water, and water conservation at a school site, while conducting an environmental community service project. Youth groups, led by a group leader, work with local experts from business, government, or environmental organizations to complete the project. Nine activity sections involve…

Cognitive Academic Learning Approaches through ESL Content Area Instruction with Career Exploration Strategies (Project CALA). Final Evaluation Report, 1992-93. OER Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guadalupe, Deana R.

This report presents an evaluation of the Cognitive Academic Learning Approaches through ESL Content Area Instruction with Career Exploration Strategies (Project CALA)), an Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title VII-funded project in its fifth and last year of operation at International High School, a bilingual special alternative high…

Power, Agency and Participatory Agendas: A Critical Exploration of Young People's Engagement in Participative Qualitative Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holland, Sally; Renold, Emma; Ross, Nicola J.; Hillman, Alexandra

2010-01-01

This article critically explores data generated within a participatory research project with young people in the care of a local authority, the (Extra)ordinary Lives project. The project involved ethnographic multi-media data generation methods used in groups and individually with eight participants (aged 10-20) over a school year and encouraged…

Comprehensive School Reform & Student Achievement in Kentucky Middle Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Evans-Andris, Melissa; Usui, Wayne M.

2008-01-01

This project examines the effects of Comprehensive School Reform (CSR) models on the achievement of students in Kentucky middle schools. Previous studies exploring the effects of CSR on schools and student achievement have rendered mixed results (Berends, 2000; May & Supovitz, 2006; May, Supovitz, & Perda, 2004; RAND, 2002; Zhang,…

School Counseling Needs of Latino Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parker, Maggie M.; Ray, Dee C.

2017-01-01

This article focuses on determining the school counseling activities perceived as important by a sample of Latino high school students. The researchers explored student perceptions through the administration of a survey instrument created for this project to better understand Latino students' perceptions and satisfaction with school counselor…

KSC-04pd0847

NASA Image and Video Library

2004-04-13

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - A teacher (right) at Ralph Bunche Middle School, a NASA Explorer School, in Atlanta, Ga., shows a science project to astronaut Rick Linnehan (left) and Center Director Jim Kennedy (center). Linnehan and Kennedy were at the school to share America’s new vision for space exploration with the next generation of explorers. The visit is one of many Kennedy has made to NES sites in Florida and Georgia to talk with students about our destiny as explorers, NASA’s stepping stone approach to exploring Earth, the Moon, Mars and beyond, how space impacts our lives, and how people and machines rely on each other in space.

What Makes for a Successful Re-Integration from a Pupil Referral Unit to Mainstream Education? An Applied Research Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lawrence, Nicola

2011-01-01

A qualitative research project was carried out in order to explore the views of Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) and mainstream school staff regarding the process of re-integration of secondary school age pupils from the PRU to mainstream school. The views of 11 PRU staff members, six mainstream staff members and a member of the Behaviour Support Service…

Technologically Enhanced Language Learning in Primary Schools in England, France and Spain: Developing Linguistic Competence in a Technologically Enhanced Classroom Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Macrory, Gee; Chretien, Lucette; Ortega-Martin, Jose Luis

2012-01-01

This paper reports on an EU-funded project (Ref: 134244-2007-UK-COMENIUS-CMP) that explored the impact of technology, notably video-conferencing, on primary school children's language learning in England, France and Spain. Data were gathered from the children in the project, their teachers and also from trainee teachers placed in the schools. The…

Researching Employment Relations: A Self-Reflexive Analysis of a Multi-Method, School-Based Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McDonald, Paula; Graham, Tina

2011-01-01

Drawing on primary data and adjunct material, this article adopts a critical self-reflexive approach to a three-year, Australian Research Council-funded project that explored themes around "employment citizenship" for high school students in Queensland. The article addresses three overlapping areas that reflect some of the central…

Connecting Formal and Informal Learning Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Mahony, Timothy Kieran

2010-01-01

The learning study reports on part of a larger project being lead by the author. In this dissertation I explore one goal of this project--to understand effects on student learning outcomes as a function of using different methods for connecting out-of-school experiential learning with formal school-based instruction. There is a long history of…

The Western Primary School 'Quiet Room' Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

King, Angus; Chantler, Zara

2002-01-01

This article describes a "Quiet Room" project for students with social, emotional, and behavioral problems at a British primary school. The Quiet Room was designed to provide a nurturing environment away from the classroom in which a child's emotional needs can be explored on a one-to-one basis. Benefits for children, parents, and…

Gender and Boys' Singing in Early Childhood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hall, Clare

2005-01-01

This article derives from a research project investigating the singing behaviour of a group of Australian boys in their first year of school. The project showed that the genesis of the "missing male" trend in singing at school may be occurring in early childhood. The impact of hegemonic masculinity in early childhood is explored here by…

The Effects of Project Success on Student Academic Performance: A Quasi-Experimental Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shamblen, Stephen R.; Ringwalt, Chris

2008-01-01

Project SUCCESS (PS) is a substance use prevention program that targets indicated high school students. We used archival data to explore the program's effects on students' academic achievement and disciplinary problems. It is essential to demonstrate such effects, if prevention curricula are to survive in schools that face multiple competing…

Increasing the Utility of Information Systems in Schools: Lessons from the Literature. Multilevel Evaluation Systems Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Herman, Joan

The Multilevel Evaluation Systems Project is exploring the requirements for information systems that could help teachers and administrators sort through, analyze, and apply comprehensive information about their students, community, instructional processes, and outcomes to improve their schools. Toward this end, a multi-disciplinary literature…

Inquiry-Based Teaching: Teachers' Conceptions, Impediments and Support

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pozuelos, Francisco; Trave Gonzalez, Gabriel; Canal de Leon, Pedro

2010-01-01

This paper describes a study into the implementation within two Spanish primary schools of an inquiry-based curricular project entitled "Exploring Our World" (ages 6-12). Taking the form of two case studies, it offers a description of the two participating schools and the development of the project within them. Particular attention is…

Stick to Your Own Kind: Pupils' Experiences of Identity and Diversity in Secondary Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rhamie, Jasmine; Bhopal, Kalwant; Bhatti, Ghazala

2012-01-01

A national emphasis in Britain on community cohesion and citizenship has highlighted the need to explore understandings of difference within and between communities, particularly in school contexts. This paper reports on the first phase of a larger project exploring pupils' understandings and experiences of identity and diversity within secondary…

Small Schools Reform Narratives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lehman, Beth M.; Berghoff, Beth

2013-01-01

This study explored complicated personal narratives of school reform generated by participants in response to a particular small schools reform initiative. Narrative data was dialogically generated in interviews with nine past participants of an urban high school conversion project planned and implemented over a span of five years toward the goal…

"I Want to Be a Furious Leopard with Magical Wings and Super Power": Developing an Ethico-Interpretive Framework for Detecting Chinese Students' Funds of Identity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Poole, Adam

2017-01-01

The Avatar Project was a two-week English project in which Chinese high school students in an internationalised school in Shanghai China explored the topic of cultural and individual identity. The project synthesised prospective education with the Funds of Identity approach, both of which have particular relevance within an internationalised…

Cognitive Academic Learning Approaches Through E.S.L. Content Areas with Career Exploration Strategies (Project CALA), 1989-90. OREA Final Evaluation Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

New York City Board of Education, Brooklyn, NY. Office of Research, Evaluation, and Assessment.

Cognitive Learning Approaches Through E.S.L. Content Areas with Career Exploration Strategies (Project CALA) served 200 students in its second year of funding. The project offered students of limited English proficiency opportunities to develop cultural and cognitive skills necessary for success in school and work through two major components:…

From Permission to Partnership: Participatory Research to Engage School Personnel in Systems Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blitz, Lisa V.; Mulcahy, Candace A.

2017-01-01

Data collected from teachers in a racially diverse, high-poverty high school were used to inform the initial steps in developing a school-university partnership to create a culturally responsive trauma-informed community school. The project utilized community-based participatory research to explore sensitive areas of school system functioning.…

School Reform and the School Counselor: Restructuring for the 21st Century.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stickel, Sue A.

This study is designed to gauge the impact that school reform and restructuring is having on the functions of school counselors. It explores how school counselors will work as the new century begins, and projects how changes in roles and responsibilities may impact school counselor training programs. The Delphi research method was used to forecast…

Building the School Nutrition Program Brand Personality within the School Setting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rushing, Keith; Asperin, Amelia Estepa

2012-01-01

Purpose/Objectives: The objectives of this project were to investigate the application of brand personality concepts in the school nutrition (SN) setting and to explore high school students' awareness and acceptance of these branding initiatives. Methods: An embedded, multiple-case replication design included structured interviews with SN…

A Cross-Cultural Study of the Effect of a Graph-Oriented Computer-Assisted Project-Based Learning Environment on Middle School Students' Science Knowledge and Argumentation Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hsu, P.-S.; Van Dyke, M.; Chen, Y.; Smith, T. J.

2016-01-01

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to explore how seventh graders in a suburban school in the United States and sixth graders in an urban school in Taiwan developed argumentation skills and science knowledge in a project-based learning environment that incorporated a graph-oriented, computer-assisted application (GOCAA). A total of 42…

Exploring Middle School Students' Use of Inscriptions in Project-Based Science Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wu, Hsin-Kai; Krajcik, Joseph S.

2006-01-01

This study explores seventh graders' use of inscriptions in a teacher-designed project-based science unit. To investigate students' learning practices during the 8-month water quality unit, we collected multiple sources of data (e.g., classroom video recordings, student artifacts, and teacher interviews) and employed analytical methods that drew…

Teen Advocates for Community and Environmental Sustainability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wunar, B.

2017-12-01

The Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago (MSI) is in the early stages of a NOAA supported Environmental Literacy Grant project that aims to engage high school age youth in the exploration of climate and Earth systems science. Participating youth are positioned as teen advocates for establishing resilient communities in the Midwest. The project utilizes a variety of resources, including NOAA Science On a Sphere® (SOS) technology and datasets, Great Lakes and local climate assets, and local municipal resiliency planning guides to develop museum-based youth programming. Teen participants in the project will share their learning through regular facilitated interactions with public visitors in the Museum and will bring learning experiences to Chicago Public Library sites throughout the city's neighborhoods. Project content will also be adapted for use in 100+ after-school science clubs to engage younger students from diverse communities across the Chicago area. Current strategies for supporting teen facilitation of public experiences, linkages to out of school time and summer learning programs, and connections to local resiliency planning agencies will be explored.

Secondary School Senior Capstone Projects: A Descriptive and Interpretive Case Study on Post-Secondary Students' Perspectives of Learning Transfer

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yasuda, Vanessa Applbaum

2017-01-01

This descriptive and interpretive case study investigates how 12 undergraduate college students perceived participation in their high school Senior Capstone Project (SCP) impacted their college academic experience. Learning transfer was explored from the learner's perspective. Data was collected using qualitative methods in three sequential phases…

Leaders as Learners: An Inquiry into the Formation and Transformation of Principals' Professional Perspectives.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McGough, David J.

This research project explored the manner in which veteran school principals learn of, and become committed to, new perspectives and practices. Personal stories of formative and transformative change from the careers of 23 school principals were collected and analyzed comparatively. Four analytic frameworks emerged from the project and provide a…

The Relationship between Project-Based Learning and Rigor in STEM-Focused High Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edmunds, Julie; Arshavsky, Nina; Glennie, Elizabeth; Charles, Karen; Rice, Olivia

2016-01-01

Project-based learning (PjBL) is an approach often favored in STEM classrooms, yet some studies have shown that teachers struggle to implement it with academic rigor. This paper explores the relationship between PjBL and rigor in the classrooms of ten STEM-oriented high schools. Utilizing three different data sources reflecting three different…

Multiliteracies, Pedagogy and Identities: Teacher and Student Voices from a Toronto Elementary School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Giampapa, Frances

2010-01-01

In this article, I draw on an ethnographic case study of one Toronto elementary school, as part of a Canada-wide action research project: Multiliteracy Project (www.multiliteracies.ca). I have explored how Perminder, a grade-4 teacher, developed a multiliteracies pedagogy, drawing on her own and her students' identities and linguistic and cultural…

MuseumScouts: Exploring How Schools, Museums and Interactive Technologies Can Work Together to Support Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wishart, Jocelyn; Triggs, Pat

2010-01-01

In this paper we report on the successes and challenges of a creative project involving museums, schools and interactive technologies. The MuseumScouts project is EU Comenius 2.1 funded and involves teachers, teacher educators, museum staff, students and researchers from five European countries: Germany (Berlin and Munich), Lithuania (Vilnius),…

Mapping Literacy, Mapping Lives: Teachers Exploring the Sociopolitical Context of Literacy and Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ordonez-Jasis, Rosario; Jasis, Pablo

2011-01-01

In this article the authors explore a language and literacy community mapping project carried out by public school teachers in southern California. They chronicle the knowledge produced by teachers about the depth and diversity of language and literacy resources present in the neighborhoods surrounding their various urban school sites. (Contains 6…

Exploring Education Professionals' Perceptions of the Changes in School/Classroom Climate, Students' Experiences, and Educators' Experiences as a Result of Implementing the Secret Kindness Agents Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pearson, Ferial G.

2017-01-01

This phenomenological study explored the perceptions of 23 educators as related to the implementation of the "Secret Kindness Agents Project." The methodology was comprised of a researcher-designed questionnaire to capture the essence of the participants' experiences with the project. A Conceptual Map developed by researchers at the…

Exploring Teacher Professional Learning for Future-Oriented Schooling: Working Paper 1 from the Back to the Future Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gilbert, Jane; Bull, Ally

2014-01-01

This working paper sets out some of the early findings from a pilot project to explore the qualities that future-oriented teachers might need and how those qualities might be developed. The work began under a New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER) project called Back to the Future and is now part of a Teaching & Learning Research…

Governance and Administrative Infrastructure in New York City Charter Schools. Going Charter Year Three Findings. Charter School Research Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ascher, Carol; Echazarreta, Juan; Jacobowitz, Robin; McBride, Yolanda; Troy, Tammi

In this final report of a 3-year evaluation, researchers explored the developing infrastructure in New York City charter schools and identified areas in which school stakeholders--private partners, boards of trustees, school leaders, parents, and teachers--needed support to help charter schools succeed. The study was based on monthly visits to…

Teacher Leadership in University-School Collaboration for School Improvement (USCSI) on the Chinese Mainland

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhang, Jia-Wei; Lo, Leslie Nai-Kwai; Chiu, Chi-Shing

2014-01-01

This article presents the findings of a qualitative study on teacher leadership in the context of university-school collaboration for school improvement (USCSI) on the Chinese Mainland. Through the lens of structuration theory, it explores the process of teacher leaders exercising their power in a USCSI project. During the school improvement…

Supporting Statewide Implementation of the Learning School Initiative. Catalyst Schools Research Study Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hammer, Patricia Cahape

2016-01-01

This is the first in a series of reports based on a research study, Developing Effective Professional Learning Communities in Catalyst Schools, conducted between February 2015 and June 2016. "Catalyst schools" were elementary- and secondary-level schools selected to participate in a pilot project intended to explore how best to support…

Teens, Power Tools, and Green Schools: Education for Sustainability through a University Environmental Design Program and Middle School Partnership

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Derr, Victoria

2017-01-01

This article explores the role of green schools in promoting education for sustainability by reflecting on a university-middle school partnership focused on sustainable design. Undergraduates and middle school students met weekly for a semester to learn about sustainability through simple design projects and activities that focused on…

The Co-Operative: Good with Schools?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coates, Max

2015-01-01

The article is a summary of a small-scale research project which considers the formation of Co-operative Trust Schools. This was carried out in 2013 at a time when the number of schools becoming Academies and Trust Schools through the Co-operative College was burgeoning. Through questionnaire, interview, documentary analysis and exploration of…

Exploring the Challenges of Conducting Respectful Research: Seen and Unforeseen Factors within Urban School Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Samaroo, Julia; Dahya, Negin; Alidina, Shahnaaz

2013-01-01

This paper discusses the significance of conducting respectful research within urban schools, using the example of one large-scale university-school board partnership in northwestern Toronto. The authors, three research assistants on the project, use their experiences within three of the participating schools to interrogate the research approach…

Icon Images in HyperCard: An Exploration of Visual Concepts with Middle School Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Philleo, Tom

The purpose of this project was to investigate, in an informal and exploratory manner, the reactions of middle school students to unfamiliar symbols used as computer screen icons. The project focused on discovering a means to address the following issues: (1) the appearance of buttons containing text compared to those with graphics; (2) the…

Exploring the Everyday Context of Chemical Elements: Discovering the Elements of Car Components

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Franco-Mariscal, Antonio Joaquín

2015-01-01

This paper presents a project about the chemical elements made by 15-year-old Spanish high school students of Chemistry. It focuses on context-based teaching combined with the advantages of creating a large mural which subsequently is exposed in the school. The project consisted of researching the chemical elements in the different materials that…

This Is Who I Want to Be! Exploring Possible Selves by Interviewing Women in Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Early, Jessica Singer

2017-01-01

This article shares a study of an interview/writing project for adolescent girls, which was a component of the Girls Writing Science Project at a diverse urban high school in the Southwestern United States. The group of high school girls planned, initiated, conducted, and wrote interview profiles of women scientists from their local community.…

A journey into school health promotion: district implementation of the health promoting schools approach.

PubMed

Gleddie, Doug

2012-03-01

The health-promoting schools approach has gained momentum in the last decade with many jurisdictions providing guidelines and frameworks for general implementation. Although general agreement exists as to the broad strokes needed for effectiveness, less apparent are local implementation designs and models. The Battle River Project was designed to explore one such local implementation strategy for a provincial (Alberta, Canada) health promoting schools program. Located in the Battle River School Division, the project featured a partnership between Ever Active Schools, the school division and the local health authority. Case study was used to come to a greater understanding of how the health promoting schools approach worked in this particular school authority and model. Three themes emerged: participation, coordination and, integration.

Using Teaching Portfolios to Revise Curriculum and Explore Instructional Practices of Technology and Engineering Education Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lomask, Michal; Crismond, David; Hacker, Michael

2018-01-01

This paper reports on the use of teaching portfolios to assist in curriculum revision and the exploration of instructional practices used by middle school technology and engineering education teachers. Two new middle school technology and engineering education units were developed through the Engineering for All (EfA) project. One EfA unit focused…

Exploring Adult Digital Literacy Using Learners' and Educators' Perceptions and Experiences: The Case of the Second Chance Schools in Greece

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jimoyiannis, Athanassios; Gravani, Maria

2011-01-01

The research reported in this paper aspires to shed light into adult digital literacy using learners' and educators' experiences and perceptions at Second Chance Schools, a project in Greece aiming at combating social exclusion through education. In exploring the above, this investigation uses a case-study approach within a qualitative paradigm…

Exploring Feminism in a Multicultural Classroom: Using "Bend It Like Beckham" as a Tool in a High School Class

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomas, Paul; Røthing, Åse

2017-01-01

This study concerns itself with a classroom project in English class where the film "Bend it Like Beckham" was shown to two multicultural classes in a high school in Oslo, Norway, with a view towards exploring students' understandings and attitudes towards gender. Using an ethnographic methodology informed by feminist approaches,…

English Language Arts Scores among Sixth Grade Students Enrolled on an Elementary versus Middle School Campus

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, La-Trice

2013-01-01

A K-12 school district located in southern California was faced with overcrowding at 1of its middle schools for the 2011-2012 school year. This project study was designed to explore if an elementary or middle school campus was best in supporting students' academics while they were in transition to 6th grade middle school. Maslow's hierarchy of…

Schooling Space: Where South Africans Learnt to Position Themselves within the Hierarchy of Apartheid Society

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karlsson, Jenni

2004-01-01

In setting out to understand how South African school space was harnessed to the political project of apartheid, the author explores memory accounts from several adults who attended school during the apartheid era. Her analysis of their reminiscences found that non-pedagogic areas of the school and public domain beyond school premises were places…

An Analysis of the 2013 Program Evaluation Proposals for the School Leadership Preparation Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sanzo, Karen

2016-01-01

This article presents a content analysis of the 2013 School Leadership Program (SLP) grants. SLP projects provide a unique opportunity for participants in the field to explore innovative leadership preparation and development and their impact on program participants, schools, school districts, and students. The article begins with an overview of…

A "Quiet Revolution"? The Impact of Training Schools on Initial Teacher Training Partnerships

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brooks, Val

2006-01-01

This paper discusses the impact on initial teacher training of a new policy initiative in England: the introduction of Training Schools. First, the Training School project is set in context by exploring the evolution of a partnership approach to initial teacher training in England. Ways in which Training Schools represent a break with established…

Identity Projects in Complementary and Mainstream Schools: The Views of Albanian and Bulgarian Students in England

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tereshchenko, Antonina; Archer, Louise

2015-01-01

This paper contributes to the literature on complementary schools as sites of learning and social and cultural identification. We draw on a small-scale multi-method qualitative study conducted in Albanian and Bulgarian community schools in London to explore the agendas of "new" Eastern European complementary schools with respect to…

KSC-04pd0822

NASA Image and Video Library

2004-04-12

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Astronaut Dr. David A. Wolf (center) and External Relations Director Lisa Malone (right) learn about these students’ science project during a visit to Carol City Elementary School, a NASA Explorer School, in Miami, Fla. Wolf and Malone accompanied Center Director Jim Kennedy, who is sharing America’s new vision for space exploration with the next generation of explorers. Kennedy is talking with students about our destiny as explorers, NASA’s stepping stone approach to exploring Earth, the Moon, Mars and beyond, how space impacts our lives, and how people and machines rely on each other in space.

Collaborative Learning and Competence Development in School Health Nursing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nordentoft, Helle Merete; Wistoft, Karen

2012-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the process and learning outcomes of peer collaboration in a Danish health developmental project in school health nursing. The paper explores how peer collaboration influences the school nurses' collaborative learning and competence development. Design/methodology/approach: The article is based…

The Development of a Resource for Physically Active School Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bradley, Vicki R.; O'Connor, Justen P.

2009-01-01

This project describes the development of a resource designed to facilitate the exploration of factors influencing physical activity within school settings across multiple levels. Using a socio-ecological framework, the study draws upon factors across three domains that potentially impact physical activity levels within school settings: The…

Intergenerational Learning in a High School Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alfano, Christopher J.

2008-01-01

Active living and continuing learning are important to the well-being of seniors. As the generation of so-called baby boomers approach retirement, the same public schools built to accommodate their compulsory schooling are now being considered as sites for intergenerational learning. This article explores one such project where seniors learning…

Turnaround as Reform: Opportunity for Meaningful Change or Neoliberal Posturing?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mette, Ian M.

2013-01-01

This study explores the neoliberal agenda of turnaround school reform efforts in America by examining the application and transformation of a Midwest State Turnaround Schools Project for the public school system. Perceptions of administrators and state-level policy actors are considered. Data were collected from 13 participants during the…

Piloting Technological Understanding and Reasoning in Icelandic Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thorsteinsson, Gisli; Olafsson, Brynjar

2016-01-01

A pilot research was undertaken in Icelandic schools during the 2013-2014 school year, in order to explore students' technological understanding and reasoning at the ages of 11 and 13. The survey included a questionnaire regarding mechanical movement, power and thermodynamics, while the project considered the congruity between students'…

Mathematics Programs in High Schools and Two-Year Colleges.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Ross

Reviewing current conditions and projecting future directions, this paper explores trends in high school mathematics and discusses their implications for two-year college education. The first section examines the secondary school mathematics program, indicating that until now this two-track curriculum has focused on precalculus mathematics for…

School Culture, Motivation, and Achievement. Project Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maehr, Martin L.; Fyans, Leslie J., Jr.

After defining school culture in terms of Organizational Culture, after Maehr and Braskamp (1986), this document presents three related studies, each based on data from a 1989 statewide assessment effort by the University of Illinois and the Illinois State Board of Education. The studies explore the relationship between school culture, motivation,…

Learning and Teaching English in the Portuguese Primary School.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Naysmith, John; Palma, Albertina

1997-01-01

Describes preliminary findings of an action research project undertaken by teachers in Setubal, Portugal, who are exploring ways to introduce English as a first foreign language into the Portuguese primary school curriculum. (three references) (CK)

Socio-Scientific Issues and the Quality of Exploratory Talk--What can be Learned from Schools Involved in a "Collapsed Day" Project?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harris, Richard; Ratcliffe, Mary

2005-01-01

This project was designed to examine the feasibility of using a "collapsed day" to explore socio-scientific issues relating to genes and genetic engineering in secondary schools by enabling science and humanities staff to collaborate. It was believed that science staff would have expertise in promoting understanding of genetics and humanities…

Project HOLD: A Secondary Learning Disability Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Snyder, Marjorie Sims

This document discusses Project HOLD, a Title VI-G Child Service Demonstration Center which was established as a cooperative effort between Northeast Louisiana University and the Ouachita Parish School System. The primary purpose of the project is to plan, explore, implement, and refine a program for students in grades 7 through 12 who have been…

Evander Childs High School. Career Exploration Opportunities for Bilingual Students, 1981-1982. O.E.E. Evaluation Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keyes, Jose Luis; And Others

The Career Exploration Opportunities for Bilingual Students (C.E.O.B.S.) program at Evander Childs High School in the Bronx, New York City, served 100 ninth and tenth grade Spanish speaking students of limited English proficiency during 1981-82. The project provided instruction in English as a second language and Spanish language skills; bilingual…

"Inclusion Is More than a Place": Exploring Pupil Views and Voice in Belfast Schools through Visual Narrative

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ryan, David

2009-01-01

The research reported in this article by David Ryan, an adviser for special educational needs and inclusion in Belfast, was based on a participatory approach in which young people in a number of schools were encouraged to develop their ideas about inclusion. The project set out to explore any differences in perceptions between pupils with special…

The Use of Computers in High Schools. Technical Report Number Eight.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crick, Joe E.; Stolurow, Lawrence M.

This paper reports on one high school's experience with a project to teach students how to program and solve problems in mathematics using a computer. Part I is intended as a general guide for any high school administrator or mathematics instructor who is interested in exploring the installation of a computer terminal in his high school and wants…

RACOL Project Delivers Distance Education to Rural Alberta Schools through Videoconferencing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

T.H.E. Journal, 2005

2005-01-01

The Fort Vermilion School Division (FVSD) covers an area twice the size of Vermont, yet the school system only has 3,600 students. This region of northwestern Alberta, Canada, is a mixture of agriculture and oil exploration, with most towns having fewer than 5,000 people. The mandate of the school district is to provide the best possible education…

Teachers as Researchers: A Discovery of Their Emerging Role and Impact through a School-University Collaborative Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chow, Ken Chi Kin; Chu, Samuel Kai Wah; Tavares, Nicole; Lee, Celina Wing Yi

2015-01-01

This study explored the impact of the role of teacher-researchers on in-service teachers' professional development, as well as the reasons behind the lack of a teacher-as-researcher ethos in schools. In the study, teachers from four Hong Kong primary schools participated in a school-university collaborative research project that promotes…

Oxidation of Ethidium Using TAML Activators: A Model for High School Research Performed in Partnership with University Scientists

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pueyo, Natalie C.; Raub, Andrew G.; Jackson, Sean; Metz, Madalyn M.; Mount, Allegra C.; Naughton, Kyle L.; Eaton, Ashley L.; Thomas, Nicole M.; Hastings, Peter; Greaves, John; Blumberg, Bruce; Collins, Terrence J.; Sogo, Steven G.

2013-01-01

A chemical research program at a public high school has been developed. The full-year Advanced Chemical Research class (ACR) in the high school enrolls 20-30 seniors each year, engaging them in long-term experimental projects. Through partnerships involving university scientists, ACR high school students have had the opportunity to explore a…

Bringing Different Generations Together in Music-Making: An Intergenerational Music Project in East London

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Varvarigou, Maria; Creech, Andrea; Hallam, Susan; McQueen, Hilary

2011-01-01

This article describes a music project that took place as part of a bigger project, entitled the Music for Life Project that explored the social and emotional benefits of music participation for people over fifty. The intergenerational project was led by two music leaders from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama. The participants involved…

School Leadership along the Trajectory from Monolingual to Multilingual

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ascenzi-Moreno, Laura; Hesson, Sarah; Menken, Kate

2016-01-01

This article explores the critical role of school leaders in language policy change, and specifically in shifting their language education policies and practices from monolingual to multilingual. We examine the process of language policy change in three schools that were involved in a project aimed at increasing the knowledge base of school…

eReaders in School Libraries

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sutton, Amy

2013-01-01

This article explores the possibility of using eReaders in the schools of the Houston Independent School District (HISD), specifically the Barnes and Noble Nook Pilot Project. HSID initially approved only an eReading device that was not wireless since it is very strict on the devices granted access to the wireless network. The biggest roadblock…

Qualifying Sociopolitical Consciousness: Complicating Culturally Responsive Pedagogy for Faith-Based Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dallavis, Christian

2013-01-01

This article explores the intersection of culturally responsive pedagogy and faith-based schooling. The author presents a portion of a larger ethnographic research project conducted at a Catholic elementary school that serves a predominantly Latino population in urban Chicago. This work contributes to theories of culturally responsive education by…

Taking School Reform Success to "Scale": Governance and Leadership Issues in Two Restructuring Elementary Buildings.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldman, Paul; Tindal, Gerald

This paper explores the difficulties of extending good, workable educational ideas to entire schools or districts. Two restructured schools that participated in a 4-year collaborative project that involved multi-age primary classrooms, inclusion of special-needs students in regular classrooms, and increasing specificity in assessing student…

"Not Greenies" at School: Investigating the Discourses of Environmental Activism in Regional Australia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whitehouse, Hilary

2014-01-01

Implementing environmental activism at school can be socially risky business. This paper explores the narratives of three women who undertook award winning environmental projects in two regional Australian schools. Tara (student, age 15) and Andrea (principal, age 42) document the complex and courageous social negotiations they were forced to…

Hopes, Fears, & Reality: A Balanced Look at American Charter Schools in 2006

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lake, Robin J., Ed.; Hill, Paul T., Ed.

2006-01-01

This is the second annual report from the National Charter School Research Project (NCSRP) at the University of Washington's Center on Reinventing Public Education. Like last year's debut edition of Hopes, Fears, & Reality, the 2006 volume explores some of the most current and controversial issues facing the charter school movement. This…

School Gardens: Teaching and Learning outside the Front Door

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Passy, Rowena

2014-01-01

This article reports on two projects: one that investigated the impact of school gardens on primary children's learning and one that is currently exploring the pedagogies involved in teaching children in the garden. The evidence presented suggests that school gardens can be an interesting and effective way of engaging children with learning, but…

Assessment and the Aims of the Curriculum: An Explorer's Journey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Black, Paul

2014-01-01

This article considers lessons learnt through involvement in several assessment projects. Early experience, in university work and in school examinations, led to an opportunity to help establish a novel system of assessment for an innovative school curriculum. Different lessons were then learnt from work on a national survey of school students'…

Convivencia to Empowerment: Latino Parent Organizing at La Familia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jasis, Pablo; Ordonez-Jasis, Rosario

2005-01-01

This article explores the emergence of La Familia Initiative, a Latino parent-organizing project at a public middle school. Motivated by their urgency to improve their children's schooling and enhance their opportunities for a better high school experience in the future, the participants organize to establish a more inclusive partnership with the…

The Spectrum of School--University Partnerships: A Typology of Organizational Learning Systems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Callahan, Jamie L.; Martin, Dorian

2007-01-01

School-university partnerships are not uni-dimensional projects. Success in these partnerships can be found in loosely-coupled systems such as client-server partnerships and in more tightly-coupled systems such as collaborative development centers. Using a comparative case study approach, we explore two school-university partnership case studies…

Science Explorers Translation Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jacobs, Dolores

This paper describes a pilot project of Los Alamos National Laboratory (New Mexico) to translate a science education curriculum for junior and senior high school students into Navajo. The project consisted of translating a video, a teacher's guide, and an interactive multimedia product on the 1993 hantavirus outbreak in the Four Corners area…

"Why We Don't Go to School on Fridays": On Youth Participation through Photo Voice in Rural KwaZulu-Natal

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mitchell, Claudia; Stuart, Jean; Moletsane, Relebohile; Nkwanyana, Callistus Bheka

2006-01-01

In this article, we draw on the example of the Friday Absenteeism Project, a photo voice project with sixth grade learners in a rural KwaZulu-Natal school, to interrogate the nature of participatory process and cultural production. In so doing, we explore a number of critical issues related to youth participation, including ethics, citizenship and…

Students' Perceptions of a Program for Exploring Postsecondary Options

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Deemer, Sandra A.; Ostrowski, Melissa

2010-01-01

This paper focuses on findings from the first wave of a longitudinal study investigating high school students' perceptions and behaviors as they engage in a graduation project focused on exploring postsecondary options. Students (n=157) completed surveys regarding their achievement goals, sense of belongingness and career exploration endeavors. A…

75 FR 4053 - Notice of Proposed Information Collection Requests

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-01-26

... important student outcomes. The study will use quasi-experimental designs to explore the relationship... student records data, principal surveys, and project director interviews. The U.S. Department of Education... Magnet Schools Assistance Program (MSAP) supported magnet schools are associated with improved student...

Direct and Indirect Educational Relationships: Developing a Typology for the Contribution of Different Categories of School Staff in Relation to Students' Educational Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frelin, Anneli; Grannäs, Jan

2015-01-01

This article presents results from a research project exploring the relational interplay between school staff and students, its functions and complexity in the secondary school context. School relationships (between students and different kinds of staff) are more or less indirectly related to educational content: subject matter as well as norms…

Explorations in Multi-Age Teaming (MAT): Evaluations of Three Projects in Fulton County, Georgia.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elmore, Randy; Hopping, Linda; Jenkins-Miller, Minnie; McElroy, Camille; Minafee, Margaret; Wisenbaker, Joseph

Multi-Age Teaming (MAT) programs were implemented at Crabapple and McNair Middle Schools in Fulton County, Georgia, in the fall of 1993, and at Camp Creek Middle School in the fall of 1994. An important goal of these programs was the creation of school families within schools with multi-age teams of sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade students. At…

Boxing Clever: Using Shoeboxes to Support Home-School Knowledge Exchange

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greenhough, Pamela; Scanlan, Mary; Feiler, Anthony; Johnson, David; Yee, Wan Ching; Andrews, Jane; Price, Alison; Smithson, Maggie; Hughes, Martin

2005-01-01

A key tenet of the Home-School Knowledge Exchange Project is that children's learning will be enhanced if the knowledge and experience that are to be found both at home and in school can be brought together. In this paper we explore ways of connecting home and school to support literacy learning at Key Stage 1, focusing on the home-to-school…

Project Employability: Employability Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burrell, Lewis P.; Talarico, Robert L.

The fourth of six products from Project Employability (Ohio) outlines instructional goals and objectives designed to improve employment skills of high functioning trainable and low functioning educable mentally retarded high school students. The employability philosophy incorporates statements regarding career exploration, practice as a means to…

Undergraduate degree projects in the Swedish dental schools: a documentary analysis.

PubMed

Franzén, C; Brown, G

2013-05-01

Undergraduate degree projects have currently been introduced into courses in the four Swedish dental schools. The rationale for research projects is that they enable students to develop research expertise skills and to show their ability to apply and develop knowledge relevant to professional practice. This paper reports a qualitative analysis of the curriculum documents and handbooks including the criteria used to assess the students' research reports. The aim was to investigate commonalities and differences in the design of degree projects between the four Swedish dental schools and to explore any inconsistencies within the documents. The documentary analysis was based on the constant comparison method. Four overarching themes emerged from the analysis: (i) developing scientific expertise, (ii) developing professional expertise, (iii) following rules and (iv) fostering creativity. The documents from the four dental schools revealed similar views on the purposes of the projects and provided similar assessment criteria. The students were requested to formulate an odontological problem, apply a relevant scientific method, analyse texts and empirical data, express critical reflections and write a short thesis. The students were free to choose topics. There were differences between the dental schools on the emphasis placed on practical uses of the projects and theoretical background of the projects. Two of the schools insisted on rigid rules of completing and writing the project yet paradoxically emphasised creativity. There were wide variations in the required length of the project report. The report may prove useful to dental schools in other countries who are about to design undergraduate research projects. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

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.

"Let's Throw That Big Stick in the River": An Exploration of Gender in the Construction of Shared Narratives around Outdoor Spaces

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Waller, Tim

2010-01-01

This paper will explore the role of gender in the construction of shared narratives around outdoor spaces. The paper draws on findings from a long-term project investigating young children's learning and the outdoor curriculum. The project is ongoing and involves children aged 3- to 4-years in a nursery school in England. The children are given…

Girls Talk Back: Changing School Culture through Feminist and Service-Learning Pedagogies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin, Jennifer L.; Beese, Jane A.

2016-01-01

This paper explores the intersection of feminism and service-learning by describing the creation of a women's studies course for girls attending an alternative high school. In the course participants could critique sexist practices in the media and in the school, as well as establish cultural competence through engaging in service projects that…

A Practice Study on the Informatization of Primary School Chinese Curriculum from the Perspective of Edutainment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hongke, Li

2014-01-01

This article is based on some of the results of the cooperative project "A Practice Study on Information-based Teaching" started and accomplished by Hubei University and other secondary and primary schools. This paper elaborates on the connotation of edutainment and explores ideas and design strategies of primary school Chinese…

A FIRST STEP TOWARDS THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CAMBRIDGE MATHEMATICS CURRICULUM IN A K-12 UNGRADED SCHOOL.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

FOSTER, GARRETT R.

A SERIES OF THREE CONFERENCES WAS HELD TO EXPLORE THE FEASIBILITY OF IMPLEMENTING A LONG-RANGE CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT PROJECT FOR AN UNGRADED, K-12 SCHOOL, BASED ON RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE CAMBRIDGE CONFERENCE ON SCHOOL MATHEMATICS. OVER 50 MATHEMATICIANS, MATHEMATICS EDUCATORS, AND PERSONS INVOLVED IN THEORETICAL AND APPLIED PSYCHOLOGICAL…

Empathetic Design: A Sustainable Approach to School Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hartman, Rita J.; Johnston, Elizabeth; Hill, Marty

2017-01-01

A descriptive case study approach is employed using a content analysis of the blogs of 36 school leaders who took part in the 2016-2017 Shadow a Student Challenge project and follow up interviews of five of the school leaders. This research was used to explore and describe how an empathetic design approach provided a greater vantage point for…

Identifying Key Early Literacy and School Readiness Issues: Exploring a Strategy for Assessing Community Needs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weigel, Daniel J.; Martin, Sally S.

2006-01-01

Much effort has been expended in developing intervention programs to help improve the early literacy and school readiness skills of young children. This article presents the results of a needs assessment project aimed at identifying priorities for community intervention programs aimed at ensuring that young children enter school ready to learn. A…

The Emergence of Innovative Work in School Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vennebo, Kirsten Foshaug; Ottesen, Eli

2015-01-01

In this article, we analyse the school developmental work of a project team in Norwegian upper secondary schools. The team aims to improve teaching and learning by making use of new technologies. The aim of the article is to explore the "black box" of developmental work practices by analysing the interactions between the team members to…

"Extended Schools": An Exploration of the Feelings, Beliefs and Intentions of Parents and Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McGill, Shauna

2011-01-01

This research is designed to provide information for participants, facilitators and policy makers in the area of Extended Schools. Its salient purpose is to investigate and examine the feelings, beliefs and attitudes of teachers and parents involved in the development of the Extended Schools project in Northern Ireland. The Extended Schools…

Accountability and the Kepler Public Schools. A Technical-Behavioral Analysis. Appendix A.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Levine, Donald M.; Hahn, Peter T.

This study examines the effectiveness of an accountability system--Alter--whose aim is to facilitate long-term planning. The purpose of the study was to develop a model that school systems can use in implementing accountability systems. The project explored the idea that when formal management systems are introduced into schools, they ignore…

Who's Afraid of Sex at School? The Politics of Researching Culture, Religion and Sexuality at School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Allen, Louisa; Rasmussen, Mary Lou; Quinlivan, Kathleen; Aspin, Clive; Sanjakdar, Fida; Brömdal, Annette

2014-01-01

This paper explores the methodological politics of researching at the intersections of sexuality, culture and religion in secondary schools. It draws on experiences during a project concerned with how to address cultural and religious diversity in sexuality education in Australia and New Zealand. The paper focuses on two methodological sticking…

Family Distance Regulation and School Engagement in Middle-School-Aged Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bartle-Haring, Suzanne; Younkin, Felisha Lotspeich; Day, Randal

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore how family distance regulation and other family demographic factors influence parenting behavior and family routines, which, in turn, influences the child's school engagement. The data from the project came from a larger study conducted in a large Northwestern urban area and included both two-parent and…

(Re)Conceptualizing "Dropouts" from Narratives of Black High School Students in Ontario.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dei, George J. Sefa

The preliminary findings of an on-going 3-year study examining the experiences of black students in a Canadian public school system are discussed. The project has been using students' narratives of their experiences in an inner-city public school system to explore the influences of race/ethnicity, class, gender, power, and social structures on…

"Empowering" the "Local" through Education? Exploring Community-Managed Schooling in Nepal

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carney, Stephen; Bista, Min; Agergaard, Jytte

2007-01-01

This article attempts to unpack the policy vision and discourse driving community management of schooling in Nepal and to consider the ways in which these policies are being experienced by bureaucrats, teachers, parents and children. The focus is on the World Bank funded Community School Support Project (CSSP) launched by the Government of Nepal…

School Improvement Plans and Student Achievement: Preliminary Evidence from the Quality and Merit Project in Italy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caputo, Andrea; Rastelli, Valentina

2014-01-01

This study provides preliminary evidence from an Italian in-service training program addressed to lower secondary school teachers which supports school improvement plans (SIPs). It aims at exploring the association between characteristics/contents of SIPs and student improvement in math achievement. Pre-post standardized tests and text analysis of…

Eight Voices of Empowerment: Student Perspectives in a Restructured Urban Middle School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Horn, Brian R.

2017-01-01

This article explores student empowerment in a restructured urban Title I middle school. The study includes data from eight participants in an action research project that involved a critical inquiry unit in an eighth-grade language arts class that asked students, "How are you empowered and disempowered by school?" Findings reveal that…

Youth Leadership Development through School-Based Civic Engagement Activities: A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Horstmeier, Robin Peiter; Ricketts, Kristina G.

2009-01-01

Leadership development through a civic engagement activity in a local FFA chapter is explored. Through a case study design, researchers illuminate a project that encouraged youth leadership development through the creation and execution of a civic engagement project in their own local community. Holistically, FFA members viewed the project as a…

Bridging the Gap between School and Work.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Filipczak, Bob

1993-01-01

Boston's Project ProTech is a private industry council youth apprenticeship program that places high school students in hospitals to explore and train for health care occupations. Success factors include employer participation in student selection and a first-year orientation and job rotation scheme. (SK)

Action Research: Informing Professional Practice within Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hine, Gregory S. C.; Lavery, Shane D.

2014-01-01

This research paper explores the experiences of three teacher-researchers, "Simone", "Damian" and "Michael", who undertook an action research project in their respective schools as part of their postgraduate studies. The paper initially outlines the construct of action research in the light of its applicability to…

Implementing Comprehensive School Health in Alberta, Canada: the principal's role.

PubMed

Roberts, Erica; McLeod, Nicole; Montemurro, Genevieve; Veugelers, Paul J; Gleddie, Doug; Storey, Kate E

2016-12-01

Comprehensive School Health (CSH) is an internationally recognized framework that moves beyond the individual to holistically address school health, leading to the development of health-enhancing behaviors while also improving educational outcomes. Previous research has suggested that principal support for CSH implementation is essential, but this role has yet to be explored. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to examine the role of the principal in the implementation of a CSH project aimed at creating a healthy school culture. This research was guided by the grounded ethnography method. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with APPLE School principals (n = 29) to qualitatively explore their role in creating a healthy school culture. A model consisting of five major themes emerged, suggesting that the principal played a fluid role throughout the CSH implementation process. Principals (i) primed the cultural change; (ii) communicated the project's importance to others; (iii) negotiated concerns and collaboratively planned; (iv) held others accountable to the change, while enabling them to take ownership and (v) played an underlying supportive role, providing positive recognition and establishing ongoing commitment. This research provides recommendations to help establish effective leadership practices in schools, conducive to creating a healthy school culture. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Packing Up for the Moon: Human Exploration Project Engineering Design Challenge. Design, Build and Evaluate. A Standards-Based Middle School Unit Guide. Engineering By Design: Advancing Technological Literacy--A Standards-Based Program Series

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

NASA Educator Resource Center at Marshall Space Flight Center, 2007

2007-01-01

The Human Exploration Project (HEP) units have several common characteristics. All units: (1) Are based upon the Technological Literacy standards (ITEA, 2000/2002); (2) Coordinate with Science (AAAS, 1993) and Mathematics standards (NCTM, 2000); (3) Utilize a standards-based development approach (ITEA, 2005); (4) Stand alone and coordinate with…

Testing the Difference between School Level and Academic Mindset in the Classroom: Implications for Developing Student Psycho-Social Skills in Secondary School Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hanson, Janet

2017-01-01

This study explored the relationship between school level and the psychosocial construct of an academic mindset operationalized on the Likert-style Project for "Educational Research That Scales" (PERTS) instrument; widely used in testing academic mindset interventions at the classroom level. Analyses were conducted using existing school…

iPads in Inclusive Classrooms: Ecologies of Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meyer, Bente

2013-01-01

This paper builds on data from a project where iPads were used in a lower secondary school in Denmark to support school development and inclusive learning environments. The paper explores how iPads enter into and work as part of an ecology of learning in five classes in lower secondary school. The paper argues that we should disengage approaches…

Students Talk about Their HIV/AIDS Education Courses: A Case of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sambe, Mariam M.

2015-01-01

The objective of this research was to explore how Ethiopian high school students experienced the HIV/AIDS education programs offered in their schools. The project also examined gender differences in the way HIV/AIDS education was perceived and the implications for the instructional design of the programs. A total of 15 high school students (eight…

A Practical and Reflexive Liberal-Humanist Approach to International Mindedness in International Schools: Case Studies from Malaysia and Brunei

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tamatea, Laurence

2008-01-01

This article explores the response to cultural diversity and international mindedness at international schools in Malaysia and Brunei. It shows that the curriculum at these schools is set within a liberal-humanist framework, which some might suggest facilitates the project of "Westernization". It argues, however, that under the (local)…

Whose Values? Young People's Aspirations and Experiences of Schooling in Andhra Pradesh, India

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morrow, Virginia

2013-01-01

Increasing rates of school enrolment have changed childhoods in the global South, so that it is now the norm for children to attend at least some years of primary school. This paper explores the extent to which valuing of children as educational projects and outcomes may be displacing previous valuations of children as contributors to the domestic…

Levels of Community Cohesion: Theorizing the UK Agenda and the Implications for Policy and Practice in Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parker-Jenkins, Marie; Glenn, Meli

2011-01-01

This paper explores the concept of "community engagement," a central theme within a British research project examining the issues of cultural sustainability among faith-based schools. Discussion is informed by the views of Muslim and Jewish school community stakeholders at the time when the policy of social cohesion was being legally…

MP3 Players: Applications and Implications for the Use of Popular Technology in Secondary Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stiler, Gary M.

2007-01-01

This article explores potential uses for MP3 players in secondary classrooms. It presents an overview of current applications and describes an exploratory study of classroom uses. Seven high school teachers and one teacher educator participated in a three-month project to examine MP3 technology as applied to high school instruction. Their ideas…

Leading the Small Rural School in Iceland and Australia: Building Leadership Capacity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wildy, Helen; Siguräardóttir, Sigríäur Margrét; Faulkner, Robert

2014-01-01

This study builds on a set of Australian case studies exploring the impact of Place on the work of principals and of the importance of Place in the preparation and development of principals. The project compares the ways that principals in Iceland and Australia build leadership capacity in small rural schools. Leaders of small schools in both…

Embedding Learning How to Learn in School Policy: The Challenge for Leadership

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Swaffield, Sue; MacBeath, John

2006-01-01

Achieving lasting and deep-seated change in schools through the embedding of a new set of practices with associated values is a familiar goal. This paper draws upon interviews with school coordinators and head teachers participating in the Learning How to Learn Project to explore the nature of embedding and the related challenges for leadership.…

Learning English While Exploring the National Cultural Heritage: Technology-Assisted Project-Based Language Learning in an Upper-Secondary School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pitura, Joanna; Berlinska-Kopec, Monika

2018-01-01

The quality and content of English language courses offered in secondary schools require special attention as they affect many students who learn English as one of their school subjects. Despite curricular provisions prescribing balanced development of language competence and a number of so-called "key competences", class work in Polish…

"I Just Have These Ideas": Being and Becoming at a Performing Arts School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Loch, Sarah

2012-01-01

This paper explores ways that a small group of young adolescents talk about their futures within the context of their schooling at a performing arts secondary school. The data gathered for this project stem from pictures participants drew when asked to "draw themselves in the future" and was enhanced by interviews in which participants spoke about…

Examining Preservice Teachers' Beliefs about Disciplinary Literacy in History through a Blog Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Colwell, Jamie

2016-01-01

This qualitative case study explored preservice teachers' (PSTs) beliefs about disciplinary literacy as they engaged in a blog project with middle-school students to discuss historical texts. Twenty-eight PSTs, enrolled in a semester-long social studies methods course and participating in the blog project as a course assignment, constituted the…

Beyond Discourse? Using Deleuze and Guattari's Schizoanalysis to Explore Affective Assemblages, Heterosexually Striated Space, and Lines of Flight Online and at School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ringrose, Jessica

2011-01-01

This paper explores how Deleuze and Guattari's philosophical concepts extend and elaborate discursive and psychoanalytic interpretations of qualitative research findings. Analyzing data from a UK research project exploring young people's engagements with Social Networking Sites (SNSs), Deleuze and Guattari's schizoanalytic method is drawn upon to…

Gay Penguins, Sissy Ducklings ... and Beyond? Exploring Gender and Sexuality Diversity through Children's Literature

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DePalma, Renée

2016-01-01

From 2006 to 2008 UK-based primary school teachers in the "No Outsiders" project explored possibilities for addressing sexualities equality in their classrooms. What all teachers had in common was a resource pack that included 27 children's books exploring themes of gender and sexuality diversity either directly or indirectly (i.e. by…

"Turning Anger into Knowledge": Exploring Anger and Advocacy with Women Educators.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dorney, Judith

2000-01-01

In exploring the connections among gender, schooling, and knowledge, this paper considers the relationships between, and the effects of silencing or expressing anger, in women and their work as educators. Data come from two action research projects: Women Teaching Girls retreats and the Exploring Gender and Knowledge. Each consisted of a series of…

Teaching English and History through Historical Fiction.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hicks, Alun; Martin, Dave

1997-01-01

Explores the appeal of historical fiction for young readers and describes its place within any school curriculum. Describes a project in Dorset Middle Schools which used historical fiction to teach medieval history and English. Notes that students' historical thinking was improved, their knowledge of medieval world advanced, and their writing was…

Professional Learning Communities: A Middle School Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gentile, David N.

2010-01-01

This research project explored the transition from a traditional model to a Professional Learning Community model in a NJ Middle School. The administration overcame obstacles during the transition such as scheduling conflicts, teacher apathy, and resistance. This action research study gathered data to determine how to best structure the…

Supporting Transition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Qureshi, Asima; Petrucco, James

2018-01-01

Meadowbrook Primary School has explored the use of The Teacher Assessment in Primary Science (TAPS) to support transition, initially for transfer to secondary school and now for transition from Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) into Key Stage 1 (ages 5-7). This article will consider an example of a secondary transition project and discuss the…

Adversity Quotient and Defense Mechanism of Secondary School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nikam, Vibhawari B.; Uplane, Megha M.

2013-01-01

The present study was conducted to explore the relationship between Adversity Quotient (AQ) and Defense Mechanism (DM) of secondary school students. The aim of the study was to ascertain relationship between Adversity Quotient and Defense mechanism i. e. Turning against object (TAO), Projection (PRO), Turning against self (TAS), Principalisation…

Exploring the Utility of a Virtual Performance Assessment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clarke-Midura, Jody; Code, Jillianne; Zap, Nick; Dede, Chris

2011-01-01

With funding from the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), the Virtual Performance Assessment project at the Harvard Graduate School of Education is developing and studying the feasibility of immersive virtual performance assessments (VPAs) to assess scientific inquiry of middle school students as a standardized component of an accountability…

Formative Assessment and Feedback: Making Learning Visible

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Havnes, Anton; Smith, Kari; Dysthe, Olga; Ludvigsen, Kristine

2012-01-01

The study explores how assessment information is received and attended to. The research is linked to a 2-year intervention project involving six Norwegian upper secondary schools, and with a particular focus on vocational training and the three core subjects: English, Norwegian and Mathematics. Survey data was collected from five schools,…

Cross-Cultural School-Based Encounters as Global Health Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bruselius-Jensen, Maria; Renwick, Kerry; Aagaard-Hansen, Jens

2017-01-01

Objective: Drawing on the concepts of the cosmopolitan person and democratic health education, this article explores the merits of primary school-based, cross-cultural dialogues for global health education. Design: A qualitative study of the learning outcomes of the Move/Eat/Learn (MEL) project. MEL facilitates cultural meetings, primarily…

Service Learning in Schools: Training Counselors for Group Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bjornestad, Andrea; Mims, Grace Ann; Mims, Matthew

2016-01-01

The purpose of the study was to explore the experiences of counselors-in-training via student reflection journals as part of a service-learning project in a group counseling course. The counselors-in-training facilitated psychoeducational groups at an alternative high school. The Objective, Reflective, Interpretive, Decisional model was utilized…

Accessing the Curricular Play of Critical and Creative Thinking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Macintyre Latta, Margaret; Hanson, Kelly; Ragoonaden, Karen; Briggs, Wendy; Middleton, Tamalee

2017-01-01

A three-year collaborative research project in a K-6 elementary school is underway. The collaboration entails participating educators and their students exploring curricular enactment that embraces critical and creative thinking within its conduct. This article reveals whole-school efforts over Year One to build educators' and students' confidence…

Iraqi Refugee High School Students' Academic Adjustment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bang, Hyeyoung

2017-01-01

Many Iraqi refugee students in the United States suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as well as acculturation stresses. These stresses often create challenges for their integration into U.S. schools. The project explored risk factors such as the length of educational gaps in transit, PTSD, and separation and marginalization…

Alternative Education Engaging Indigenous Young People: Flexi Schooling in Queensland

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shay, Marnee; Heck, Deborah

2015-01-01

This article will discuss some of the findings from a qualitative research project that explored the connections between alternative education and Indigenous learners. This study investigated how flexi school leaders reported they were supporting Indigenous young people to remain engaged in education. The results of the survey provide demographic…

Human Capital Reform in Cincinnati Public Schools. Executive Summary

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

New Teacher Project, 2009

2009-01-01

In late 2008, Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS) participated in The New Teacher Project's (TNTP's) research for a national study, "The Widget Effect," published in June 2009. In summer 2009, CPS, the Cincinnati Federation of Teachers (CFT) and the Cincinnati Association of Administrators and Supervisors (CAAS) asked TNTP to explore a…

What Makes My School a Good Training Ground for Leadership Development?: The Perceptions of Heads, Middle Leaders and Classroom Teachers from 70 Contextually Different Primary and Secondary Schools in England

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rhodes, Christopher; Brundrett, Mark

2008-01-01

This article reports on outcomes from a study funded by the National College for School Leadership designed to explore leadership talent identification, development, succession and retention in contextually different primary and secondary schools in England. It draws upon this larger project and offers evidence not seen before elsewhere. It deals…

Using Technology to Enhance Collaborative Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wasonga, Teresa A.

2007-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this research project is to explore the use of technology in enhancing and creating opportunities for collaborative learning by connecting prospective school leaders and practicing principals from multiple settings. Design/methodology/approach: This was a research project in which an internet-based network system was…

Our Watershed

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marcum-Dietrich, Nanette; Kerlin, Steve; Staudt, Carolyn; Daniels, Melinda

2018-01-01

Science becomes engaging when students know that what they learn in the classroom relates to their own lives and communities. This article describes a project in which students use field exploration and online software to design virtual solutions to improve the hydrology of their school yard. The project is called Teaching Environmental…

Project-Based Learning: A Review of the Literature

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kokotsaki, Dimitra; Menzies, Victoria; Wiggins, Andy

2016-01-01

Project-based learning (PBL) is an active student-centred form of instruction which is characterised by students' autonomy, constructive investigations, goal-setting, collaboration, communication and reflection within real-world practices. It has been explored in various contexts and in different phases of schooling, from primary to higher…

The PHOTON explorations: sixteen activities, many uses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Donnelly, Judith; Amatrudo, Kathryn; Robinson, Kathleen; Hanes, Fenna

2014-07-01

The PHOTON Explorations were adapted from favorite demonstrations of teacher participants in the PHOTON projects of the New England Board of Higher Education as well as Hands-on-Optics activities and interesting demonstrations found on the web. Since the end of project PHOTON2 in 2006, the sixteen inquiry-based activities have formed the basis for a hands-on "home lab" distance- learning course that has been used for college students, teacher professional development and corporate training. With the support of OSA, they have been brought to life in a series of sixteen short videos aimed at a middle school audience. The Explorations are regularly used as activities in outreach activities for middle and high school students and are introduced yearly to an international audience at an outreach workshop at SPIE's Optics and Photonics meeting. In this paper we will demonstrate the Explorations, trace their origins and explain the content. We will also provide details on the development of the Exploration videos, the online course, and outreach materials and give statistics on their use in each format. Links to online resources will be provided.

Changing the Face of Astronomy Through Authentic Research Experiences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coble, K. A.; Bell, K'Maja; Jafri, J.; Lyon, G.; Hammergren, M.

2012-05-01

Project Exploration is a Chicago-based science outreach organization that works to ensure communities traditionally overlooked by science, particularly minority youth and girls, have access to personalized experiences with science and scientists. 85% of students participating in Project Exploration come from low-income families, primarily African-American and Latino, and 74% are girls. We particularly target students who may not be academically successful. The results of a recent 10-year retrospective study demonstrate that Project Exploration students are significantly more likely than their peers to graduate from high school (95%), go to college (50%), and major in science (60%); and they attribute their persistence in science and education to their Project Exploration experience. Furthermore, Project Exploration works with the scientists involved (including graduate students and post-docs) to help them understand what it means to do effective educational outreach and how to put the interests of the youth at the center of outreach work. In this poster, we describe the details of the Project Exploration model, as well as several projects in astronomy that our students and scientists have carried out. KB and KC are supported by NASA ROSES E/PO Grant #NNX1OAC89G. KC is also supported by the Illinois Space Grant Consortium.

Project CUES: A New Middle-School Earth System Science Curriculum Being Developed by the American Geological Institute

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, M. C.; Smith, M. J.; Lederman, N.; Southard, J. B.; Rogers, E. A.; Callahan, C. N.

2002-12-01

Project CUES is a middle-school earth systems science curriculum project under development by the American Geological Institute (AGI) and funded by the National Science Foundation (ESI-0095938). CUES features a student-centered, inquiry pedagogy and approaches earth science from a systems perspective. CUES will use the expanded learning cycle approach of Trowbridge and Bybee (1996), known as the 5E model (engage-explore-explain-elaborate-evaluate). Unlike AGI's Investigating Earth Systems (IES) curriculum modules, CUES will include a single hard-bound textbook, and will take one school-year to complete. The textbook includes a prologue that addresses systems concepts and four main units: Geosphere, Hydrosphere, Atmosphere, and Biosphere. Each eight-week unit takes students through a progression from guided inquiry to open-ended, student-driven inquiry. During first 4 to 5 weeks of each unit, students explore important earth science phenomena and concepts through scripted investigations and narrative reading passages written by scientists as "inquiry narratives". The narratives address the development of scientific ideas and relay the personal experiences of a scientist during their scientific exploration. Aspects of the nature of science will be explicitly addressed in investigations and inquiry narratives. After the guided inquiry, students will develop a research proposal and conduct their own inquiry into local or regional scientific problems. Each unit culminates with a science conference at which students present their research. CUES will be the first NSF-funded, comprehensive earth systems textbook for middle school that is based on national standards. CUES will be pilot tested in 12 classrooms in January 2003, with a national field test of the program in 50 classrooms during the 2003-2004 school year.

The Kindles Are Coming: Ereaders and Tablets Are Springing up in Schools--And Librarians Are Leading the Way

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barack, Lauren

2011-01-01

Commonly spearheaded by librarians, Kindle pilot programs are springing up in schools around the country, bringing ereaders to K-12 students, who are cracking the spine, so to speak, on these alternative learning tools. From full adoption of the devices at Clearwater High School in Florida to tentative beta projects, educators are exploring how…

Women and Leadership: A Study of Issues in Independent Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scott, Jan A.

As of May 1997, 28.8 percent of the heads of schools in the National Association of Independent Schools were female. The number grew .8 percent during the previous year and has grown at a rate of 1 percent a year for the past 10 years. This document reports the findings of a research project that explored reasons for the dearth of women heads of…

Creating an Ofsted Story: The Role of Early Years Assessment Data in Schools' Narratives of Progress

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bradbury, Alice; Roberts-Holmes, Guy

2017-01-01

This paper explores the growing importance of measures of progress in judgements of schools' effectiveness in England, with a focus on the role of the early years (settings for children aged 2-5) in providing data for these measures. Qualitative data from a research project involving three diverse school-based and pre-compulsory early years…

The Impact of World Ranking Systems on Graduate Schools of Business: Promoting the Manipulation of Image over the Management of Substance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rondeau, Kent V.

2017-01-01

This essay explores and examines how rankings and league tables have played (and continue to play) a major and consequential role in how contemporary business schools manage their affairs. It introduces and advances the proposition that rankings promote the short-term manipulation of public reputation (image) projected by business schools at the…

The Unintended Hegemonic Effects of a Limited Concession: Institutional Incorporation of Chinese Schools in Post-War Hong Kong

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wong, Ting-Hong

2012-01-01

Using the case of Chinese schools in post-Second World War Hong Kong, this paper explores the unintended consequences of an incomplete hegemonic project. After World War II, anti-imperialist pressures and rising educational demands in the local setting propelled the colonial authorities to be more active in providing and funding Chinese schools.…

"This Was My Hell": The Violence Experienced by Gender Non-Conforming Youth in US High Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wyss, Shannon E.

2004-01-01

This paper explores the experiences of harassment and violence endured by seven gender non-conforming youth in US high schools. Based on a larger research project, it opens an inquiry into the school-based lives of gender-variant teens, a group heretofore ignored by most academics and educators. Breaking violence down into two main types (physical…

A Model Project in Career Education, K-12. Interim Report, December 1974.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wyoming State Dept. of Education, Cheyenne.

The document presents an interim report of a project to establish career education programs for K-12 students in the Natrona County School District of Casper, Wyoming. Project activities were divided into: (1) career awareness, grades K-6; (2) career exploration, grades 7-9; (3) career preparation, grades 10-12; and (4) guidance. To meet the…

Digital Multimodal Texts and Their Role in Project Work: Opportunities and Dilemmas

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wikan, Gerd; Molster, Terje; Faugli, Bjorn; Hope, Rafael

2010-01-01

This paper explores how and to what extent digital multimodal text production can play a role in project work. The focus is upon describing and understanding how teachers and learners view multimodal text production as part of a learning process. Group-based project work has been used extensively in Norwegian schools since the 1970s. One criticism…

Environmental Education in Botanic Gardens: Exploring Brooklyn Botanic Garden's Project Green Reach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morgan, Susan Conlon; Hamilton, Susan L.; Bentley, Michael L.; Myrie, Sharon

2009-01-01

Brooklyn Botanic Garden's Project Green Reach (PGR) is a children's program that has offered garden-based youth education since 1990. PGR focuses on Grade K-8 students and teachers from local Title I schools who work in teams on garden and science projects. In this exploratory study, the authors used field observations, document analysis, and past…

Projects Submitted by Participants of the Fulbright-Hays Summer Seminars Abroad Program, 2000 (Poland and Hungary).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

2000

These curriculum projects were developed by participants of the Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad Program in Poland and Hungary during the summer of 2000. The following 11 projects are in the collection: "A Thematic Multicultural Interactive School Event on Poland and Hungary: Exploration and Learning for 6-to-9-Year-Olds" (Ruth Albert);…

Integrating Literature and Mathematics: A Mysterious Connection

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilburne, Jane Murphy; Napoli, Mary

2007-01-01

This article describes a mathematics and literature interdisciplinary project for preservice elementary teachers that was implemented in several urban middle school classrooms. This project, based on the novel Chasing Vermeer by Balliett (2004), involved a dramatization of one of the chapters from the book and a follow-up mathematical exploration.

Addition Chains: A reSolve Lesson

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Turner, Paul; Thornton, Steve

2017-01-01

This article draws on some ideas explored during and after a writing workshop to develop classroom resources for the reSolve: Mathematics by Inquiry (www.resolve.edu.au) project. The project develops classroom and professional learning resources that will promote a spirit of inquiry in school mathematics from Foundation to year ten. The…

iTEC: Conceptualising, Realising and Recognising Pedagogical and Technological Innovation in European Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cranmer, Sue; Lewin, Cathy

2017-01-01

Innovation, a complex concept, underpinned a four-year pan-European research project designed to increase the effective use of technology in school classrooms. This article revisits evaluation data collected during the project and explores the challenges of conceptualising, realising and researching "innovation." The authors describe how…

Exploring Biological Classification: The Unique Organism Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haines, Sarah; Richman, Laila; Hartley, Renee; Schmid, Rachel

2017-01-01

The unique organism project was designed as a culminating assessment for a biological classification unit in a middle school setting. Students developed a model to represent their unique organism. Using the model, students were required to demonstrate how their unique organism interacts with its environment, and how its internal and external…

Making Projects Personal

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lusardi, Meng Li

2017-01-01

Meng Li Lusardi, a Chinese teacher at an independent school in New York, recently set out to provide her students with more personalized learning and assessment. In this article, Lusardi documents how she revamped a project with personalization in mind, which resulted in content-rich exploration and greater student engagement. The author's…

Conceiving a Trans-National Education Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zilber, Julie

2002-01-01

Four elementary schools in Washington, Alaska, and British Columbia are cooperating on a project to explore issues surrounding the Pacific salmon fisheries. Place-based techniques and interactive media are used to bring together science; global concerns; the histories of Canada, the United States, and First Nations peoples; background on the…

"Making Children Count": An Exploration of the Implementation of the Every Child Matters Agenda

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ainslie, Susan; Foster, Rob; Groves, Jean; Grime, Kate; Straker, Katherine; Woolhouse, Clare

2010-01-01

This paper reports on the findings of a funded research project that explores the implementation of the Every Child Matters (ECM) agenda within the Greater Merseyside area. The research team explore how primary schools and external agencies are currently working together to deliver this agenda in order to highlight areas of good practice as well…

Explorers of the Universe

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alvarez, Marino C.; Busby, Michael R.; Sotoohi, Goli; Rodriguez, William J.; Hennig, Lee Ann; Berenty, Jerry; King, Terry; Grener, Doreen; Kruzan, John

1998-01-01

The Explorers of the Universe is a multifaceted scientific/literacy project that involves teachers and their students with problem oriented situations using authentic materials. This paper presents examples of self-directed cases researched by high school students and the met acognitive tools they use in the planning, carrying out, and finalizing their reports.

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.

Learning through school meals?

PubMed

Benn, Jette; Carlsson, Monica

2014-07-01

This article is based on a qualitative multiple case study aimed at evaluating the effects of free school meal interventions on pupils' learning, and on the learning environment in schools. The study was conducted at four schools, each offering free school meals for 20 weeks. At each school individual and focus group interviews were conducted with students in grades 5 to 7 and grades 8 to 9. Furthermore, students were observed during lunch breaks, and interviews were conducted with the class teacher, headmaster and/or the person responsible for school meals. The purpose of the article is to explore the learning potentials of school meals. The cross-case analysis focuses on the involved actors' perceptions of the school meal project and the meals, including places, times and contexts, and the pupils' concepts and competences in relation to food, meals and health, as well as their involvement in the school meal project. The analysis indicates that the pupils have developed knowledge and skills related to novel foods and dishes, and that school meals can contribute to pupils' learning, whether this learning is planned or not. However, if school meals are to be further developed as an arena for learning, greater consideration must be given to the interaction between pupil, school meal and teacher than in the school meal projects presented in this study, and the potentials for learning through school meals clarified and discussed in the schools. Studying the school meal projects raises a number of dilemmas, such as whether the lunch break should be a part of or a break from education, are school meals a common (school) or private (parent) responsibility, and questions about pupils' and teachers' roles and participation in school meals. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Explore the concept of “light” and its interaction with matter: an inquiry-based science education project in primary school

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Varela, P.; Costa, M. F.

2015-04-01

The exploration process leading to the understanding of physical phenomena, such as light and its interaction with matter, raises great interest and curiosity in children. However, in most primary schools, children rarely have the opportunity to conduct science activities in which they can engage in an enquiry process even if by the action of the teacher. In this context, we have organised several in-service teacher training courses and carried out several pedagogic interventions in Portuguese primary schools, with the aim of promoting inquiry- based science education. This article describes one of those projects, developed with a class of the third grade, which explored the curricular topic “Light Experiments”. Various activities were planned and implemented, during a total of ten hours spread over five lessons. The specific objectives of this paper are: to illustrate and analyse the teaching and learning process promoted in the classroom during the exploration of one of these lessons, and to assess children's learning three weeks after the lessons. The results suggest that children made significant learning which persisted. We conclude discussing some processes that stimulated children’ learning, including the importance of teacher questioning in scaffolding children's learning and some didactic implications for teacher training.

Intergenerational Learning Practices--Digital Leaders in Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Passey, Don

2014-01-01

This paper explores the management and outcomes of a specific model of intergenerational learning, concerned with student digital leader support in a number of secondary schools in England. A local educational partnership set up a student digital leader project late in 2011, which aimed to develop a range of skills and outcomes for both the…

Nebraska State Plan Career Education Project. Final Performance Report for Period Ending June 30, 1977.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nebraska State Dept. of Education, Lincoln.

The Nebraska state career education plan was developed to assist individuals in developing essential educational and career skills for responsible functioning. The plan, linking the school and work world, extends chronologically: elementary level--career awareness, middle/junior high school level--career exploration, and senior high school…

Developing Leadership Literacy: A University-School District Partnership

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Neufeld, Patricia J.; Purvey, Diane; Churchley, John; Handford, Victoria

2015-01-01

This project analyzes a long-standing school district-based leadership development program in British Columbia, Canada, and its transition to a partnership with the local university in which the students receive credit toward a graduate degree. The intent of this study was to explore the change process in leadership development from a school…

Project Exploration's Personalized Curriculum: Fostering Access and Equity in Science Out-of-School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lyon, Gabrielle Helena

2010-01-01

Participation and achievement in science by students of color and girls remains inequitable despite decades of initiatives aimed at leveling the playing field. Science in out-of-school-time is a strategy that emphasizes the role of informal education, however, robust descriptions of learning environments which effectively recruit and retain…

The Math Explorer: Games and Activities for Middle School Youth Groups.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murphy, Pat; Lambertson, Lori; Tesler, Pearl

This book offers games and mathematics activities using a hands-on approach for middle school students and features games, puzzles, experiments, and projects. Contents include: (1) "Boxed In!"; (2) "Oddball"; (3) "Pig"; (4) "Madagascar Solitaire"; (5) "Fantastic Four"; (6) "Eratosthenes' Sieve"; (7) "Hopping Hundred"; (8) "Tic-Tac-Toe Times"; (9)…

The Preparatory Year in a Queensland Non-Government School: Exploring Parents' Views

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Gorman, Lyndal

2008-01-01

This paper reports the findings of a research project investigating parents' conceptions of an early childhood program in Queensland. During 2007, early childhood education and care (ECEC) in Queensland underwent significant reform associated with the introduction of a full-time Preparatory Year program in all schools throughout the state. The…

Tomorrow's School Leaders: What Do We Know about Them?--A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ritchie, Jim; Lindstrom, Phyllis H.; Mendoza-Reis, Noni

2004-01-01

Large numbers of projected retirements have created the need for recruiting and preparing capable school leaders for the future. This study explored the characteristics of candidates in an administration preparation program, factors for their career decisions, and the implications of these factors for recruiting candidates and building stronger…

Learning to Share, Sharing to Learn: Fostering Organizational Learning through Teachers' Dissemination of Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Collinson, Vivienne

2004-01-01

This paper argues that conditions supporting dissemination (sharing) of teachers' learning are necessary for school change and organizational learning. Based on a qualitative study that explored dissemination of teachers' learning within a multi-school computer technology project, the paper identifies 43 factors that motivate teachers' sharing and…

An Analysis of School Wide Supports and Barriers to Collaborative Problem Solving Teams

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ciampaglia, Brie I.

2010-01-01

While there is preliminary evidence supporting the use of collaborative problem solving teams in schools (e.g., Telzrow, McNamara, & Hollinger, 2000) only a few outcome measures have been explored in relation to these procedures, and the results have been inconsistently demonstrated across projects (Burns & Symington, 2002). Additionally, it has…

Exploring Teachers' Definitions of Bullying

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Chris

2006-01-01

This paper is based upon detailed research over a two-year period into primary school teachers' attitudes and approaches to bullying. All the teaching staff in a single school contributed to the research and they were thoughtful and reflective in their engagement with the research. The project focuses on the key issue of how teachers define…

Educating for a Critical Democracy: Civic Participation Reimagined in the Council of Youth Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mirra, Nicole; Morrell, Ernest D.; Cain, Ebony; Scorza, D'Artagnan; Ford, Arlene

2013-01-01

This article explores civic learning, civic participation, and the development of civic agency within the Council of Youth Research (the Council), a program that engages high school students in youth participatory action research projects that challenge school inequalities and mobilize others in pursuit of educational justice. We critique the…

An Introduction to School Leadership for Quality Global Learning in Initial Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Serf, Jeff; Sinclair, Scott; Wooldridge, Julie

2009-01-01

This article introduces a project, School Leadership for Quality Global Learning, which focuses on the relationship between leadership at different levels within educational institutions and quality global learning. The article outlines briefly the changing societal context within which education is operating currently before exploring key ideas,…

Re-Examining Participatory Research in Dropout Prevention Planning in Urban Communities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Irby, Decoteau; Mawhinney, Lynnette; Thomas, Kristopher

2013-01-01

This paper explores the concept of what a community-based participatory dropout prevention planning process might entail. Specifically, it looks at a year-long research project that brought together formerly incarcerated school non-completers, researchers, and local policy-makers (stakeholders) to address low high-school completion rates in the…

Successful Subjectivities? The Successification of Class, Ethnic and Gender Positions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bradford, Simon; Hey, Valerie

2007-01-01

This article draws on data collected during a pilot study conducted in two west London schools exploring young people's understandings of success. It considers ways in which "discourses of success," as part of New Labour's project of re-inventing schooling, may shape young people's subjectivity. The article examines articulations between…

An Account of Studies of Organizational Development in Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Runkel, Philip J.; Schmuck, Richard A.

Most organizational development (OD) projects in schools are never reported in the literature. This paper discusses benefits, outcomes, and success factors disclosed by the first large-scale quantitative survey of OD in schoools conducted by Fullan, Miles, and Taylor in 1978. The paper also explores other relevant studies published through early…

The Future of Citizen Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mueller, Michael P.; Tippins, Deborah; Bryan, Lynn A.

2012-01-01

There is an emerging trend of democratizing science and schooling within science education that can be characterized as citizen science. We explore the roots of this movement and some current projects to underscore the meaning of citizen science in science and schooling. We show that citizen science, as it is currently conceptualized, does not go…

Exploring the Relationship between Questioning, Enacted Mathematical Tasks, and Mathematical Discourse in Elementary School Mathematics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin, Christie; Polly, Drew; McGee, Jen; Wang, Chuang; Lambert, Richard; Pugalee, David

2015-01-01

This study examined the mathematical discourse of elementary school teachers and their students while participating in a year-long professional development project focused on implementing reform-based mathematics curriculum. The teacher participants included 12 teachers, two from each grade level from Kindergarten through Grade 5. Field notes were…

Family and Consumer Sciences Program Recruitment: An Interdisciplinary Service-Learning Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roofe, Nina; Ryburn, Renee

2013-01-01

The family and consumer sciences (FCS) teacher shortage is one need that can be mitigated by exposing high school students to professional trends and future work settings via service-learning. Such exposure can affect student recruitment by influencing high school students' knowledge and attitudes toward FCS careers. This study explored the impact…

Education in Motion: Uses of Documentary Film in Educational Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Warmington, Paul; Van Gorp, Angelo; Grosvenor, Ian

2011-01-01

This paper explores the challenges for social and cultural historians of education of using documentary films on schools and schooling as a research resource. It draws upon the outcomes of the British Academy-funded Documentary Film in Educational Research project, an international study that focused on developing methodological frameworks for…

Affiliation and Alienation: Hip-Hop, Rap, and Urban Science Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Emdin, Christopher

2010-01-01

The critiques of rap artists and other participants in hip-hop culture provide data for teachers and researchers to investigate the attitudes of US urban youth towards schooling. This study explores the complex relationships between hip-hop and science education by examining how rap lyrics project beliefs about schooling, the relevance of existing…

Middle Leadership: A Key Role of Numeracy Reform

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jorgensen, Robyn

2016-01-01

This paper reports on a large national project that explored successful numeracy practices in remote and very remote schools. While there have been a number of significant findings, the middle leader has been identified as a key role in the development of successful numeracy/mathematics practices in schools. The middle leader plays a critical role…

Exploring how nature and nurture affect the development of reading: An analysis of the Florida Twin Project on Reading

PubMed Central

Hart, Sara A.; Logan, Jessica A.R.; Soden-Hensler, Brooke; Kershaw, Sarah; Taylor, Jeanette; Schatschneider, Christopher

2013-01-01

Research on the development of reading skills through the primary school years has pointed to the importance of individual differences in initial ability as well as the growth of those skills. Additionally, it has been theorized that reading skills develop incrementally. The present study examined the genetic and environmental influences on two developmental models representing these parallel ideas, generalizing the findings to explore the processes of reading development. Participants were drawn from the Florida Twin Project on Reading, with a total of 2370 pairs of twins’ representative of the state of Florida. Twins’ oral reading fluency scores from school progress monitoring records collected in the fall of grades 1 through 5 were used to model development. Results suggested that genetic influences on the development of reading are general, shared across the early school years, as well as novel, with new genetic influences introduced at each of the first three years of school. The shared environment estimates suggest a pattern of general influences only, suggesting environmental effects which are moderate and stable across development. PMID:23294149

Understanding barriers to implementing the Norwegian national guidelines for healthy school meals: a case study involving three secondary schools.

PubMed

Holthe, Asle; Larsen, Torill; Samdal, Oddrun

2011-07-01

The main goal of the present study was to investigate the barriers to implementing the Norwegian national guidelines for healthy school meals as perceived by principals, project leaders, teachers and students. This study employed a multiple-case design using an explorative approach. Data were collected at three secondary schools in Norway participating in the intervention project Physical activity and healthy school meals. Individual interviews were conducted with school principals and project leaders, and focus group interviews were conducted separately with teachers and students. Four categories of barriers were identified: (1) lack of adaptation of the guidelines to the target group; (2) lack of resources and funding; (3) conflicting values and goals; and (4) access to unhealthy food outside school. The research identified differences in perceived barriers between the staff responsible for implementation and the students as the target group of the measures. All staff groups perceived barriers relating to both resources, and conflicting values and goals. The teachers were more concerned about issues of relevance for adaptation to the target groups than were the principals and project leaders. The students were concerned mostly with issues directly affecting their experience with items offered in the canteen. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

What's so Inclusive about an Inclusion Room? Staff Perspectives on Student Participation, Diversity and Equality in an English Secondary School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gilmore, Gwen

2012-01-01

This article by Gwen Gilmore, a lecturer in the School of Curriculum and Pedagogy at Massey University, draws on a research project which explored the nature, extent and characteristics of a disciplinary inclusion room (IR) in a secondary school in the south-west of England using a Cultural Historical Activity Theory framework. In five years to…

Junior Primary Greek School Pupils' Perceptions of the City's Public Open Spaces and Especially of the Urban Square: A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Papageorgiou, Nikoletta; Galani, Apostolia; Mavrikaki, Evangelia

2016-01-01

This work--part of a wider project aimed at engaging first year primary school pupils in public open-space design--explores the perceptions of junior primary school children as to the urban square. Data collection tools comprised semi-structured interviews, sketches and storytelling via puppet-animation. Our findings have shown that--according to…

Examining the Efficacy of Project-Based Learning on Cultivating the 21st Century Skills among High School Students in a Global Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lin, Chi-Syan; Ma, Jung-Tsan; Kuo, Karen Yi-Chwen; Chou, Chien-Tzu Candace

2015-01-01

The goal of the study is to explore the opportunities and challenges associated with Project-Based Learning strategy in a global context on the aspects of both fostering learning community of practices and nurturing the 21st century skills. For collecting empirical data, the study implements and administers an online international project-based…

Opportunity Matters: The Ithuba Writing Project in South African Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sailors, Misty; Makalela, Leketi; Hoffman, James V.

2010-01-01

Our lead article explores the impact the authors witnessed when they helped South African teachers create culturally relevant books written in their students' languages. Through participation in the Ithuba Writing Project, these teachers were able to relate transformative stories about their lives through books that they subsequently shared in the…

Great Explorations: Discovering Science in the Library.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sosa, Maria, Ed.; And Others

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Library Institute was a project that brought together 28 school and public librarians from the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area to discuss science, mathematics, and technology. education reform and what can be done to bring it about. This book discusses the project in 12 chapters:…

Student Opinion in England about Science and Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jenkins, Edgar

2006-01-01

An earlier paper in this Journal (Jenkins & Nelson, 2005) drew upon the findings of the Relevance of Science Education Project (ROSE) to report the attitudes of students in England towards their secondary school science education. The present paper draws upon the same project to explore what the same students, almost all in their penultimate…

Validity in Teachers' Summative Assessments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Black, Paul; Harrison, Christine; Hodgen, Jeremy; Marshall, Bethan; Serret, Natasha

2010-01-01

This paper describes some of the findings of a project which set out to explore and develop teachers' understanding and practices in their summative assessments. The focus was on those summative assessments that are used on a regular basis within schools for guiding the progress of pupils and for internal accountability. The project combined both…

Linking Languages through a Bilingual Read-Aloud Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lyster, Roy; Collins, Laura; Ballinger, Susan

2009-01-01

The present study was carried out in French immersion classrooms in an urban Quebec school board that is increasingly characterised by the heterogeneity of its French-dominant, English-dominant, and French/English bilingual student population. The study explored the extent to which a bilingual read-aloud project would (1) raise teachers' awareness…

Blogging across the Curriculum: An Action Research Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nichols, Andrea

2012-01-01

"Blogging across the curriculum: Integrating blogging in the elementary classroom" is an Action Research Project that sought to explore the level of engagement in the writing process by students in grades 3, 4 & 5 while blogging across the curriculum. Blogging took place in homeroom classrooms as well as in the school's math, science and…

Science Through ARts (STAR)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kolecki, Joseph; Petersen, Ruth; Williams, Lawrence

2002-01-01

Science Through ARts (STAR) is an educational initiative designed to teach students through a multidisciplinary approach to learning. This presentation describes the STAR pilot project, which will use Mars exploration as the topic to be integrated. Schools from the United Kingdom, Japan, the United States, and possibly eastern Europe are expected to participate in the pilot project.

Sensitive Technology Assessment of ACOT.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baker, Eva L.

This paper explores the ideas and the model underlying the evaluation of the Apple Classroom of Tomorrow project (ACOT), a 2-year-old research and development project incorporating at least seven different grade levels which is located in five different school sites in four states. The major features of ACOT are identified as the ideas of computer…

Careers Booklet. Project SEARCH.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heart of the Earth Survival School, Minneapolis, MN.

Developed by the staff of Project SEARCH, this booklet is designed to assist American Indian adults of the Minneapolis-St. Paul area in an exploration of careers. As noted by the introduction, it may also be of interest to Indian high school students, college students, and others who are looking for ideas about the kinds of careers available. The…

Oxidation of Ethidium using TAML Activators: A Model for High School Research Performed in Partnership with University Scientists.

PubMed

Pueyo, Natalie C; Raub, Andrew G; Jackson, Sean; Metz, Madalyn M; Mount, Allegra C; Naughton, Kyle L; Eaton, Ashley L; Thomas, Nicole M; Hastings, Peter; Greaves, John; Blumberg, Bruce; Collins, Terrence J; Sogo, Steven G

2013-03-12

A chemical research program at a public high school has been developed. The full-year Advanced Chemical Research class (ACR) in the high school enrolls 20 to 30 seniors each year, engaging them in long-term experimental projects. Through partnerships involving university scientists, ACR high school students have had the opportunity to explore a number of highly sophisticated original research projects. As an example of the quality of experimental work made possible through these high school-university partnerships, this article describes the development of a novel method for the oxidation of ethidium bromide, a mutagen commonly used in molecular biology. Data collected from ACR alumni show that the ACR program is instrumental in encouraging students to pursue careers in scientific fields and in creating life-long problem-solvers.

Exploring Gender Norms through the "Colour Blind" Initiative

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Niblett, Blair; Potvin, Leigh

2010-01-01

Recently, the authors have been collecting data for a research project that explores secondary school boys' perceptions of masculinity. They spent a week in Leigh's grade 11 philosophy class discussing gender while observing and video recording students' perception for analysis. In their research, they used Colour Blind as a vehicle for unearthing…

Secondary Science Teachers, the Internet, and Curriculum Development: A Community of Explorers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saferstein, Barry; Souviney, Randall

1998-01-01

In the Community of Explorers Project (CoE) high school teachers and students engaged in scientific problem solving using advanced network technology and innovative pedagogy. Analysis of e-mail indicated the important effects of organizational and occupational cultures on the application of technology in classrooms and on the development of a…

Speaking Math--A Voice Input, Speech Output Calculator for Students with Visual Impairments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bouck, Emily C.; Flanagan, Sara; Joshi, Gauri S.; Sheikh, Waseem; Schleppenbach, Dave

2011-01-01

This project explored a newly developed computer-based voice input, speech output (VISO) calculator. Three high school students with visual impairments educated at a state school for the blind and visually impaired participated in the study. The time they took to complete assessments and the average number of attempts per problem were recorded…

Maintenance and Generalization of Social Skills in Adults with Severe Disabilities. Final Project Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farlow, Leslie; Snell, Martha E.

Three studies were conducted to explore the relationship between social skills instruction and the maintenance and generalization of skills to post-school environments. Three adult women with severe disabilities in their last year of school participated in the studies. The first study addressed the effectiveness of an instructional package to…

The Role of High School Research Experiences in Shaping Students' Research Self-Efficacy and Preparation for Undergraduate Research Participation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Swan, Amy K.; Inkelas, Karen Kurotsuchi; Jones, Jill N.; Pretlow, Joshua; Keller, Tierney F.

2018-01-01

The effects of undergraduate research participation are well documented, but less is known about students' pathways into undergraduate research participation. This mixed-methods study explored the role of an International Baccalaureate research project in students' development of research self-efficacy in high school, and how this development…

Play-Building: Creating a Documentary Theatre Performance in a High School Setting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van Eyck, Philip

2013-01-01

This paper describes a high school theatre program's project in which Anna Deavere Smith's documentary theatre work serves as the foundation for play-building for students. Research in theatre arts supports the use of play-building as a way to explore major themes of relevance to students. However, there is little research addressing documentary…

Multi-Jurisdictional Behaviorally-Based In-Service Program for Elementary School Teachers in Mathematics. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maryland Univ., College Park.

A project was designed to develop and validate a model for inservice education which could reach a large number of elementary school teachers. The thesis explored was whether this research, development, dissemination, and implementation could be effectively accomplished through the pooled competencies of a university-based staff, a state education…

Stirring It up or Stirring It in? Perspectives on the Development of Sexualities Equality in a Faith-Based Primary School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nixon, David; East, Sue

2010-01-01

This article examines what happened within one Church of England primary school during an action research project concerning sexualities. "No Outsiders" aimed at exploring how teachers developed classroom practices that promoted greater inclusion of sexual minorities, at the same time as working to eradicate homophobic bullying and…

Ethical Blind Spots in Leading for Learning: An Australian Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bezzina, Michael

2013-01-01

Purpose: This study aims to explore the dynamics by which exposure to a moral rationale is given expression in schools, and how this is perceived as impacting on teaching, leadership practice and student outcomes. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 11 Australian schools were part of a project in which they were supported in applying a…

Teacher Perspectives about Lesson Study in Secondary School Departments: A Collaborative Vehicle for Professional Learning and Practice Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cajkler, Wasyl; Wood, Phil; Norton, Julie; Pedder, David; Xu, Haiyan

2015-01-01

Two departments in a secondary school in England participated in "lesson study" projects over a five-month period to explore its usefulness as a vehicle for professional development. Through a cycle of two research lessons, conducted separately in each department, teachers identified challenges that inhibited the learning of their…

Enhancing the Capabilities of Associate Teachers in the Practicum: A New Zealand Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sewell, Alison; Hansen, Sally; Weir, Kama

2017-01-01

The practicum is critically important in initial teacher education. Yet too often, student-teachers are placed in schools where the associate teacher does not understand the mentoring component of their supervisory role. This study explores the impact of a school-university project on the associate teachers' mentoring in the practicum and in their…

Teacher Positivity towards Gender Diversity: Exploring Relationships and School Outcomes for Transgender and Gender-Diverse Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ullman, Jacqueline

2017-01-01

Transgender and gender diverse secondary students report routine social and curricular marginalisation at school, factors which have been linked to negative social and academic outcomes. This paper examines data from the "Free2Be?" project, which surveyed 704 same-sex attracted and gender-diverse Australian teenagers (aged 14-18), to…

The Day-to-Day Work of Primary School Teachers: A Source of Professional Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ambler, Trudy Belinda

2016-01-01

Teachers are an important influence on students' learning, and therefore the opportunity for teachers to learn and develop is something of interest to educators internationally. This article reports on a research project involving six primary school teachers who participated in one-on-one and small group interviews to explore the opportunities for…

Becoming a Principal in Indonesia: Possibility, Pitfalls and Potential

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sumintono, Bambang; Sheyoputri, Elslee Y. A.; Jiang, Na; Misbach, Ifa H.; Jumintono

2015-01-01

The preparation and development of school leaders is now considered to be fundamental to school and system improvement. In the pursuit of educational change and reform, the leadership of the principal is deemed to be of critical importance. This qualitative study is part of a large scale research project that is exploring principal preparation and…

The Road to Work: Technical School Training or Directed Duty Assignment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lecznar, William B.

The study explored the question of differences between airmen who were assigned to jobs following graduation from formal resident training schools and those who entered a field as on-the-job trainees. Eight career fields which had substantial numbers of airman input as low-ability personnel under Project 100,000 were studied. Evaluations of…

Vocational Education and Training in Schools: Career Advisers' Perceptions and Advising Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dalley-Trim, Leanne; Alloway, Nola; Patterson, Annette; Walker, Karen

2007-01-01

This paper explores the currently highly topical issue of Vocational Education and Training in Schools (VETiS). Specifically, it focuses upon career advisers' perceptions of VETiS, their advising practices as pertaining to this program and their views of others' perceptions of VETiS. It draws upon a national research project and data derived from…

Children's Friendships in Diverse Primary Schools: Teachers and the Processes of Policy Enactment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vincent, Carol; Neal, Sarah; Iqbal, Humera

2016-01-01

Drawing on data from a project exploring children's and adults' friendships across social class and ethnic difference, this paper focuses on the enactment of national and institutional policy around children's friendships as realized in three primary schools in diverse urban areas in London. Through a focus on the way in which social and emotional…

Teachers' Perceptions, Attitudes and Feelings towards Pupils of Roma Origin

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zachos, Dimitris T.

2017-01-01

In this paper, the focus is on schools' responses to multiculturalism. We present a research project that was designed to explore feelings, perceptions and attitudes of teachers towards pupils of Roma origin in two different Greek schools. Our research strategy involved case studies and in-depth semi-structured interview was our main research…

Successfully Integrating Climate Change Education into School System Curriculum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scallion, M.

2017-12-01

Maryland's Eastern Shore is threatened by climate change driven sea level rise. By working with school systems, rather than just with individual teachers, educators can gain access to an entire grade level of students, assuring that all students, regardless of socioeconomic background or prior coursework have an opportunity to explore the climate issue and be part of crafting community level solutions for their communities. We will address the benefits of working with school system partners to achieve a successful integration of in-school and outdoor learning by making teachers and administrators part of the process. We will explore how, through the Maryland and Delaware Climate Change Education, Assessment, and Research Project, teachers, content supervisors and informal educators worked together to create a climate curriculum with local context that effectively meets Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards. Over the course of several weeks during the year, students engage in a series of in-class and field activities directly correlated with their science curriculum. Wetlands and birds are used as examples of the local wildlife and habitat being impacted by climate change. Through these lessons led by Pickering Creek Audubon Center educators and strengthened by material covered by classroom teachers, students get a thorough introduction to the mechanism of climate change, local impacts of climate change on habitats and wildlife, and actions they can take as a community to mitigate the effects of climate change. The project concludes with a habitat and carbon stewardship project that gives students and teachers a sense of hope as they tackle this big issue on a local scale. We'll explore how the MADE-CLEAR Informal Climate Change Education (ICCE) Community of Practice supports Delaware and Maryland environmental educators in collaboratively learning and expanding their programming on the complex issue of climate change. Participants will learn how to include climate change education as part of a larger ecological exploration, giving students and teachers local context to this global issue and memorable outdoor hands-on experiences and student driven adaptation projects.

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 and student teachers through workshops, at teacher conferences, and participating Faculties of Education.

The North Texas aerospace manufacturing and aviation industries: An explanatory case study of school-to-work collaborative networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miller, Cynthia Ann

The purpose of this study is to explore how educators, business partners and facilitators developed ties or networks to initiate a school-to-work collaboration to prepare students for jobs and careers in the aerospace manufacturing and aviation industries. There is growing concern about preparing a future workforce supply in these industries in North Texas. Workforce projections call for 8000 additional jobs between 2010 and 2020 (North Central Texas Council of Governments, 2013). Collaboration is recognized as a valuable asset to connect disjointed segments within the K-16 trajectory. This study explores the contradiction between the stated need for collaborative strategies and the inability of stakeholders attempting to collaborate across organizational and institutional boundaries to sustain these connections. Through the lens of networking theory, the roles of facilitators and the operation of networks and ties between and among partners are investigated. Ten participants in a high school curriculum development project were interviewed, representing a business, community college, and K-12 education. Data analysis revealed findings associated with three major themes: facilitation, project activity and relationships. Nine individuals were identified as facilitators, and facilitators were perceived as helping the project move forward. Project activity benefited from the structured curriculum development process. Although relationships characterized by strong ties helped start the project, weak ties predominated among project participants. Implications for theory include the need for more knowledge about facilitator roles and group dynamics. Further research about the functioning of weak and strong ties and facilitator skill sets relating to collaborative leadership would be valuable. Implications for practice include capturing lessons learned to apply to other industries, and overtly acknowledging the existence and importance of facilitators.

On the move! : exploring transportation career horizons.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-08-01

A recent Southwest University Transportation Center (SWUTC) project entitled Go! Girl! provided : standing room only participation for the career workshops and activities it presented. The number of : agencies, schools and universities offering suppo...

Acoustic and social design of schools-ways to improve the school listening environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hagen, Mechthild

2005-04-01

Results of noise research indicate that communication, and as a result, teaching, learning and the social atmosphere are impeded by noise in schools. The development of strategies to reduce noise levels has often not been effective. A more promising approach seems to be to pro-actively support the ability to listen and to understand. The presentation describes the approach to an acoustic and social school design developed and explored within the project ``GanzOhrSein'' by the Education Department of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich. The scope includes an analysis of the current ``school soundscape,'' an introduction to the concept of the project to improve individual listening abilities and the conditions for listening, as well as practical examples and relevant research results. We conclude that an acoustic school design should combine acoustic changes in classrooms with educational activities to support listening at schools and thus contribute to improving individual learning conditions and to reducing stress on both pupils and teachers.

Teacher Pay for Performance: Experimental Evidence from the Project on Incentives in Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Springer, Matthew G.; Hamilton, Laura; McCaffrey, Daniel F.; Ballou, Dale; Le, Vi-Nhuan; Pepper, Matthew; Lockwood, J. R.; Stecher, Brian M.

2010-01-01

In an effort to explore the impact of performance incentives in education, the National Center on Performance Incentives (NCPI) partnered with the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) to conduct the Project on Incentives in Teaching, or POINT. The study examines the effects on student outcomes of paying eligible teachers bonuses of up to…

Intercultural Education through a Bilingual Children's Rights Project: Reflections on Its Possibilities and Challenges with Young Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lau, Sunny Man Chu

2015-01-01

Despite the growing importance of intercultural education, literature is still lacking in related research with young learners. This study reports on a yearlong university-school collaborative research project that aimed to promote students' intercultural competence and critical bi-literacy skills through their exploration of the issue of…

Sites of Contention and Critical Thinking in the Elementary Art Classroom: A Political Cartooning Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rolling, James Haywood, Jr.

2008-01-01

In this paper, the author explores the concept of childhood as a social category that impedes the perception of youngsters as critical thinkers in a visual culture. The author interrogates regularities within contemporary public schooling that work to represent the intellectual and cultural development of youngsters as the project of adult…

Inspiring the Next Generation of Innovators: Students, Parents and Educators Speak up about Science Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farris-Berg, Kim

2008-01-01

This report presents the findings from Project Tomorrow's 2007 Speak Up Survey, informing international discussions about how to improve science learning in the 21st century through an exploration of student, teacher, parent, and school leader attitudes about science education. Project Tomorrow administered its survey in all 50 United States, the…

Challenge: A Focus for Improving Teaching and Learning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baird, John R.; And Others

A 4-year program of naturalistic research on science teaching and learning was conducted in Australia. This program comprised a project entitled Teaching and Learning Science in Schools (TLSS), which ran from 1987-89, and a year of follow-up studies in which some of the major findings from the project were explored further. Participants included 5…

Using Collaborative Testing to Reduce Test Anxiety in Elementary and Middle School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Balkam, Brittany E.; Nellessen, Jenny A.; Ronney, Heather M.

2013-01-01

Throughout this action research project report, the teacher-researchers explored the problem of test anxiety among students. The purpose of this project was to alleviate test anxiety among students with various interventions in grades five through seven in the subject areas of social studies, science, and language arts. There were 66 student…

The Effect of a Graph-Oriented Computer-Assisted Project-Based Learning Environment on Argumentation Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hsu, P. -S.; Van Dyke, M.; Chen, Y.; Smith, T. J.

2015-01-01

The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to explore how seventh graders in a suburban school in the United States developed argumentation skills and science knowledge in a project-based learning environment that incorporated a graph-oriented, computer-assisted application. A total of 54 students (three classes) comprised this treatment…

Back on "Whose" Track? Reframing Ideologies of Inclusion and Misrecognition in a Participatory Theatre Project with Young People in London

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Preston, Sheila

2011-01-01

The article explores the limitations of applied drama interventions promising integration and inclusion against the material realities of urban disenfranchisement and misrecognition. Through reflection on a participatory theatre project facilitated with young women in an urban secondary school in London, social and moral agendas emerge which…

Participatory Action Research: Collective Reflections on Gender, Culture, and Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McIntyre, Alice; Chatzopoulos, Nikolaos; Politi, Anastasia; Roz, Julieta

2007-01-01

The focus of this article is the experiences of three undergraduate students who engaged in a participatory action research (PAR) project with a group of preadolescent Latina girls attending a public school in Boston, MA, USA. The aim of the 2-year project was to explore how the girls constructed knowledge about girlhood and other gender-related…

A Study of Creativity in CaC[subscript 2] Steamship-Derived STEM Project-Based Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lou, Shi-Jer; Chou, Yung-Chieh; Shih, Ru-Chu; Chung, Chih-Chao

2017-01-01

This study mainly aimed to explore the effects of project-based learning (PBL) integrated into science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) activities and to analyze the creativity displayed by junior high school students while performing these activities. With a quasi-experimental design, 60 ninth-grade students from a junior high…

Exploring "The World around Us" in a Community of Scientific Enquiry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dunlop, Lynda; Compton, Kirsty; Clarke, Linda; McKelvey-Martin, Valerie

2013-01-01

The primary Communities of Scientific Enquiry project is one element of the outreach work in Science in Society in Biomedical Sciences in partnership with the School of Education at the University of Ulster. The project aims to develop scientific understanding and skills at key stage 2 and is a response to several contemporary issues in primary…

On the Brink: Activity and Resource Guide to Teaching about Massachusetts Endangered Species.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cervoni, Cleti, Ed.

Project WILD is the first large-scale curriculum supplement focusing on wildlife concepts and integrated with many areas of the general school curriculum. It features decision-making processes and explores a diversity of attitudes toward wildlife. The goal of Project WILD is to prepare young people to make decisions affecting people and wildlife…

Writing as Exploration. Learning Package No. 31.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Collins, Norma, Comp.; Smith, Carl, Ed.

Originally developed as part of a project for the Department of Defense Schools (DoDDS) system, this learning package on expressive writing is designed for teachers who wish to upgrade or expand their teaching skills on their own. The package includes an overview of the project; a comprehensive search of the ERIC database; a lecture giving an…

The Effect of Environmental Science Projects on Students' Environmental Knowledge and Science Attitudes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Al-Balushi, Sulaiman M.; Al-Aamri, Shamsa S.

2014-01-01

The current study explores the effectiveness of involving students in environmental science projects for their environmental knowledge and attitudes towards science. The study design is a quasi-experimental pre-post control group design. The sample was 62 11th-grade female students studying at a public school in Oman. The sample was divided into…

Definitions and Uses: Case Study of Teachers Implementing Project-Based Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tamim, Suha R.; Grant, Michael M.

2013-01-01

The purpose of this descriptive study was to explore inservice teachers' definitions of project-based learning (PjBL) and their accounts on the meaning of their PjBL implementations. A purposive sample of six teachers from grades four through twelve in public and private schools participated. Three themes evolved from inductive analysis: (1)…

Multi-Site Ethnography, Hypermedia and the Productive Hazards of Digital Methods: A Struggle for Liveness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gallagher, Kathleen; Freeman, Barry

2011-01-01

This article explores the possibilities and frustrations of using digital methods in a multi-sited ethnographic research project. The project, "Urban School Performances: The interplay, through live and digital drama, of local-global knowledge about student engagement", is a study of youth and teachers in drama classrooms in contexts of…

Investigation of the Effect of Assignment Projects on Mathematical Activity of Graduating Junior High School Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zehavi, Nurit

This study explored student mathematical activity in open problem-solving situations, derived from the work of Polya on problem solving and Skemp on intelligent learning and teaching. Assignment projects with problems for ninth-grade students were developed, whether they elicit the desired cognitive and cogno-affective goals was investigated, and…

Coordination and Evaluation of Videodisc and Microcomputer Programs. Final Technical Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McLaughlin, Donald H.; And Others

This report provides information on the background, methodology, and findings of the Videodisc-Microcomputer (ViM) Network project, which brought together over 40 schools in 15 states to explore the potential of a new technology for basic skills instruction. Initiated in 1981 and completed at the end of 1983, the project involved a wide variety of…

The Cognitive Contribution to the Development of Proficiency in a Foreign Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Csapo, Beno; Nikolov, Marianne

2009-01-01

The present paper reports results of a longitudinal research project studying the contribution of cognitive skills and other factors to proficiency in a foreign language (L2) in the Hungarian educational context. The larger project aims to describe the levels of L2 proficiency of school-aged populations in order to explore the conditions and…

Review of the Bangladesh Female Secondary School Stipend Project Using a Social Exclusion Framework

PubMed Central

2009-01-01

The Female Secondary School Stipend Project in Bangladesh was established to increase the enrollment of girls in secondary schools, thereby delaying marriage and childbearing. This analysis examined the existing data using the social exclusion framework to clarify the primary exclusionary factors that have kept girls from education: harassment, poverty, and the primacy of marriage and childbirth and explored the extent to which the project has diminished such barriers. While causality is difficult to establish, data suggest that the stipend programme has contributed to the rise in enrollment of girls in secondary schools. Questions remain as to the impact of the stipend programme on delaying marriage, empowerment of girls and women, and enhancing employment opportunities. A thorough assessment of the impact is required. The case study suggests that, if the programme design had focused on the quality and content of education and the broader economic and social context, more opportunities would have been created for social and economic participation of girls. PMID:19761084

Exploring English Language Learners (ELL) experiences with scientific language and inquiry within a real life context

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Algee, Lisa M.

English Language Learners (ELL) are often at a distinct disadvantage from receiving authentic science learning opportunites. This study explored English Language Learners (ELL) learning experiences with scientific language and inquiry within a real life context. This research was theoretically informed by sociocultural theory and literature on student learning and science teaching for ELL. A qualitative, case study was used to explore students' learning experiences. Data from multiple sources was collected: student interviews, science letters, an assessment in another context, field-notes, student presentations, inquiry assessment, instructional group conversations, parent interviews, parent letters, parent homework, teacher-researcher evaluation, teacher-researcher reflective journal, and student ratings of learning activities. These data sources informed the following research questions: (1) Does participation in an out-of-school contextualized inquiry science project increase ELL use of scientific language? (2) Does participation in an out-of-school contextualized inquiry science project increase ELL understanding of scientific inquiry and their motivation to learn? (3) What are parents' funds of knowledge about the local ecology and does this inform students' experiences in the science project? All data sources concerning students were analyzed for similar patterns and trends and triangulation was sought through the use of these data sources. The remaining data sources concerning the teacher-researcher were used to inform and assess whether the pedagogical and research practices were in alignment with the proposed theoretical framework. Data sources concerning parental participation accessed funds of knowledge, which informed the curriculum in order to create continuity and connections between home and school. To ensure accuracy in the researchers' interpretations of student and parent responses during interviews, member checking was employed. The findings suggest that participation in an out-of-school contextualized inquiry science project increased ELL use of scientific language and understanding of scientific inquiry and motivation to learn. In addition, parent' funds of knowledge informed students' experiences in the science project. These findings suggest that the learning and teaching practices and the real life experiential learning contexts served as an effective means for increasing students' understandings and motivation to learn.

The Trinity of Portfolio Placement: Validity, Reliability, and Curriculum Reform.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Borrowman, Shane

1999-01-01

Provides an overview of the Portfolio Placement Project (PPP) at the University of Arizona; explores the concept of validity as it relates to the PPP; explores the concept of reliability within the PPP; and argues that the PPP has had enormous positive impact on the curriculum of the University of Arizona and the schools whose students submit…

"Embodied Knowing": Exploring the Founding of the Melbourne Rudolf Steiner School in 1970S Victoria, Australia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bak, Tao

2018-01-01

Education in Victoria, Australia not only underwent significant change in the 1970s, but was witness to a widespread educational reform project. Whilst exploration of the more widespread alternatives has been of some interest, the smaller progressive traditions that emerged in some ways "alongside" the broader reforms have rarely been…

Whose Banner Are We Waving? Exploring STEM Partnerships for Marginalized Urban Youth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ridgeway, Monica L.; Yerrick, Randy K.

2018-01-01

This case study examines after school programming in citizen science from the perspective of Critical Race Theory. During the course of enacting community outreach projects this data was used to examine the positioning of experts, student, and teachers within the program. This study explores the role of race and ethnicity, and the ways in which…

Children Colouring: Speaking "Colour Difference" with Diversity Dolls

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Srinivasan, Prasanna; Cruz, Merlyne

2015-01-01

This article draws on data from qualitative research that was conducted with children between 6 and 13?years of age as a part of an 18-month project that explored respectfully engaging with cultural diversity in Australian primary schools. We used persona dolls as a research tool to enable children to explore and articulate their knowledge of…

Learning to Take an Inquiry Stance in Teacher Research: An Exploration of Unstructured Thought-Partner Spaces

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lawton-Sticklor, Nastasia; Bodamer, Scott F.

2016-01-01

This article explores a research partnership between a university-based researcher and a middle school science teacher. Our partnership began with project-based inquiry and continued with unstructured thought-partner spaces: meetings with no agenda where we wrestled with problems of practice. Framed as incubation periods, these meetings allowed us…

Lessons learnt from the Bristol Girls Dance Project cluster RCT: implications for designing and implementing after-school physical activity interventions

PubMed Central

Edwards, Mark J; May, Thomas; Kesten, Joanna M; Banfield, Kate; Bird, Emma L; Powell, Jane E; Sebire, Simon J; Jago, Russell

2016-01-01

Objective To consider implementation issues associated with the delivery of Bristol Girls Dance Project (BGDP) and to identify improvements that may aid the design of after-school physical activity (PA) interventions. Design Two-armed cluster randomised control trial. The BGDP was a 20-week school-based intervention, consisting of two 75 min after-school dance sessions per week, which aimed to support Year 7 girls to be more physically active. Setting 18 secondary schools (nine intervention, nine control) in the Greater Bristol area (as an indication of deprivation, children eligible for the pupil premium in participant schools ranged from 6.9 to 53.3%). Participants 571 Year 7 girls. This article reports on qualitative data collected from 59 girls in the intervention arm of the trial, 10 dance instructors and 9 school contacts involved in the delivering of the BGDP. Methods Data were obtained from nine focus groups with girls (one per intervention school), and interviews with dance instructors and school contacts. Focus groups sought views of girls’ motivation to participate, teaching styles and experiences of the intervention. Interviews explored views on implementation and dissemination. Framework analysis was used to analyse data. Results Qualitative data elicited three themes associated with the delivery of BGDP that affected implementation: project design, session content and project organisation. ‘Project design’ found issues associated with recruitment, timetabling and session quantity to influence the effectiveness of BGDP. ‘Session content’ found that dance instructors delivered a range of content and that girls enjoyed a variety of dance. Themes within ‘project organisation’ suggested an ‘open enrolment’ policy and greater parental involvement may facilitate better attendance. Conclusions After-school PA interventions have potential for increasing PA levels among adolescent girls. There is a need to consider the context in which interventions are delivered and implement them in ways that are appropriate to the needs of participants. Trial registration number ISRCTN52882523. PMID:26747038

Greening the Curriculum? History Joins "The Usual Suspects" in Teaching Climate Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hawkey, Kate; James, Jon; Tidmarsh, Celia

2016-01-01

Inspired by the news that Bristol had become the UK's first Green Capital, Kate Hawkey, Jon James and Celia Tidmarsh set out to explore what a "Green Capital" School Curriculum might look like. Hawkey, James and Tidmarsh explain how they created a cross-curricular project to deliver in-school workshops focused on the teaching of climate…

Computer Ratio and Student Achievement in Reading and Math in a North Carolina School District

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Preswood, Erica

2017-01-01

This longitudinal research project explored the relationship between a 1:1 computing initiative and student achievement on the North Carolina End of Grade Reading Comprehension and Math tests in the study school district. The purpose of this research study was to determine if the implementation of a 1:1 computing initiative impacted student…

Beyond Words: Dance and Movement Sessions with Young People with Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties in Estonia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goodgame, Jenna

2007-01-01

This article details an experimental project in Estonian schools, using therapeutic dance and movement as a basis to explore beyond the boundaries of language in supporting young people to develop their creative expression. The author visited three residential schools in different areas of Estonia in September 2006 to lead sessions with groups of…

Blue Sky Below My Feet: Daycamp & After School Programs--9 to 11 Year Olds. Leader's Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

California Univ., Berkeley. Cooperative Extension Service.

This manual presents a 10-day lesson plan for day camp and after-school program leaders. The activities and experiments described in the manual focus on nutrition and space exploration. Topics covered by the lesson plan and specific projects include: (1) gravity; (2) food spoilage; (3) model rocket building and launching; (4) the basic food…

Crafting the Normative Subject: Queerying the Politics of Race in the New Zealand Health Education Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Quinlivan, Kathleen; Rasmussen, Mary Lou; Aspin, Clive; Allen, Louisa; Sanjakdar, Fida

2014-01-01

This article explores the potential of queering as a mode of critique by problematising the ways in which liberal politics of race shape normative understandings of health in a high school classroom. Drawing on findings from an Australian and New Zealand (NZ) research project designed to respond to religious and cultural difference in school-based…

"Seeing" the School Reform Elephant: Connecting Policy Makers, Parents, Practioners, and Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wagner, Tony; Sconyers, Nancy

This report is part of a multi-year project conducted by the Institute for Responsive Education (IRE) and Boston University components of the Center on Families, Communities, Schools and Children's Learning. The report draws on results of a series of focus groups and interviews conducted in 1994 and 1995 to explore how policymakers and parents,…

Learner Background and the Acquisition of Discourse Features of Korean in the Australian Secondary School Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Sun Hee Ok

2012-01-01

This paper explores how learner background shapes learner performance on discourse features in writing by analysing data produced as part of the Student Achievement in Asian Languages Education project (Scarino et al., 2011) by Year 10 (mid-secondary school) students learning Korean as a foreign or heritage language. Five participants were in…

Provision for Mathematically Able Children in Primary Schools: A Review of Practice Five Years after England Dropped the Gifted and Talented Initiative

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dimitriadis, Christos; Georgeson, Jan

2018-01-01

After the abandonment of the Gifted and Talented initiative and the recent developments in mathematics educational policy (i.e. the new national curriculum and the "mastery" initiative), this research project aimed to explore the current primary school situation regarding educating the "most able" children in mathematics, along…

Supporting Students with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) at Secondary School: A Parent and Student Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tobias, Adele

2009-01-01

This paper describes a small-scale research project undertaken in July 2007, which focused on a group of students with a diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) currently attending a mainstream secondary school. Three focus groups were held with students in Years 9 and 11 and with their parents in order to explore current practice on…

Societal Culture and the Changing Role of School Principals in the Post-Soviet Era: The Case of Kazakhstan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yakavets, Natallia

2016-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of societal and cultural factors on the practices and perceptions of school principals in Kazakhstan. Design/methodology/approach: The paper draws on empirical data collected in Kazakhstan over two years in the course of an international, collaborative, multi-stranded project. Findings:…

Making Visible the People Who Feed Us: Exploring Student Responses to Multicultural Texts about Food Workers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yamashita, Lina

2017-01-01

There is growing interest in teaching K-16 students where food comes from and how it is grown, as evidenced by school gardens, farm-to-school programs, majors related to food systems, student farms on college campuses, and campus sustainable food projects. Many of these programs, however, do not necessarily highlight social inequities embedded in…

Exploring the Hidden Structure of Astronomical Images: A "Pixelated" View of Solar System and Deep Space Features!

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ward, R. Bruce; Sienkiewicz, Frank; Sadler, Philip; Antonucci, Paul; Miller, Jaimie

2013-01-01

We describe activities created to help student participants in Project ITEAMS (Innovative Technology-Enabled Astronomy for Middle Schools) develop a deeper understanding of picture elements (pixels), image creation, and analysis of the recorded data. ITEAMS is an out-of-school time (OST) program funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) with…

Access Denied: Mandatory Expulsion Requirements and the Erosion of Educational Opportunity in Michigan.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Polakow-Suransky, Sasha

This report focuses on the impact of the Federal Gun-Free Schools Act (GFSA) in the Michigan public schools. The research for this study was conducted as a project of the Ann Arbor-based Student Advocacy Center. The study's purpose is twofold: (1) explore the implications of Michigan's zero-tolerance policy for educational equity and equal…

Exploring the Nature of High School Student Engagement with Science and Technology as an Outcome of Participation in Science Journalism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hope, Jennifer Michelle Gauble

2012-01-01

In a mixed-methods study of high school student participants in the National Science Foundation-funded Science Literacy through Science Journalism (SciJourn) project, the new Youth Engagement with Science & Technology (YEST) Survey and classroom case studies were used to determine program impact on participant engagement with science and…

Gandhian Education in Bali: Globalisations and Cultural Diversity in a Time of Fundamentalisms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tamatea, Laurence

2006-01-01

The paper presents findings from a research project undertaken at the Taman Rama Gandhi School in Bali during the first anniversary week of the Bali Bombings in 2003. It explores the school's response to four key components of Gandhi's model of Basic Education ("Nai Talim") and shows that the claimed curriculum is framed by two…

The Effect of Varied Gender Groupings on Argumentation Skills among Middle School Students in Different Cultures

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hsu, Pi-Sui; Van Dyke, Margot; Smith, Thomas J.

2017-01-01

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to explore the effect of varied gender groupings on argumentation skills among middle school students in Taiwan and the United States in a project-based learning environment that incorporated a graph-oriented computer-assisted application (GOCAA). A total of 43 students comprised the treatment condition…

Exploring Inclusive Practices in Primary Schools: Focusing on Children's Voices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adderley, Rebecca J.; Hope, Max A.; Hughes, Gill C.; Jones, Lisa; Messiou, Kyriaki; Shaw, Patricia A.

2015-01-01

This paper reports a small-scale research project which took place in one primary school in the north-east of England. The study aimed to listen to children's views about how the practices of teachers helped and/or hindered their sense of inclusion in classrooms. Inclusion was understood here in a broad sense rather than specifically relating to…

The Perceptions of Secondary School Middle Leaders Regarding Their Needs Following a Middle Leadership Development Programme

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thorpe, Anthony; Bennett-Powell, Gay

2014-01-01

The importance of middle leaders in bringing about improvement in schools is well recognized in the UK, as in many other countries, with the ever-present demand for raising standards and achievement. This article outlines some initial findings and discussion points emerging from the first stage of a project exploring how middle leaders in…

The James Webb STEM Innovation Project: Bringing JWST to the Education Community

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eisenhamer, Bonnie; Harris, J.; Ryer, H.; Taylor, J.; Bishop, M.

2012-01-01

Building awareness of a NASA mission prior to launch and connecting that mission to the education community can be challenging. In order to address this challenge, the Space Telescope Science Institute's Office of Public Outreach has developed the James Webb STEM innovation Project (SIP) - an interdisciplinary project that focuses on the engineering aspects and potential scientific discoveries of JWST, while incorporating elements of project-based learning. Students in participating schools will use skills from multiple subject areas to research an aspect of the JWST's design or potential science and create models, illustrated essays, or technology-based projects to demonstrate their learning. Student projects will be showcased during special events at select venues in the project states - thus allowing parents and community members to also be benefactors of the project. Currently, the SIP is being piloted in New York, California, and Maryland. In addition, we will be implementing the SIP in partnership with NASA Explorer Schools in the states of New Mexico, Michigan, Texas, Tennessee, and Iowa.

Teaching case studies on emergency evacuation : final report

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-02-15

Through the development of four Harvard Kennedy School case studies, this project explored the policy and institutional dimensions of emergency evacuation planning and implementation in two major metropolitan areas Houston and New Orleans. By pro...

Birds in the playground: Evaluating the effectiveness of an urban environmental education project in enhancing school children's awareness, knowledge and attitudes towards local wildlife.

PubMed

White, Rachel L; Eberstein, Katie; Scott, Dawn M

2018-01-01

Children nowadays, particularly in urban areas, are more disconnected from nature than ever before, leading to a large-scale "extinction of experience" with the natural world. Yet there are many potential benefits from children interacting with nature first-hand, including via outdoor learning opportunities. Urban environmental education programmes typically aim to increase awareness and knowledge of local biodiversity and to promote positive attitudes and behaviour towards the environment. However, limited research has been conducted evaluating to what extent these interventions achieve their goals. Here, we explore and assess the influence of a six-week bird-feeding and monitoring project conducted within school grounds ("Bird Buddies") on individual awareness, knowledge and attitudes towards birds by primary school children. This initiative was conducted across eight (sub-)urban primary schools within Brighton and Hove (UK), with 220 participating children (aged 7 to 10). Via pre- and post-project questionnaires, we found evidence for enhanced awareness of local biodiversity, alongside significant gains in both bird identification knowledge and attitudes, which were greatest for children with little prior exposure to nature. Many children expressed a keenness to continue improving the environmental value of their school grounds and to apply elements of the project at home. Student project evaluation scores were consistently positive. Mirroring this, participating teachers endorsed the project as a positive learning experience for their students. One year after the project, several schools were continuing to feed and watch birds. Collectively, the findings from this study highlight the multiple benefits that can be derived from engagement with a relatively short outdoor environmental activity. We therefore believe that such interventions, if repeated locally/longer term, could enhance children's experience with nature in urban settings with combined positive environmental impact.

Student opinion in England about science and technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jenkins, Edgar W.

2006-05-01

An earlier paper in this Journal (Jenkins & Nelson, 2005) drew upon the findings of the Relevance of Science Education Project (ROSE) to report the attitudes of students in England towards their secondary school science education. The present paper draws upon the same project to explore what the same students, almost all in their penultimate year of compulsory schooling, think about science and technology. It suggests that several basic research questions need to be addressed and answered if the present widespread decline in the industrialised world in the popularity of the physical sciences as subjects of advanced study is to be halted.

An Eroding Social Justice Agenda: The Case of Physical Education and Health Edu-Business in Schools.

PubMed

McCuaig, Louise; Enright, Eimear; Rossi, Anthony; Macdonald, Doune; Hansen, Scott

2016-06-01

In this article, we draw on current research to explore notions of socially just health and physical education (HPE) programs, in light of claims that a neoliberal globalization promotes markets over the states and a new individualism that privileges self-interest over the collective good. We also invite readers to consider the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization's ambition for physical education in light of preliminary findings from an Australian-led research project exploring national and international patterns of outsourcing HPE curricula. Data were sourced from this international research project through a mixed-methods approach. Each external provider engaged in 4 phases of research activity: (a) Web audits, (b) interviews with external providers, (c) network diagrams, and (d) school partner interviews and observations. We then used these data to pose what we believe to be three emerging lines of inquiry and challenge for a socially just school HPE in neoliberal times. In particular, our data indicate that the marketization of school HPE is strengthening an emphasis on individual responsibility for personal health, thereby elevating expectations that schools and teachers will "fill the welfare gap" and, finally, influencing the nature and purchase of educative HPE programs in schools. The apparent proliferation of external providers of health work and HPE resources and services reflects the rise and pervasiveness of neoliberalism in education. We conclude that this global HPE landscape warrants attention to investigate the extent to which external providers' resources are compatible with schooling's educative and inclusive mandates.

Oxidation of Ethidium using TAML Activators: A Model for High School Research Performed in Partnership with University Scientists

PubMed Central

Pueyo, Natalie C.; Raub, Andrew G.; Jackson, Sean; Metz, Madalyn M.; Mount, Allegra C.; Naughton, Kyle L.; Eaton, Ashley L.; Thomas, Nicole M.; Hastings, Peter; Greaves, John; Blumberg, Bruce; Collins, Terrence J.; Sogo, Steven G.

2013-01-01

A chemical research program at a public high school has been developed. The full-year Advanced Chemical Research class (ACR) in the high school enrolls 20 to 30 seniors each year, engaging them in long-term experimental projects. Through partnerships involving university scientists, ACR high school students have had the opportunity to explore a number of highly sophisticated original research projects. As an example of the quality of experimental work made possible through these high school–university partnerships, this article describes the development of a novel method for the oxidation of ethidium bromide, a mutagen commonly used in molecular biology. Data collected from ACR alumni show that the ACR program is instrumental in encouraging students to pursue careers in scientific fields and in creating life-long problem-solvers. PMID:23585695

Elementary school aerospace activities: A resource for teachers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1977-01-01

The chronological development of the story of man and flight, with emphasis on space flight, is presented in 10 units designed as a resource for elementary school teachers. Future exploration of space and the utlization of space flight capabilities are included. Each unit contains an outline, a list of suggested activities for correlation, a bibliography, and a list of selected audiovisual materials. A glossary of aerospace terms is included. Topics cover: earth characteristics that affect flight; flight in atmosphere, rockets, technological advances, unmanned Earth satellites, umanned exploration of the solar system, life support systems; astronauts, man in space, and projections for the future.

A Coastal Citizen Science Project - How to run an international Citizen Science Project?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kruse, K.; Knickmeier, K.; Thiel, M.; Gatta, M.

2016-02-01

"Searching for plastic garbage" is an international Citizen Science project that aims to participate school students in the public discussion on the topic "plastic pollution in the ocean". For this, young people apply various research methods, evaluate their data, communicate and publish their results and investigate solutions solving this problem. The project will be carried out in Chile and Germany at the same time, which allows the participating students to share and compare their results and discuss their ideas with an international partner. This takes place on the website www.save-ocean.org. The project promotes intercultural and scientific skills of the students. They get insights into scientific research, get into another culture and experiences plastic pollution as an important global problem. Since May 2015, 450 pupils aged 10 to 15 years and 20 teachers in Germany and Chile have explored the plastic garbage on beaches. Where are the largest plastic garbage deposits? Which items of plastic are mostly found in Germany and Chile? Or where does this garbage comes from? These and other research questions are being answered by an international network between students, teachers and scientists. After completing the first Citizen Science pilot study successfully in summer 2015, the entire German and Chilean coast will be explored in spring 2016 by around 2500 participating school students. The project "Searching for plastic garbage" is the first international Citizen Science project that is a cooperation between the ocean:lab of Kiel Science Factory and the "Cientificos de la Basura", a project of the department of marine biology at University Catolica del Norte in Coquimbo, Chile. The project is supported by the Cluster of Excellence "The Future Ocean", the Leibniz Institute for Science Education and Mathematics (IPN), the Ministry of School and Professional Education of Land Schleswig-Holstein and the University Catolica del Norte in Coquimbo, Chile

Project LITE Spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weeks, E.; Brecher, K.; Carr, P.; Garik, P.

2003-12-01

Spectroscopy is one of the most important tools used by astronomers to disentangle information about the universe. However, it is one of the most challenging subjects in undergraduate astronomy courses. Among the most difficult concepts for students to master are Kirchhoff's laws, blackbody radiation, the Stefan-Boltzmann law, Wien's law, the nature and causes of emission and absorption lines, and the relation of spectra to the underlying astronomical and physical processes producing them. Students often seem baffled by the connection between a spectrum seen visually as a color band and the same spectrum plotted graphically as intensity versus wavelength or frequency. Project LITE (Light Inquiry Through Experiments) is a software, curriculum, and materials development project at Boston University. As part of the project, we are currently developing a suite of spectroscopic tools for astronomy education. We are also assessing their effectiveness in improving conceptual understanding of spectroscopic phenomena by astronomy students at the undergraduate level. The spectroscopy component of Project LITE includes take-home laboratory materials and experiments, which are integrated with web-based software. We have also developed a novel quantitative handheld binocular spectrometer (patent pending). Here we present an overview of the Project LITE homelab kits and curriculum, the Spectrum Explorer, and the Project LITE spectrometer. The homelab experiments and the Spectrum Explorer have been tested with students in a non-science majors introductory astronomy course as well as in a School of Education course for prospective elementary school science teachers. We present preliminary results of pre- and post-instruction surveys of student understanding of various spectral properties of light both from students who used the homelab activities and the Spectrum Explorer and those who did not. The Spectrum Explorer (along with many other applets about both the physical and perceptual nature of light) can be found at the Project LITE web site http://lite.bu.edu. Project LITE is supported by Grant #DUE-0125992 from the National Science Foundation Division of Undergraduate Education. E. W. is supported by a NASA Graduate Student Research Fellowship, NASA Grant number NGT5-50482.

Becoming a health promoting school: evaluating the process of effective implementation in Scotland.

PubMed

Inchley, Jo; Muldoon, Janine; Currie, Candace

2007-03-01

Increasingly, researchers are exploring alternative ways of assessing the impact of 'Health Promoting School' (HPS) initiatives, in recognition of the model's emphasis on achieving change that is both enduring and far-reaching. However, it is still assumed that initiatives will lead to immediate change at the individual level. This paper challenges that view and argues that potential markers of success associated with process need to be identified earlier as a means of supporting schools and teachers. Notwithstanding differences in the way the HPS is conceptualized and implemented, four themes are highlighted that have relevance beyond any one school or country. These were drawn from a process evaluation of a European Network of HPSs Project in Scotland. They highlight the ways in which schools were able to successfully adopt HPS principles and the conditions that need to be in place for the HPS concept to flourish. Such indicators need to be given greater recognition as HPS outcomes if schools are to progress beyond the early stages of project implementation.

The Careers Project: An Economic Analysis of Ten Industry Clusters in California. CRB 09-002

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Cos, Patricia L.; Mulcahy, Nicolina; Chan, Julie

2009-01-01

The Careers Project is a study of the preparation all students in public middle and high schools receive to explore career options and the relationship between that preparation and California's state and regional economies. The California Research Bureau (CRB) undertook this research at the request of a bipartisan group of members of the…

"Learning To Live with a Lesser Form of Knowledge": Coming to Terms with the Characteristics of Teachers' Pedagogical Knowing.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Husu, Jukka

This paper covers three interrelated study projects that were launched in order to explore teachers' pedagogical knowing. Within the study projects, teachers' pedagogical knowing was treated as a broad concept and practice. "Pedagogical" was not simply what happened in schools and classrooms; it was also found inside teachers and outside…

The Use of Wikis in a Science Inquiry-Based Project in a Primary School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lau, Wilfred W. F.; Lui, Vicky; Chu, Samuel K. W.

2017-01-01

This study explored the use of wikis in a science inquiry-based project conducted with Primary 6 students (aged 11-12). It used an online wiki-based platform called PBworks and addressed the following research questions: (1) What are students' attitudes toward learning with wikis? (2) What are students' interactions in online group collaboration…

Console Game-Based Pedagogy: A Study of Primary and Secondary Classroom Learning through Console Video Games

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Groff, Jennifer S.; Howells, Cathrin; Cranmer, Sue

2012-01-01

The main focus of this research project was to identify the educational benefits of console game-based learning in primary and secondary schools. The project also sought to understand how the benefits of educational gaming could transfer to other settings. For this purpose, research was carried out in classrooms in Scotland to explore learning…

The Careers Project: Survey of Representatives of Business and Industry in California. CRB 09-003

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Cos, Patricia L.

2009-01-01

The Careers Project is a study of the preparation all students in public middle and high schools receive to explore career options and the relationship between that preparation and California's state and regional economies. The California Research Bureau (CRB) undertook this research at the request of a bipartisan group of members of the…

Investigating the Experience of Outdoor and Adventurous Project Work in an Educational Setting Using a Self-Determination Framework

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sproule, John; Martindale, Russell; Wang, John; Allison, Peter; Nash, Christine; Gray, Shirley

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to carry out a preliminary investigation to explore the use of outdoor and adventurous project work (PW) within an educational setting. Specifically, differences between the PW and normal academic school experiences were examined using a self-determination theory framework integrated with a goal orientation and…

Exploring the Effects of Student-Centered Project-Based Learning with Initiation on Students' Computing Skills: A Quasi-Experimental Study of Digital Storytelling

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tsai, Chia-Wen; Shen, Pei-Di; Lin, Rong-An

2015-01-01

This study investigated, via quasi-experiments, the effects of student-centered project-based learning with initiation (SPBL with Initiation) on the development of students' computing skills. In this study, 96 elementary school students were selected from four class sections taking a course titled "Digital Storytelling" and were assigned…

Analyzing beliefs and practices of a Mexican high school biology teacher

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Verjovsky, Janet; Waldegg, Guillermina

2005-04-01

This article explores the beliefs and practices of a high school biology teacher through three interrelated theoretical frameworks: common knowledge, collaborative learning, and communities of practice. The data were obtained from an in-depth case study of Maria, a biology teacher from a Mexican public high school that was participating in a 4-year international science project using collaborative learning and information and communication technology. Her beliefs and practices were explored by means of questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and nonparticipant observation of classes. Through the use of the three-component framework, the degrees of coherence between practice and beliefs that guide the teacher's daily behavior became apparent, as well as the difficulties of incorporating innovations due to institutional constraints.

Projects in Technology Education and Fostering Learning: The Potential and Its Realization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barak, Moshe; Shachar, Ahron

2008-06-01

The current study aimed at examining the efficacy of technological projects as learning tools by exploring the following questions: the extent to which projects in technology develop students as independent learners; the types of knowledge the students deal with in working on their projects; the role of problem-solving in technological projects; and how projects integrate into traditional schooling. The subjects were 53 high school (12th grade) students who prepared graduating projects in technology under the supervision of nine teachers. Data were collected by observing the students in the laboratory, administrating two questionnaires to both the students and the teachers, and analyzing 25 portfolios prepared by the students of their projects. The findings indicate that projects in technology provide a good opportunity to engage students in challenging tasks that enhance their learning skills. To maximize this potential, it is necessary to employ the project method from the early stages of learning technology. It is especially important that teachers having a strong engineering orientation also acquire pedagogical knowledge on issues such as fostering independent learning, creativity, peer learning and reflective practice in the technological classroom.

GE STEM Teacher's Conference

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-07-13

Teachers prepare to demonstrate the projects they built for the Rocketry Engineering Design Challenge during the 2017 GE Foundation High School STEM Integration Conference at the Center for Space Education at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. High school teachers from across the country took part in the week-long conference, which is designed to explore effective ways for teachers, schools and districts from across the country to integrate STEM throughout the curriculum. The conference is a partnership between GE Foundation and the National Science Teachers Association.

An Exploration of Dualisms in Female Perceptions of IT Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

von Hellens, Liisa; Nielsen, Sue H.; Beekhuyzen, Jenine

2004-01-01

This paper explores the way women perceive and talk about the nature of their work, in the context of the declining participation of women in the Information Technology (IT) industry. The study is part of an ongoing project (WinIT), commenced in 1995, that has examined the attitudes of high school and university students and IT personnel towards…

A Three-Tier Model of Integrated Behavior and Learning Supports: Linking System-Wide Implementation to Student Outcomes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harms, Anna Leigh Shon

2010-01-01

This study explored elementary schools' implementation of an integrated three-tier model of reading and behavior supports as they participated with a statewide Response to Intervention (RtI) project. The purpose of the study was to examine the process of implementing an integrated three-tier model and to explore the relation between implementation…

Becoming a Place-Responsive Practitioner: Exploration of an Alternative Conception of "Friluftsliv" in the Swedish Physical Education and Health Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mikaels, Jonas

2018-01-01

This study explores the educational potential of a place-responsive pedagogy to teaching and learning in "friluftsliv" within the Swedish physical education and health (PEH) curriculum. The study draws on qualitative empirical materials from a yearlong research project, together with a group of high school PEH teachers working in seventh…

Ready to Go: Using the EXPLORE Test to Increase 8th Grade Readiness for Success

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rochford, Joseph A.; O'Neill, Adrienne; Gelb, Adele

2010-01-01

During the 2009-10 academic year, 1,444 8th grade students in the Canton City, Plain and Marlington Local School Districts (hereafter called Stark students) took the EXPLORE Test as part of a pilot project, "Ready to Go: Increasing Eighth Grade Readiness," sponsored by the Stark Education Partnership with funding from the Ohio College…

Project Explorer - Student experiments aboard the Space Shuttle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Buckbee, E.; Dannenberg, K.; Driggers, G.; Orillion, A.

1979-01-01

Project Explorer, a program of high school student experiments in space in a Space Shuttle self-contained payload unit (Getaway Special), sponsored by the Alabama Space and Rocket Center (ASRC) in cooperation with four Alabama universities is presented. Organizations aspects of the project, which is intended to promote public awareness of the space program and encourage space research, are considered, and the proposal selection procedure is outlined. The projects selected for inclusion in the self-contained payload canister purchased in 1977 and expected to be flown on an early shuttle mission include experiments on alloy solidification, electric plating, whisker growth, chick embryo development and human blood freezing, and an amateur radio experiment. Integration support activities planned and underway are summarized, and possible uses for a second payload canister purchased by ASRC are discussed.

Alvin Overboard!

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nelson, John A.

1988-01-01

Describes the experiences and involvement of a public school teacher with deep sea exploration involving the deep submersible submarine "Alvin" from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. Details some of the teacher's responsibilities in the project. Discusses what he learned through this experience. (CW)

Social Orders and Interactions among Children in Age-Mixed Classes in Primary Schools--New Perspectives from a Synthesis of Ethnographic Data

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huf, Christina; Raggl, Andrea

2015-01-01

The article synthesises data from two ethnographic projects, which both explore interactions of children in age-mixed groups in primary schools. It illuminates critical perspectives on social orders and children's interactions in age-mixed classes by showing how pupils in age-mixed groups become involved in power relations and how the teacher's…

Decision-Making by School Psychologists: Use of the Representativeness Heuristic and Importance of Assessment Data in Determination of Special Education Eligibility

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilson, Sharise Mavis

2010-01-01

The purpose of this project was to explore the decision-making approach and types of data that school psychologists use in determining special education classification. There were three research objectives: (a) to investigate the types of conditions and measures needed to test the use of the representativeness heuristic and assessment data, (b) to…

Educating Michigan's Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): An Initial Exploration of Programming."The ASD Michigan Project". Special Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ferreri, Summer; Bolt, Sara

2011-01-01

This report is intended to provide a snapshot of public school services provided to kindergarten through twelfth (k-12) grade students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) across the state of Michigan (MI). The authors used a systematic sampling process to collect information from over 200 school professionals statewide, resulting in a high degree…

"Teacher, Will You Marry Me?" Integrating Teachers' Stories and Self-Reflective Texts for Exploring Sexuality Discourses in School Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gerouki, Margarita

2011-01-01

This work is based on data collected for a research project aiming to critically investigate issues of primary school sex and relationships education. Teachers are important stakeholders of any educational process, especially when the focus is on sensitive and controversial issues such as the provision of sex education. The aim here is to present…

Divine Interventions: Needs Analysis for Post-Graduate Academic Literacy and Curriculum Development, in a South African School of Theology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jackson, Fiona

2005-01-01

This paper provides a critical exploration of work in progress to develop a genre based academic support that promotes post-graduate academic literacies among new EIL and EAL Hons and Masters students in the School of Theology, University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg. It traces the path of an action research project, using an eclectic needs analysis…

"La Parte Chusca" of a Pedagogical Here and Now: Oaxacan Teachers' Heteroglossic Joking about State Repression and Educational Reform

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sadlier, Stephen T.

2016-01-01

Faced with repression and reform, humor has become tactical for public school teachers in Oaxaca, Mexico, engaged in a decades-old movement that after 2006 involved intensified street- and school-based pedagogies. This piece explores how humor adds to a political project via mocking names, images, and dictates of elite leaders to bring a here and…

Advanced Placement Environmental Science and the Curriculum and Community Enterprise for Restoration Science (CCERS) Project in the New York City High School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Birney, Lauren; McNamara, Denise

2018-01-01

This paper explores the issue of social justice through the lens of equitable access to Advanced Placement courses in the City of New York High Schools, with focus on Advanced Placement Environmental Science. A critical component of the Advanced Placement Environmental Science course is the incorporation of environmental fieldwork. The National…

Self-Regulation in the Midst of Complexity: A Case Study of High School Physics Students Engaged in Ill-Structured Problem Solving

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Milbourne, Jeffrey David

2016-01-01

The purpose of this dissertation study was to explore the experiences of high school physics students who were solving complex, ill-structured problems, in an effort to better understand how self-regulatory behavior mediated the project experience. Consistent with Voss, Green, Post, and Penner's (1983) conception of an ill-structured problem in…

"I DON'T CARE DO UR OWN PAGE!!" A Case Study of Using Wikis for Collaborative Work in a UK Secondary School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grant, Lyndsay

2009-01-01

Alongside other forms of social software, wikis have been heralded as supporting more collaborative and democratic teaching and learning practices. This paper explores, through a case study approach, the use of wikis to support a collaborative research project undertaken in a UK secondary school. Findings are analysed in the context of research on…

Self-Harm through Cutting: Evidence from a Sample of Schools in the North of England

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hall, Brian; Elliott, Joe; Place, Maurice

2010-01-01

This project explored the prevalence of self-harm by cutting in a geographically circumscribed area of the North of England, using a school-based survey. Twenty-three per cent of the young people reported they had cut themselves at least once, with no major changes evident at different age groups or with gender. There were clear differences in…

Tensions in Creating Possibilities for Youth Voice in School Choice: An Ethnographer's Reflexive Story of Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cotnam-Kappel, Megan

2014-01-01

The following article relates a reflexive ethnographic research project that focuses on youth voice in relation to the process of choosing a high school and a language of instruction in Ontario, Canada. The purpose of this methodological article is to relate a story of research and explore the tensions between theory and practice experienced by a…

"It Wasn't Racism; It Was More Misunderstanding." White Teachers, Latino/a Students, and Racial Battle Fatigue

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Call-Cummings, Meagan; Martinez, Sylvia

2017-01-01

This article explores how and why a group of Latino/a high school students identify and explain racism differently over the course of an 18-month participatory action research (PAR) project. To do this we examine what recent scholarship has termed racial microaggressions in what is thought of as the Post-Racial America public school system.…

The Impact of an Art-Based Media Literacy Curriculum on the Leadership Self-Efficacy of Adolescent Girls

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keown, Emily Louise

2013-01-01

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to explore the impact of an arts-based media literacy program on the leadership efficacy of adolescent girls. The participants of this study were 19 middle school girls who participated in an after-school, arts-based media literacy curricula known as Project Girl. The group meetings were led by female…

Learning, Engagement, and Technology: Middle School Students' Three-Year Experience in Pervasive Technology Environments in South Korea

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hur, Jung Won; Oh, Jaekyeon

2012-01-01

This study explored an initiative that created a pervasive learning environment in a middle school in South Korea and examined its impact on student academic achievement and learning engagement. Forty students received a laptop to use for class projects, online collaboration, and lesson reviews over a 3-year period. To measure the effect of laptop…

Taking Learning Outdoors: A Bitter Dispute over Water in Southern Oregon Becomes a Firsthand Lesson in History, Ecology, and Local Culture.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Paglin, Catherine

2002-01-01

An alternative school in southern Oregon that allows students to make up missing credits offers project-based thematic classes that take students outside the school. One course studied the Klamath Basin's water crisis and involved exploring the area and the perspectives of farmers, biologists, park rangers, and Native Americans. Courses culminate…

Our school's Earth and Space Sciences Club: 12 years promoting interdisciplinary explorations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Margarida Maria, Ana; Pereira, Hélder

2017-04-01

During the past 12 years, we have been engaging secondary level science students (15 to 18 years old) in the extracurricular activities of our school's Earth and Space Sciences Club, providing them with some of the skills needed to excel in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM). Our approach includes the use of authentic scientific data, project based learning, and inquiry-centred activities that go beyond the models and theories present in secondary level textbooks. Moreover, the activities and projects carried out, being eminently practical, also function as an extension of the curriculum and frequently enable the demonstration of the applicability of several concepts taught in the classroom in real life situations. The tasks carried out during these activities and research projects often require the combination of two or more subjects, promoting an interdisciplinary approach to learning. Outside of the traditional classroom settings, through interdisciplinary explorations, students also gain hands-on experience doing real science. Thereby, during this time, we have been able to promote meaningful and lasting experiences and spark students' interest in a wide diversity of topics.

Lunar Plant Growth Chamber: Human Exploration Project STS-118 Design Challenge. A Standards-Based High School Unit Guide. Engineering by Design: Advancing Technological Literacy. A Standards-Based Program Series. EP-2007-08-94-MSFC

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caron, Daniel W.; Fuller, Jeremy; Watson, Janice; St. Hilaire, Katherine

2007-01-01

In May 2005, the International Technology Education Association (ITEA) was funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to develop curricular units for Grades K-12 on Space Exploration. The units focus on aspects of the themes that NASA Engineers and Scientists--as well as future generations of explorers--must consider, such…

Violence in Adolescent Dating Relationships

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jouriles, Ernest N.; Platt, Cora; McDonald, Renee

2009-01-01

Beginning with a definition of dating and dating violence among adolescents, this article explores the factors which impact such violence. It concludes with a review of two school-based prevention/intervention programs (Safe Dates and The Youth Relationships Project). (Contains 1 table.)

Delving into Female Adolescents Leadership Experiences in the Midst of Leading Service Learning Engagements: A Qualitative Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Michael, Heather; Mitton-Kükner, Jennifer

2016-01-01

The purpose of this work is to explore the experiences of four adolescent females who assumed leadership roles in service learning projects, in order to understand more about how those projects inspired and informed their understanding of themselves as leaders in the school and community. What became clear through this study is that age and gender…

Community-Partnered Project-Based Studio Pedagogy: Developing a Framework and Exploring the Impact on Faculty in Art and Design Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Corn, Melanie E.

2013-01-01

Young would-be artists flock to art schools to learn from masters and immerse themselves in a study of the aesthetic histories, techniques, and theories that will inform their practices. However, the emergence of community-partnered project-based (CP) studio courses at many independent art colleges signals a fundamental shift in art and design…

Curriculum Guide, C.E.I.T.--Ninth Grade, Transportation Technology. Point Pleasant Junior High School, Point Pleasant, West Virginia, 1977-1978.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kleine, Richard E.; Hamme, Randall

The result of a curriculum development project known as Project Open, this curriculum guide offers an elective course on transportation systems for ninth graders who are participating in the Career Exploration in Technology (CEIT) program and who have completed the eighth-grade course on manufacturing systems. The course, which spans two…

A Vision in Aeronautics: The K-12 Wind Tunnel Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1997-01-01

A Vision in Aeronautics, a project within the NASA Lewis Research Center's Information Infrastructure Technologies and Applications (IITA) K-12 Program, employs small-scale, subsonic wind tunnels to inspire students to explore the world of aeronautics and computers. Recently, two educational K-12 wind tunnels were built in the Cleveland area. During the 1995-1996 school year, preliminary testing occurred in both tunnels.

Earth Exploration Toolbook Workshops: Web-Conferencing and Teleconferencing Professional Development Bringing Earth Science Data Analysis and Visualization Tools to K-12 Teachers and Students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McAuliffe, C.; Ledley, T.

2008-12-01

The Earth Exploration Toolbook (EET) Workshops Project provides a mechanism for teachers and students to have successful data-using educational experiences. In this professional development project, teachers learn to use National Science Digital Library (NSDL), the Digital Library for Earth System Education (DLESE), and an Earth Exploration Toolbook (EET) chapter. In an EET Data Analysis Workshop, participants walk through an Earth Exploration Toolbook (EET) chapter, learning basic data analysis techniques and discussing ways to use Earth science datasets and analysis tools with their students. We have offered twenty-eight Data Analysis Workshops since the project began. The total number of participants in the twenty-eight workshops to date is three hundred eleven, which reflects one hundred eighty different teachers participating in one or more workshops. Our workshops reach middle and high school teachers across the United States at schools with lower socioeconomic levels and at schools with large numbers of minority students. Our participants come from thirty-eight different states including Alaska, Maine, Florida, Montana, and many others. Eighty-six percent of our participants are classroom teachers. The remaining fourteen percent are staff development specialists, university faculty, or outreach educators working with teachers. Of the classroom teachers, one third are middle school teachers (grades 6 to 8) and two thirds are high school teachers (grades 9 to 12.) Thirty-four percent of our participants come from schools where minority populations are the majority make up of the school. Twenty-five percent of our participants are at schools where the majority of the students receive free or reduced cost lunches. Our professional development workshops are helping to raise teachers' awareness of both the Digital Library for Earth System Education (DLESE) and the National Science Digital Library (NSDL). Prior to taking one of our workshops, forty-two percent of our participants reported that they have not tried to locate a teaching resource in DLESE and forty-eight percent report that they have not to locate a teaching resource in NSDL. As part of an EET Data Analysis workshop, teachers actively visit both digital libraries. Virtual workshops using Web conferencing and teleconferencing are an effective and convenient way to deliver professional development that brings teachers from all over the nation together to learn new technology. Teachers report that the step-by-step facilitation along with the ability to ask questions and interact with their peers are some of the most useful aspects of the workshop. In this presentation, we will share successes and challenges of teachers as they implement these Earth science data analysis and visualization tools in their classrooms.

Exploring Daily Physical Activity and Nutrition Patterns in Early Learning Settings: Snapshots of Young Children in Head Start, Primary, and After-School Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stegelin, Dolores A.; Anderson, Denise; Kemper, Karen; Wagner, Jennifer; Evans, Katharine

2014-01-01

The purpose of this research project was to gain a greater understanding of daily routines of 4-7 year olds regarding physical activity and nutrition practices in typical early learning environments. The settings selected for this observational study included Head Start, primary, and after-school learning environments in a city in the southeast.…

Exploring School Ethos: An Investigation of Children's Human Rights in Two Secondary Institutions in Hong Kong

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lo, Yan Lam; Leung, Yan Wing; Yuen, Wai Wa

2015-01-01

From 2009 to 2011, the authors launched the Basic Law Education Project: Education for Human Rights and the Rule of Law in Hong Kong. This article focuses on a subset of the overarching data-set and discusses the findings that resulted from a comparative analysis of two participating schools. A survey was deployed to assess the extent to which a…

Jumpstreet Humanities Project Learning Package. Curriculum Materials for Secondary School Teachers and Students in Language Arts, History and Humanities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Levine, Toby H.

These language arts, U.S. history, and humanities lessons for secondary school students are designed to be used with "From Jumpstreet-A Story of Black Music," a series of 13 half-hour television programs. The colorful and rhythmic series explores the black musical heritage from its African roots to its wide influence in modern American music. Each…

Project Synopsis for High School/High Tech

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1997-01-01

To help increase the diversity of workers at NASA centers it is necessary to provide students with disabilities the opportunities to explore careers in high technology. HIGH SCHOOL/HIGH TECH, an enrichment program, pioneered at Goddard Space Flight Center, successfully introduces students with disabilities to high tech careers. This community-based partnership serves as a model for three additional NASA sites-Ames Research Center, Johnson Space Flight Center, and Lewis Research Center. For a three year period beginning August 15, 1995, provide financial and technical support to a local agency in each NASA center area which serves persons with disabilities to enable a High School/High Tech program to develop and stand alone. Each project will develop a basis of cooperation with Ames, Johnson, and Lewis as well as a variety of community groups including the public schools, high tech employers, post-secondary education and training programs, rehabilitation agencies, and community economic development organizations. Throughout the startup period and thereafter, local youths with disabilities will have early exposure to professions in mathematics, science, and technology-related fields. This exposure will be multifaceted to insure adequate opportunity for realistic career exploration so these youths have an opportunity to test their interests and abilities. The exposure will be presented in the most supportive environment that is feasible.

Students' and teachers' perceptions: initial achievements of a Project-Based Engineering School

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Terrón-López, María-José; Velasco-Quintana, Paloma-Julia; García-García, María-José; Ocampo, Jared R.

2017-11-01

A unified academic model based on the project-based learning (PBL) methodology was implemented, in the 2012-2013 period, in the School of Engineering at Universidad Europea de Madrid. The purpose of this paper is to explore whether teachers and students participating in the capstone projects feel that the objectives for which this methodology was designed for are being achieved. The data were collected through interviews to participants at the end of the PBL experience. The results are encouraging, as students seem to be more motivated, and they say that they are experiencing deeper learning, and have developed key competitive skills required for their professional lives. Findings also suggest that teachers face positively the PBL as a learning approach since they perceive that students obtain a deeper learning, develop transversal skills with the projects and are more engaged with their studies. Implications and recommendations for the future of the model are also discussed.

The SUPERCOMET 2 Project: Teacher Seminar and Teacher Guide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Engstrom, V.; Ireson, G.; Latal, H.; Mathelitsch, L.; Michelini, M.; Peeters, W.; Rath, G.

2008-05-01

The Leonardo da Vinci pilot projects SUPERCOMET (2001-2004) and SUPERCOMET 2 (2004-2007) developed and tested teacher training materials for active, minds-on learning of electromagnetism and superconductivity at the level of upper secondary school. New multimedia materials for the pupils supported the teacher materials, including a teacher seminar in 4 half-day modules detailing the scientific contents, teaching methods, using ICT in physics teaching and learning, online collaboration and further resources for exploring the selected topics. The aim of these projects were to improve the quality of physics teaching on a European level, involving a combined total of 45 partners in 16 countries, and conducting trials at 67 schools with approx. 230 teachers, 280 trainee teachers and 2200 pupils. New follow-up projects develop hands-on materials for carrying out the activities described in the teacher guide and seminars and additional teacher materials involving modelling, simulations and data logging.

High School Students' Reasons for Their Science Dispositions: Community-Based Innovative Technology-Embedded Environmental Research Projects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ebenezer, Jazlin; Kaya, Osman Nafiz; Kasab, Dimma

2018-05-01

The purpose of this investigation was to qualitatively describe high school students' reasons for their science dispositions (attitude, perception, and self-confidence) based on their long-term experience with innovative technology-embedded environmental research projects. Students in small groups conducted research projects in and out of school with the help of their teachers and community experts (scientists and engineers). During the 3-year period of this nationally funded project, a total of 135 students from five schools in a mid-west State participated in research activities. Of the 135 students, 53 students were individually interviewed to explore reasons for their science dispositions. Students' reasons for each disposition were grouped into categories, and corresponding frequency was converted to a percentage. The categories of reasons were not only attributed to the use of innovative technologies in environmental research but also the contexts and events that surrounded it. The reasons that influenced students' science dispositions positively were because engaging in environmental research projects with technology contributed to easing fear and difficulty, building a research team, disseminating findings, communicating with the community, researching with scientists, training by teachers, and acknowledging teachers' knowledge. These results advanced how and why students develop science dispositions in the positive direction, which are as follows: building science teacher capacity, developing a community of inquirers, and committing to improve pedagogical practices.

The Resilient Schools Consortium (RiSC): Linking Climate Literacy, Resilience Thinking and Service Learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Branco, B. F.; Fano, E.; Adams, J.; Shon, L.; Zimmermann, A.; Sioux, H.; Gillis, A.

2017-12-01

Public schools and youth voices are largely absent from climate resilience planning and projects in New York City. Additionally, research shows that U.S. science teachers' understanding of climate science is lacking, hence there is not only an urgent need to train and support teachers on both the science and pedagogy of climate change, but to link climate literacy, resilience thinking and service learning in K-12 education. However, research on participation of students and teachers in authentic, civic-oriented experiences points to increased engagement and learning outcomes in science. The Resilient Schools Consortium (RiSC) Project will address all these needs through an afterschool program in six coastal Brooklyn schools that engages teachers and urban youth (grades 6-12), in school and community climate resilience assessment and project design. The RiSC climate curriculum, co-designed by New York City school teachers with Brooklyn College, the National Wildlife Federation, New York Sea Grant and the Science and Resilience Institute at Jamaica Bay, will begin by helping students to understand the difference between climate and weather. The curriculum makes extensive use of existing resources such as NOAA's Digital Coast and the Coastal Resilience Mapping Portal. Through a series of four modules over two school years, the six RiSC teams will; 1. explore and understand the human-induced drivers of climate change and, particularly, the significant climate and extreme weather related risks to their schools and surrounding communities; 2. complete a climate vulnerability assessment within the school and the community that is aligned to OneNYC - the city's resilience planning document; 3. design and execute a school-based resilience project; and 4. propose resilience guidelines for NYC Department of Education schools. At the end of each school year, the six RiSC teams will convene a RiSC summit with city officials and resilience practitioners to share ideas and experiences.

Teaching the Way We Aspire to Teach: Now and in the Future. Teachers' Vision for Teaching and Learning in Canada's Public Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Freiler, Christa; Hurley, Stephen; Canuel, Ron; McGahey, Bob; Froese-Germain, Bernie; Riel, Rick

2012-01-01

"Teaching the Way We Aspire to Teach--Now and in the Future" is a collaborative research project between the Canadian Education Association (CEA) and the Canadian Teachers' Federation (CTF). The project grew out of a shared interest in exploring with teachers their experiences and visions of teaching the way in which they aspire--that…

Birds in the playground: Evaluating the effectiveness of an urban environmental education project in enhancing school children’s awareness, knowledge and attitudes towards local wildlife

PubMed Central

Eberstein, Katie; Scott, Dawn M.

2018-01-01

Children nowadays, particularly in urban areas, are more disconnected from nature than ever before, leading to a large-scale “extinction of experience” with the natural world. Yet there are many potential benefits from children interacting with nature first-hand, including via outdoor learning opportunities. Urban environmental education programmes typically aim to increase awareness and knowledge of local biodiversity and to promote positive attitudes and behaviour towards the environment. However, limited research has been conducted evaluating to what extent these interventions achieve their goals. Here, we explore and assess the influence of a six-week bird-feeding and monitoring project conducted within school grounds (“Bird Buddies”) on individual awareness, knowledge and attitudes towards birds by primary school children. This initiative was conducted across eight (sub-)urban primary schools within Brighton and Hove (UK), with 220 participating children (aged 7 to 10). Via pre- and post-project questionnaires, we found evidence for enhanced awareness of local biodiversity, alongside significant gains in both bird identification knowledge and attitudes, which were greatest for children with little prior exposure to nature. Many children expressed a keenness to continue improving the environmental value of their school grounds and to apply elements of the project at home. Student project evaluation scores were consistently positive. Mirroring this, participating teachers endorsed the project as a positive learning experience for their students. One year after the project, several schools were continuing to feed and watch birds. Collectively, the findings from this study highlight the multiple benefits that can be derived from engagement with a relatively short outdoor environmental activity. We therefore believe that such interventions, if repeated locally/longer term, could enhance children’s experience with nature in urban settings with combined positive environmental impact. PMID:29509809

"A Not-So-Simple Story from My Life": Using Auto-Ethnography and Creative Writing to Re-Frame the Heteronormative Narratives of School Life

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rickard, Angela

2014-01-01

Reflecting on my experience as a teacher and a lesbian in a second-level school in Ireland in the early 1990s, I use an auto-ethnographic approach first to explore some of the ways dominant narratives can silence, constrain and marginalise some people. Projecting forward to an imagined future, I draw on creative writing to "re-frame" how…

Teaching Literature in the Multicultural Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Locke, Terry; Cawkwell, Gail; Sila'ila'i, Emilie

2009-01-01

This Teaching and Learning Initiative (TLRI) research project explored ways of teaching literature effectively in multicultural and multilingual classrooms. It involved primary and secondary school teacher-researchers working in partnership with university-based researchers over two years on a series of case studies, within an action research…

Internet Investigations: Solving Mysteries on the Information Superhighway.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Riley, Tracy; Brown, Mark

1998-01-01

Describes how a group of gifted primary-school children in New Zealand explored the Internet in a workshop project organized around solving the mystery of what happened to the Titanic. Insets include the student "contract," a listing of Web sites, and the evaluation instrument. (DB)

Echo Effects and Curriculum Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cornbleth, Catherine

2008-01-01

Background/Context: This project is framed by a critical pragmatism, which is evident in the questioning of how social conditions and events outside schools influence classroom practice and in exploring the question of who benefits, collectively and individually, socially and politically, as well as pedagogically. Purpose/Objective/Research…

Exploring Music through Technology.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Willard, Joanne B.

1992-01-01

Describes a high school music technology course that uses a project-oriented approach to teach students about hardware and software tools for sequencing, arranging, multitrack recording, and mixing. Course equipment is listed, and the MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is briefly described. Copyright guidelines for educational uses of…

Mighty Molecule Models

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Tom; Rushton, Greg; Bencomo, Marie

2008-01-01

As part of the SMATHematics Project: The Wonder of Science, The Power of Mathematics--a collaborative partnership between Kennesaw State University and two local school districts, fifth graders had the opportunity to puzzle out chemical formulas of propane, methanol, and other important molecules. In addition, they explored properties that…

Technology as a Tool for Understanding: a Pipeline of Curriculum-based Programs for Grades 4 to high school

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schuster, G.

2006-05-01

New NASA-funded educational initiatives make for a pipeline of products meeting the needs of today's educators in inner city schools, for NASA Explorer Schools and across the nation. Three projects include training and include: 1) WDLC [Weather Data Learning Center] , a math achievement program with data entry, inquiry-based investigations, and the application of math using weather maps and imagery for Grade 4; 2) Project 3D-VIEW, where students in Grades 5 and 6 become experts in air, life, water, land and Earth systems using 3D technologies requiring 3D glasses. A formal literacy and math piece are included, and 1200 teachers will be provided training and materials free beginning in Fall 2006, and 3) Signals of Spring, where students in Grades 7 to 8, or high school, use NASA data to explain the movement of dozens of birds, land and marine animals that are tracked by satellite. Comprehensive content in life and Earth science is taught with curricular activities, interactive mapping, image interpretation, and online journals and common misconceptions are dispelled. Scientist involvement and support for a project is essential for students who are developing process skills and performing science activities. Current research partners include Columbia University's Teachers College and Stanford University's School of Education.

Using a participatory approach to the development of a school-based physical activity policy in an Indigenous community.

PubMed

Hogan, Lindsay; García Bengoechea, Enrique; Salsberg, Jon; Jacobs, Judi; King, Morrison; Macaulay, Ann C

2014-12-01

This study is part of a larger community-based participatory research (CBPR) project to develop, implement, and evaluate the physical activity component of a school-based wellness policy. The policy intervention is being carried out by community stakeholders and academic researchers within the Kahnawake Schools Diabetes Prevention Project, a well-established health promotion organization in the Indigenous community of Kahnawake, Quebec. We explored how a group of stakeholders develop a school physical activity policy in a participatory manner, and examined factors serving as facilitators and barriers to the development process. This case study was guided by an interpretive description approach and draws upon data from documentary analysis and participant observation. A CBPR approach allowed academic researchers and community stakeholders to codevelop a physical activity policy that is both evidence-based and contextually appropriate. The development process was influenced by a variety of barriers and facilitators including working within existing structures, securing appropriate stakeholders, and school contextual factors. This research offers a process framework that others developing school-based wellness policies may use with appropriate modifications based on local environments. © 2014, American School Health Association.

Programa de fortalecimiento de capacidades: reflections on a case study of community-based teacher education set in rural northern Peru

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alsop, Steve; Ames, Patricia; Arroyo, Graciela Cordero; Dippo, Don

2010-12-01

This article explores distinctive features of a 5-year international education development project set in rural northern Peru (PROMEB, the Proyecto de Mejoramiento de la Educación Básica). Grounded within a partnership between teacher educators from Peru, Mexico and Canada, and rural Peruvian teachers, students and their communities, we offer reflections on a teacher education initiative which sought to support action-orientated inquiries as a mechanism for school/community development. Set against a background of poverty, hunger, isolation and an "educational crisis", we outline our pedagogy and describe two projects. We then reflect on the influences of our engagements and on associated tensions and ambiguities in our methods. We hope that such discussions might offer insights for others involved in international school/community development projects of this type.

Integrating long-term science projects into K-12 curriculum: Fostering teacher-student engagement in urban environmental research through an NSF UCLA GK-12 program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hogue, T. S.; Moldwin, M.; Nonacs, P.; Daniel, J.; Shope, R.

2009-12-01

A National Science Foundation Graduate Teaching Fellows in K- 12 Education program at UCLA (SEE-LA; http://measure.igpp.ucla.edu/GK12-SEE-LA) has just completed its first year (of a five-year program) and has greatly expanded UCLA’s science and engineering partnerships with LA Unified and Culver City Unified School Districts. The SEE-LA program partners UCLA faculty, graduate students (fellows), middle and high school science teachers and their students into a program of science and engineering exploration that brings the environment of Los Angeles into the classroom. UCLA graduate fellows serve as scientists-in-residence at the four partner schools to integrate inquiry-based science and engineering lessons, facilitate advancements in science content teaching, and ultimately, to improve their own science communication skills. As part of their fellowship, graduate students are required to develop three inquiry-based lessons in their partner classroom, including a lesson focused on their dissertation research, a lesson focused on the environmental/watershed theme of the project, and a lesson that involves longer-term data collection and synthesis with the grade 6-12 teachers and students. The developed long-term projects ideally involve continued observations and analysis through the five-year project and beyond. During the first year of the project, the ten SEE-LA fellows developed a range of long-term research projects, from seasonal invertebrate observations in an urban stream system, to home energy consumption surveys, to a school bioblitz (quantification of campus animals and insects). Examples of lesson development and integration in the classroom setting will be highlighted as well as tools required for sustainability of the projects. University and local pre-college school partnerships provide an excellent opportunity to support the development of graduate student communication skills while also contributing significantly to the integration of sustainable research projects into K-12 curriculum.

The role of intergenerational influence in waste education programmes: the THAW project.

PubMed

Maddox, P; Doran, C; Williams, I D; Kus, M

2011-12-01

Whilst the education of young people is often seen as a part of the solution to current environmental problems seeking urgent attention, it is often forgotten that their parents and other household members can also be educated/influenced via home-based educational activities. This paper explores the theory of intergenerational influence in relation to school based waste education. Waste Watch, a UK-based environmental charity (www.wastewatch.org.uk), has pioneered a model that uses practical activities and whole school involvement to promote school based action on waste. This methodology has been adopted nationally. This paper outlines and evaluates how effective school based waste education is in promoting action at a household level. The paper outlines Waste Watch's 'Taking Home Action on Waste (THAW)' project carried out for two and half years in Rotherham, a town in South Yorkshire, England. The project worked with 6705 primary age children in 39 schools (44% of primary schools in the project area) to enable them to take the "reduce, reuse and recycle message" home to their families and to engage these (i.e. families) in sustainable waste management practices. As well as substantial increases in students' knowledge and understanding of waste reduction, measurement of the impact of the project in areas around 12 carefully chosen sample schools showed evidence of increased participation in recycling and recycling tonnages as well as declining levels of residual waste. Following delivery of the project in these areas, an average increase of 8.6% was recorded in recycling set out rates which led to a 4.3% increase in paper recycling tonnages and an 8.7% increase in tonnages of cans, glass and textiles collected for recycling. Correspondingly, there was a 4.5% fall in tonnages of residual waste. Waste Watch's THAW project was the first serious attempt to measure the intergenerational influence of an education programme on behaviour at home (i.e. other than schools' own waste). It clearly shows that household recycling behaviour can be positively impacted by intergenerational influence via a practical school-based waste education model. However, although the model could potentially have a big impact if rolled out nationally, it will require seed funding and the long-term durability of the model has not yet been fully quantified. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The National Eclipse Weather Experiment: use and evaluation of a citizen science tool for schools outreach.

PubMed

Portas, Antonio M; Barnard, Luke; Scott, Chris; Harrison, R Giles

2016-09-28

The National Eclipse Weather Experiment (NEWEx) was a citizen science project for atmospheric data collection from the partial solar eclipse of 20 March 20. Its role as a tool for schools outreach is discussed here, in seeking to bridge the gap between self-identification with the role of a scientist and engagement with science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects. (The science data generated have had other uses beyond this, explored elsewhere.) We describe the design of webforms for weather data collection, and the use of several external partners for the dissemination of the project nationwide. We estimate that up to 3500 pupils and teachers took part in this experiment, through the 127 schools postcodes identified in the data submission. Further analysis revealed that 43.3% of the schools were primary schools and 35.4% were secondary. In total, 96.3% of participants reported themselves as 'captivated' or 'inspired' by NEWEx. We also found that 60% of the schools that took part in the experiment lie within the highest quintiles of engagement with higher education, which emphasizes the need for the scientific community to be creative when using citizen science projects to target hard-to-reach audiences.This article is part of the themed issue 'Atmospheric effects of solar eclipses stimulated by the 2015 UK eclipse'. © 2016 The Authors.

Libraries and Cable TV: Plans, Proposal, and Study to Explore Ways of Serving the Community's Information Needs Using the Data Transmission Capabilities of the Institutional Communications Network (ICN) of Storer Cable in the 1980's and 1990's.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Arthur R.

A feasibility study was conducted to identify alternative demonstration projects which would involve multitype (academic, public, and school) libraries in using the data transmission capabilities of the Institutional Communications Network (ICN) of Storer Cable to meet the information needs of schools and communities in Boone, Campbell, and Kenton…

SPEEDE Made Easy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Palmer, Barbara H.; Wei, P. Betty

1993-01-01

A nontechnical overview of electronic data interchange (EDI) and of the SPEEDE/ExPRESS Project, which uses EDI to transmit transcripts between schools and colleges, is presented. It explores the fundamental value of the technology, specific costs and benefits, and its potential to transform the delivery of academic support services. (Author/MSE)

Leading by Heart

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harris, Belinda

2004-01-01

This article considers leadership as an emotional process and provides an account of the emotions of change experienced at one school. It examines the complexity of change and development from a relational and affective perspective by exploring the emotional experience of staff involved in a developmental project. The article is deliberately…

Work Exploration At The Junior-High Level

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Devin, Paul

1969-01-01

The New Horizons Project provides 300 Des Moines inter-city junior high school students, who possess skills but are not making satisfactory academic progress, with work-study, extra guidance, and individual attention in an effort to increase their chance of vocational, social, civic and academic success. (Author/JG)

Graduating to Better IAQ.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilson, Scott

2001-01-01

Highlights the different design approaches that may be taken and the HVAC systems that result depending on the type of educational facility involved, be it an elementary, secondary, or postsecondary institution. Explores school indoor air quality issues and highlights the roles and responsibilities of IAQ project participants. A case study…

Digital Storytelling for Transformative Global Citizenship Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Truong-White, Hoa; McLean, Lorna

2015-01-01

This article explores how digital storytelling offers the potential to support transformative global citizenship education (TGCE) through a case study of the Bridges to Understanding program that connected middle and high school students globally using digital storytelling. Drawing on a TGCE framework, this research project probed the curriculum…

(Re)Designing Learning Environments.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edutopia, 2002

2002-01-01

This 20-page issue explores the opportunity for creating 21st century learning environments that not only focus on different kinds of educational architecture but also emphasize how time is used, teacher-student relationships, collaboration, the benefits of real-world projects, and community involvement. In Minnesota, high school juniors and…

The Reflective Teacher Leader: An Action Research Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Furtado, Leena; Anderson, Dawnette

2012-01-01

This study presents four teacher reflections from action research projects ranging from kindergarten to adult school improvements. A teacher leadership matrix guided participants to connect teaching and learning theory to best practices by exploring uncharted territory within an iterative cycle of research and action. Teachers developed the…

Driving change in rural workforce planning: the medical schools outcomes database.

PubMed

Gerber, Jonathan P; Landau, Louis I

2010-01-01

The Medical Schools Outcomes Database (MSOD) is an ongoing longitudinal tracking project ofmedical students from all medical schools in Australia and New Zealand. It was established in 2005 to track the career trajectories of medical students and will directly help develop models of workforce flow, particularly with respect to rural and remote shortages. This paper briefly outlines the MSOD project and reports on key methodological factors in tracking medical students. Finally, the potential impact of the MSOD on understanding changes in rural practice intentions is illustrated using data from the 2005 pilot cohort (n = 112). Rural placements were associated with a shift towards rural practice intentions, while those who intended to practice rurally at both the start and end of medical school tended to be older and interested in a generalist career. Continuing work will track these and future students as they progress through the workforce, as well as exploring issues such as the career trajectories of international fee-paying students, workforce succession planning, and the evaluation of medical education initiatives.

Enlarging the STEM pipeline working with youth-serving organizations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Porro, I.

2005-12-01

The After-School Astronomy Project (ASAP) is a comprehensive initiative to promote the pursuit of science learning among underrepresented youth. To this end ASAP specifically aims at building the capacity of urban community-based centers to deliver innovative science out-of-school programming to their youth. ASAP makes use of a modular curriculum consisting of a combination of hands-on activities and youth-led explorations of the night sky using MicroObservatory. Through project-based investigations students reinforce learning in astronomy and develop an understanding of science as inquiry, while also develop communication and computer skills. Through MicroObservatory students gain access to a network of educational telescopes, that they control over the Internet, software analysis tools and an online community of users. An integral part of ASAP is to provide professional development opportunities for after-school workers. This promotes a self-sustainable implementation of ASAP long-term and fosters the creation of a cadre of after-school professionals dedicated to facilitating science-based programs.

Space Projects and Research by Kids (SPARK): A Web Based Research Journal for Middle School Students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Limaye, S. S.; Pertzborn, R. A.

1999-05-01

Project SPARK is designed to facilitate opportunities for upper elementary and middle school students to develop the necessary skills to conduct investigations that focus on the subjects of astronomy, space exploration, and earth remote sensing. This program actively engages students in conducting their own research project to acquire increased understanding and content knowledge in the space sciences. While the development of scientific inquiry skills and content literacy is the primary focus, students also enhance their critical thinking, analytical, technological and communications skills. As in the professional science community, the web based SPARK Journal presents an avenue for students to effectively communicate the results of their investigations and work to classmates as well as the "global learning community" via the world wide web. Educational outreach staff at the Sapce Science and Engineering Center have developed active partnerships with teachers and schools throughout Wisconsin to facilitate the development of standards based curriculum and research projects focusing on current topics in the space sciences. Student research projects and activities arising from these initiatives were submitted in the Spring and Fall of 1998 for inclusion in SPARK, Volume 1. The second volume of SPARK will be published in Spring, 1999. Support for the development of this journal was provided by the NASA/IDEAS Program.

Evaluating the High School Lunar Research Projects Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shaner, A. J.; Shupla, C.; Shipp, S.; Allen, J.; Kring, D. A.

2013-01-01

The Center for Lunar Science and Exploration (CLSE), a collaboration between the Lunar and Planetary Institute and NASA s Johnson Space Center, is one of seven member teams of the NASA Lunar Science Institute (NLSI). In addition to research and exploration activities, the CLSE team is deeply invested in education and outreach. In support of NASA s and NLSI s objective to train the next generation of scientists, CLSE s High School Lunar Research Projects program is a conduit through which high school students can actively participate in lunar science and learn about pathways into scientific careers. The objectives of the program are to enhance 1) student views of the nature of science; 2) student attitudes toward science and science careers; and 3) student knowledge of lunar science. In its first three years, approximately 168 students and 28 teachers from across the United States have participated in the program. Before beginning their research, students undertake Moon 101, a guided-inquiry activity designed to familiarize them with lunar science and exploration. Following Moon 101, and guided by a lunar scientist mentor, teams choose a research topic, ask their own research question, and design their own research approach to direct their investigation. At the conclusion of their research, teams present their results to a panel of lunar scientists. This panel selects four posters to be presented at the annual Lunar Science Forum held at NASA Ames. The top scoring team travels to the forum to present their research in person.

Bringing nursing science to the classroom: a collaborative project.

PubMed

Reams, Susan; Bashford, Carol

2009-01-01

This project resulted as a collaborative effort on the part of a public school system and nursing faculty. The fifth grade student population utilized in this study focused on the skeletal, muscular, digestive, circulatory, respiratory, and nervous systems as part of their school system's existing science and health curriculum. The intent of the study was to evaluate the impact on student learning outcomes as a result of nursing-focused, science-based, hands-on experiential activities provided by nursing faculty in the public school setting. An assessment tool was created for pretesting and posttesting to evaluate learning outcomes resulting from the intervention. Over a two day period, six classes consisting of 25 to 30 students each were divided into three equal small groups and rotated among three interactive stations. Students explored the normal function of the digestive system, heart, lungs, and skin. Improvement in learning using the pretest and posttest assessment tools were documented.

IAIMS development at Harvard Medical School.

PubMed Central

Barnett, G O; Greenes, R A; Zielstorff, R D

1988-01-01

The long-range goal of this IAIMS development project is to achieve an Integrated Academic Information Management System for the Harvard Medical School, the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, and Harvard's affiliated institutions and their respective libraries. An "opportunistic, incremental" approach to planning has been devised. The projects selected for the initial phase are to implement an increasingly powerful electronic communications network, to encourage the use of a variety of bibliographic and information access techniques, and to begin an ambitious program of faculty and student education in computer science and its applications to medical education, medical care, and research. In addition, we will explore means to promote better collaboration among the separate computer science units in the various schools and hospitals. We believe that our planning approach will have relevance to other educational institutions where lack of strong central organizational control prevents a "top-down" approach to planning. PMID:3416098

Transforming schools of social work into spaces of social action: a critical exploration of Project Interaction, The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Two-Spirit Initiative of McGill University's School of Social Work.

PubMed

Chervin, Michael; Brotman, Shari; Ryan, Bill; Mullin, Heather

2003-01-01

This article examines the question of how universities can be encouraged to address the mental health concerns of GLBT-SQ people and communities from a perspective of solidarity. In so doing, the authors take a case study approach, using Project Interaction: The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Two-Spirit Initiative of McGill University's School of Social Work, to critically reflect upon the challenges arising from the development of an alternative organization within academia. The purpose of this reflection is to highlight how normal operations at work on university campuses, and within health and allied health curriculum, can be disrupted with the goal of providing momentum for the creation of affirmative space, the advancement of educational initiatives, and the building of opportunities for social change.

Researching the Use of Communication Technologies in Teacher Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Watson, Deryn; Blakeley, Barry; Abbott, Chris

1998-01-01

The King's College London component of a five nation European experimental study (FETICHE Project) of the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) is exploring the reality of communications between teacher trainers in the university and their cotutor partners in schools. Preliminary results indicate that identifying and getting…

"Untapped Potential?" Key Competency Learning and Physical Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gillespie, Lorna; Penney, Dawn; Pope, Clive

2013-01-01

This paper reports on a collaborative action research project that directed attention to the opportunities Physical Education presents to develop learning associated with three of the key competencies detailed in the New Zealand Curriculum; thinking; managing self; and relating to others. Three teachers in one secondary school explored the…

Affordances of Telecollaboration Tools for English for Specific Purposes Online Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sevilla-Pavón, Ana

2016-01-01

This paper explores students' perceptions of the affordances of different telecollaboration tools used in an innovation project for English for Specific Purposes online learning carried out between the University of Valencia (Spain) and Wofford College (South Carolina, United States) during the school year 2015-2016. Different tools for…

This Time It's Personal

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Demski, Jennifer

2012-01-01

Educators have known for some time now that a one-size-fits-all approach to learning does not lead to the level of student engagement and academic success that schools strive to achieve. In their search for a more customized approach to delivering instruction, they've explored project-based learning, addressed different learning styles, and…

Recognising Emotional Intelligence in Professional Standards for Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pugh, Eamonn Victor

2008-01-01

A project conducted in a primary school explored the hypothesis that student teachers could reflect upon feedback to improve their use of emotional intelligence in the classroom, thereby making consequent improvements to their teaching as defined by the required professional teaching standards. The small body of literature on the emotional…

Ocean FEST: Families Exploring Science Together

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bruno, Barbara C.; Wiener, Carlie; Kimura, Arthur; Kimura, Rene

2011-01-01

This project engages elementary school students, parents, teachers, and administrators in ocean-themed family science nights based on a proven model. Our key goals are to: (1) educate participants about ocean and earth science issues that are relevant to their communities; and (2) inspire more underrepresented students, including Native Hawaiians,…

Differentiated Success: Combining Theories to Explain Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jorgensen, Robyn; Larkin, Kevin

2015-01-01

This paper explores the value of different paradigms to explain dispositions towards mathematics among primary school students from different social backgrounds. As part of a larger project designed to elicit students' thinking and attitudes towards mathematics, we seek to develop an explanatory model for the socially-differentiated outcomes in…

The Decision Sciences in Vocational Education Leadership Development Programs. Project Monograph.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McNamara, James F.

This essay explores how the application of the decision sciences in the interdisciplinary training, research, and development activities of model graduate professional schools of management, urban and public affairs, business, government, and regional planning might be linked to current efforts to improve leadership development and training…

Physics Teachers' Perceptions of the Difficulty of Teaching Electricity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gunstone, Richard; Mulhall, Pamela; McKittrick, Brian

2009-01-01

As part of a project concerned with developing a better understanding of the detail of appropriate teaching of direct current (DC) electricity concepts, extensive individual interviews were conducted with a number of experienced senior high school physics teachers. These interviews explored teachers' perceptions of difficulties in student learning…

Plague and Paideia: Sabotage in Devising Theatre with Young People

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wessels, Anne

2012-01-01

This ethnography, completed by the classroom teacher in a publicly funded secondary school in Mississauga, Canada, explores issues of conflict and sabotage that affected a devising project with suburban young people. The processes of devising generated ethnographic data that included a play script and videotaped rehearsals and performances. As…

Youth Perspectives of Achievement: Is Money Everything?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matope, Jasmine; Badroodien, Azeem

2015-01-01

This article draws from a qualitative research project completed at Victoria High School (pseudonym) in Cape Town in 2012 which explored 13 learners' perspectives of achievement and its influence on their lives and thinking. The piece problematises and analyses taken-for-granted connections between money, achievement, youth aspirations and views…

Project-Based Learning to Explore Taxicab Geometry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ada, Tuba; Kurtulus, Aytac

2012-01-01

In Turkey, the content of the geometry course in the Primary School Mathematics Education, which is developed by The Council of Higher Education (YOK), comprises Euclidean and non-Euclidean types of geometry. In this study, primary mathematics teacher candidates compared these two geometries by focusing on Taxicab geometry among non-Euclidean…

What Works and Why? The Key to Successful Advisement Activities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

George, Paul S.; Bushnell, DonnaLee

1993-01-01

A Florida survey shows middle school students' favorite advisement activities to be parties, holiday and special day celebrations, discussion, service projects, games, group activities, and freedom to choose activities. Teachers' favorites are student of the day/week, academic advisories, organization and goal-setting days, career exploration,…

Randomized Control Trials on the Dynamic Geometry Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jiang, Zhonghong; White, Alexander; Rosenwasser, Alana

2011-01-01

The project reported here is conducting repeated randomized control trials of an approach to high school geometry that utilizes Dynamic Geometry (DG) software to supplement ordinary instructional practices. It compares effects of that intervention with standard instruction that does not make use of computer drawing/exploration tools. The basic…

Exploring Metaphoric Language Use to Assess Collaboration between Educational Institutions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Newberry, Melissa; Richardson, Michael

2015-01-01

In this single case study of a school and university collaborative project, positioning theory was used to deconstruct the metaphors expressed in descriptions of roles of 23 participants. Present in the metaphors were discrepancies in understandings of collaboration that revealed ways that collaboration was inhibited as participants positioned…

Live, Online Short-Courses: A Case Study of Innovative Teacher Professional Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marrero, Meghan E.; Woodruff, Karen A.; Schuster, Glen S.; Riccio, Jessica Fitzsimons

2010-01-01

Teachers are searching for new venues through which they may meet stringent professional development requirements. Under competitive funding from NASA's (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) Office of Education and the NASA Explorer Schools Project, U.S. Satellite Laboratory, Inc. created a series of live, online, interactive…

Worldview Formation, Reflexivity, and Personhood: Their Essential Connectivity in Thick Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Geiger, Matthew W.

2017-01-01

This article is based on a collaborative ethnographic project involving three Episcopal high schools and explores how educating for worldview formation is necessarily educating for reflexivity and personhood. While religious educators frequently affirm the goal of worldview formation in religious education, a description of the practical and…

Saving Squawk? Animal and Human Entanglement at the Edge of the Lagoon

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gannon, Susanne

2017-01-01

Emerging posthuman paradigms are beginning to influence approaches to educational research and pedagogy, including the "common worlds" investigations of relations among children and wild animals in early childhood settings. This paper turns to child-animal encounters in a secondary school wetlands project to explore some of the…

Integrating Telecollaboration for Intercultural Language Acquisition at Secondary Education: Lessons Learned

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jauregi, Kristi

2015-01-01

The TILA project originated from the need to explore whether and how telecollaboration affects language learning processes for communication, intercultural understanding and motivation of youngsters learning foreign languages at secondary schools and to empower teachers to pioneer meaningful pedagogical innovation in the curriculum of foreign…

Are Future Teachers Ready to Embrace Mathematical Inquiry?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Acosta, Daniel

2014-01-01

This article describes a project inspired by Liping Ma's "Exploring New Knowledge" in which future 7-12 grade mathematics teachers enrolled in a fall 2013 capstone course at a typical regional state university were assigned fictitious student conjectures. These future teachers (all current high school mathematics teachers) were…

Seasonal Change Investigations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Wendy

2009-01-01

The author describes how the yearlong Investigating Seasonal Change at North Ponds project enabled third-grade students to take on the role of environmental scientists, recording and analyzing environmental data from ponds near their school. The students used an array of technological tools to explore and report on the causes and effects of…

Music and Careers for the Junior High Student.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carlson, Bruce

The curriculum guide describes an exemplary project designed to provide junior high school students with an opportunity to explore careers related to the world of music. The units present objectives, activities, and resources related to the following occupations: pop music artist, professional musician (union), instrumental and vocal music…

Camera Ready: Capturing a Digital History of Chester

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lehman, Kathy

2008-01-01

Armed with digital cameras, voice recorders, and movie cameras, students from Thomas Dale High School in Chester, Virginia, have been exploring neighborhoods, interviewing residents, and collecting memories of their hometown. In this article, the author describes "Digital History of Chester", a project for creating a commemorative DVD.…

Exploring Civic Practices and Service Learning through School-Wide Recycling

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chessin, Debby; Moore, Virginia J.; Theobald, Becky

2011-01-01

Young children can make real-life connections to the ideals, principles, and practices of citizenship through Service Learning, a teaching pedagogy and philosophy that addresses real community needs while fulfilling academic goals that meet specific national and state curricula and standards. Authentic and effective service learning projects offer…

Career Development in Rural Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baskerville, Roger A.

The Lohrville Career Education Model (LCEM) was instituted as a systematic attempt at exploring careers in Iowa and inducing Iowa youth to seek careers closer to home following high school graduation or post-secondary education training; a major purpose of the Toward Community Growth project was to teach positive attitudes about living and working…

Latina Youth, Education, and Citizenship: A Feminist Transnational Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bondy, Jennifer M.

2016-01-01

This article explores adolescent Latinas' citizenship identities in school from a feminist transnational perspective. Data were drawn from qualitative research studies on Latina youths' educational experiences and from a qualitative project conducted by the author. Cultural citizenship theories were used to analyze the data. The analysis revealed…

Interaction Patterns in Synchronous Online Calculus and Linear Algebra Recitations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mayer, Greg; Hendricks, Cher

2014-01-01

This study describes interaction patterns observed during a pilot project that explored the use of web-conferencing (WC) software in two undergraduate distance education courses offered to advanced high-school students. The pilot program replaced video-conferencing technology with WC software during recitations, so as to increase participation in…

"The Cuts, They Trimmed the People"--School Children, Precarity and European Citizenship

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richardson, Mary

2016-01-01

Recently, the "Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency" (2012) have funded programmes designed to advance European citizenship and citizen competences through education. This paper reports on the findings from one project, Creative Connections, designed to encourage the "voices" of young people in exploring European…

Power Equalization and the Reform of Public School Finance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Treacy, John J.; Frueh, Lloyd W., II

1974-01-01

The rationale of power equalization approaches are explored, and the advantages, shortcomings, and details of operation are examined. A power equalization bill proposed by the Ohio Legislature is analyzed in terms of projected costs, impact on educational programs, and to bring out problems of grafting power equalization programs onto existing…

Exploring Linguistic Diversity through World Englishes.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kubota, Ryuko; Ward, Lori

2000-01-01

Presents the rationale and basic concepts for teaching about World Englishes. Describes a sample instructional unit based on the pilot project the authors conducted in a public high school in North Carolina, in which they provided instruction in linguistic diversity once a week for seven weeks. Includes activities and resources for these seven…

Geoscience Education Opportunities: Partnerships to Advance TeacHing and Scholarship (GEOPATHS) in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niemi, T. M.; Adegoke, J.; Stoddard, E.; Odom, L.; Ketchum, D.

2007-12-01

The GEOPATHS project is a partnership between the University of Missouri Kansas City (UMKC) and the Kansas City Missouri School District (KCMSD). The goal of GEOPATHS is to raise enrollment in the Geosciences, especially among populations that are traditionally underrepresented in the discipline. We are addressing this goal by expanding dual-credit and Advanced Placement (AP) opportunities for high school students and also by serving teachers through enhancing their understanding of geoscience content and inquiry teaching methods using GLOBE resources and protocols. Our focus in the first two years of the project is to increase the number of teachers that are certified to teach AP Environmental Science by offering specially designed professional development workshops for high school teachers in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The structure of the workshop for each year is divided into two weeks of content knowledge exploration using the learning cycle and concept mapping, and one week of inquiry-based experiments, field projects, and exercises. We are also supporting teachers in their use of these best-practice methods by providing materials and supplies along with lesson plans for inquiry investigations for their classes. The lesson plans include activities and experiments that are inquiry-based. The last two years of the project will include direct engagement/recruiting of promising minority high school students via paid summer research internships and scholarship offers.

NASA Sounding Rocket Program educational outreach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eberspeaker, P. J.

2005-08-01

Educational and public outreach is a major focus area for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The NASA Sounding Rocket Program (NSRP) shares in the belief that NASA plays a unique and vital role in inspiring future generations to pursue careers in science, mathematics, and technology. To fulfill this vision, the NASA Sounding Rocket Program engages in a host of student flight projects providing unique and exciting hands-on student space flight experiences. These projects include single stage Orion missions carrying "active" high school experiments and "passive" Explorer School modules, university level Orion and Terrier-Orion flights, and small hybrid rocket flights as part of the Small-scale Educational Rocketry Initiative (SERI) currently under development. Efforts also include educational programs conducted as part of major campaigns. The student flight projects are designed to reach students ranging from Kindergarteners to university undergraduates. The programs are also designed to accommodate student teams with varying levels of technical capabilities - from teams that can fabricate their own payloads to groups that are barely capable of drilling and tapping their own holes. The program also conducts a hands-on student flight project for blind students in collaboration with the National Federation of the Blind. The NASA Sounding Rocket Program is proud of its role in inspiring the "next generation of explorers" and is working to expand its reach to all regions of the United States and the international community as well.

Lessons learned from training peer-leaders to conduct Body Project workshops.

PubMed

Vanderkruik, Rachel; Strife, Samantha; Dimidjian, Sona

2017-01-01

The Body Project is a cognitive-dissonance intervention that is effective in improving body satisfaction for high school and college aged women. The Body Project can be implemented by trained peers, thus increasing its potential for broad and cost-effective dissemination. Little is known, however, about peer-leaders' perceptions of their training needs and preferences to deliver prevention programs. This qualitative study explored the perceptions of training strengths and areas of improvement among 14 Body Project peer-leaders at a college campus through a series of focus groups. Recommendations are made to inform training for the Body Project as well as peer-led prevention and treatment interventions more broadly.

Successful Project Based Learning (PBL) Across Disciplines Geared Towards Middle School: An Example from a Wetlands PBL Unit in Reno, Nevada, USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Howard, K. L.; Suchy-Mabrouk, A.; Noble, P. J.; Mensing, S. A.; Ewing-Taylor, J.

2014-12-01

A growing need for broad dissemination of current scientific research and improved scientific literacy requires new models of professional development that allow for direct collaboration between educators and university researchers. One example is a project funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) as part of a study titled, "Reconstructing 2500 years of environmental change at the periphery of Rome: Integrating paleoecology and socioeconomic history to understand human response to climate." This project involves a team of middle school teachers working with researchers at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) to gain first-hand knowledge in multidisciplinary research connecting science and society, and applies a similar approach in the classroom. In 2013, the team's science teacher traveled to Italy as a member of the science research group. A series of workshops introduced the remaining teachers to the research project. Teachers collaborated to develop a Project Based Learning (PBL) unit that incorporated Next Generation Science Standards and encompassed English, Social Studies, Math, and Science curricula using a pedagogical approach different from the single subject-based PBL's usually taught in their school district. The PBL unit draws on the NSF study and focuses on exploring the balance between economic and environmental issues surrounding local wetlands. In May 2014, 160 middle school students worked in groups to create and test a question about physio-chemical parameters in a nearby wetland and used these data to discuss local economic development. Initially, students claimed polarized views of environmental issues or economic development interests; however, during a multimedia session showcasing results, students communicated more informed perspectives that clearly incorporated knowledge gained from their own research. Some students were able to make recommendations for good practices involving planned economic development near the wetland. Preliminary outcomes suggests this model: 1) permits authentic exploration of the role of scientific research in making informed policy decisions; 2) promotes diverse perspectives when approaching environmental and socioeconomic problems; and 3) enhances group engagement in developing scientific literacy.

Qualité De L'éducation En Afrique: Le Rôle Potentiel Des Tic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karsenti, Thierry; Ngamo, Salomon Tchameni

2007-11-01

THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION IN AFRICA: THE ROLE OF ICTS IN TEACHING - This article reports on the presence of ICT in educational institutions, presents an overview of the types of ICT uses found in African schools, and explores the relations between ICT use and the quality of education. Data were obtained from a transnational research project ( Projet des écoles pionnières-TIC en Afrique / Pioneer ICT-Schools Project in Africa) funded by the International Research Development Centre (IDRC) of Canada. A total of 68,662 students, 2,627 teachers, 217 school administrators, and 428 additional education stakeholders in West and Central Africa participated in the study. The results show multiple uses of ICT in the participating schools, albeit centered on teaching ICT basic skills. A biaxial model with four quadrants is used to visualize the range of ICT usages in the schools. The analysis reveals a limited pedagogical use of ICT to teach academic subjects in most of the schools. Approximately 80% of the reported uses involved teaching ICT basic skills, while barely 17% involved subject-specific ICT integration for teaching and learning purposes.

Collaborating With Youth in School Health Promotion Initiatives With Photovoice.

PubMed

Lofton, Saria; Bergren, Martha Dewey

2018-06-01

Photovoice, a community-based approach that is being embraced in school settings, can help to nurture collaborations with youth, particularly adolescents, and engage them in the development of social policy and health promotion projects. Photovoice is an approach that positions school nurses to inspire youth to take ownership of health promotion issues that directly affect them in the school and in their communities. Engaging youth in Photovoice not only allows advocates to directly work with youth but also promotes critical thinking and the exploration of topics that may not otherwise be considered. Photovoice raises awareness about issues through critical dialogue and is well suited to engage youth and provide a channel for youth to assert their voices.

Whose banner are we waving? Exploring STEM partnerships for marginalized urban youth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ridgeway, Monica L.; Yerrick, Randy K.

2018-03-01

This case study examines after school programming in citizen science from the perspective of Critical Race Theory. During the course of enacting community outreach projects this data was used to examine the positioning of experts, student, and teachers within the program. This study explores the role of race and ethnicity, and the ways in which marginalization can manifest itself with black urban youth and teachers. Implications for partner selection and training are addressed.

Whose Community are You Working for? A Change Agent Case Study.

PubMed

Silva, Janelle M

2017-12-01

This article explores the role and responsibility of the community psychologist in creating change that could potentially harm the group they are meant to be in solidarity with. Drawing upon a 2-year project with a Latinx Student Union at a public middle school in the Pacific Northwest, I examine the ethical dilemmas that arose when powerful stakeholders (school administration) changed the goals and intention of the research project without the consent of the low-power stakeholders (the students). This narrative seeks to shed light on the dilemmas that come with being an ethical community psychologist (Balcazar, Garate-Serafini, & Keys, 2004; Nelson, Prilleltensky, & MacGillivary, 2001; O'Neill, 1989), how these ethics can be compromised by one's identity, and what it means to work for/with/against one's community when deciding whether to stay with or leave a project. © Society for Community Research and Action 2017.

Exploring ``Science As Culture'' Through The European Science Museums Astronomy And Museum Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lelingou, Dimitra; Varga, Benedek; Czár, Katalin; Sircar, Seema; Paterson, Allan; Lindsay, Lilian; Watson, Andy; Croly, Christopher

2010-01-01

The Hellenic Physical Society is a scientific association with an intensive action in the field of education, which is governed by the philosophy that the relationship between science and society must be interactive. For this reason the Hellenic Physical Society is a partner of the European Grundtvig Lifelong Learning Project/Learning Partnerships, tilted: Exploring ``Science as Culture'' through the European Science Museums. The program numbered 07-GRCO1-GR04-00025-1 constitutes an educational collaboration between the Semmelweis Museum Library and archives of the History of Medicine of Hungary, which is the co-ordinator of the project, the Hellenic Physical Society (Greece) and the Aberdeen City Council Strategic Leadership of United Kingdom. During the first year that the european project was conducted, the Physics Museum of the greek aegean island of Chios, in collaboration with the Second Chance School of Chios, also took part. During the academic year 2008-2009, the Second Chance School of the Koridallos Prison of Athens is also taking part. The basic ideas, the design axes and the first results of the Grundtvig project will be developed in this presentation. This european partnership creates an educational programme consisting of science-related activities (such as seminars, lectures, presentations and in situ experimental activities), and prepares appropriate educational material for lifelong science learning, using innovative teaching methodologies and the European science museums' exhibits participating in this project, by making them centres of significant cultural contribution to science and society. Using the integrated approach of astronomy teaching as the central design axe in this programme, we highlight the cultural aspects of science education. From our educational intervention we develop educational tools for astronomy suitable for distance learning and making use of new technologies. The partnership is addressed to different age groups: museum visitors, museum educators, teachers involved in adult education, adult school students, financially and socially inferior groups, the general public. It aims at promoting innovative didactic lifelong procedures of informal forms of science education, through the proper utilization of the artifacts on display of the european science museums taking part, to the utilization of teaching procedures with the use of new technologies as didactic tools, to the forming of a cultural network of collaboration and to the creation of life-long learning teaching tools, so as to furhter promote the cultural dimension of scientific knowledge. In this paper a particular reference will be done to the development of a museum educational project of astronomy at the Adults Prisoners of the Second Chance School of Koridallos Prison of Athens and to the way that we try to insert elements of museum education inside the prison's school. Our main objective is to vivify the science museums. At the same time, we intend to share our experiences and relate our various fields of educational activity, so as to participating in this project. Finally, we intend to cultivate the cultural ideals and perceptions of European citizens, through the exploration of our common cultural past, to raise the awareness in our scientific-cultural heritage and to use this heritage as a powerful unifying field for us all.

The Pedagogical Challenges of Teaching High School Bioethics: Insights from the Exploring Bioethics Curriculum.

PubMed

Solomon, Mildred Z; Vannier, David; Chowning, Jeanne Ting; Miller, Jacqueline S; Paget, Katherine F

2016-01-01

A belief that high school students have the cognitive ability to analyze and assess moral choices and should be encouraged to do so but have rarely been helped to do so was the motivation for developing Exploring Bioethics, a six-module curriculum and teacher guide for grades nine through twelve on ethical issues in the life sciences. A multidisciplinary team of bioethicists, science educators, curriculum designers, scientists, and high school biology teachers worked together on the curriculum under a contract between the National Institutes of Health and Education Development Center, a nonprofit research and development organization with a long history of innovation in science education. At the NIH, the Department of Bioethics within the Clinical Center and the Office of Science Education within the Office of the Director guided the project.Our overarching goal for Exploring Bioethics was to introduce students to bioethics as a field of inquiry and to enable them to develop ethical reasoning skills so they could move beyond "gut reactions" to more nuanced positions. © 2016 The Hastings Center.

Diploma in Seismology for High-School Teachers in Mexico Through an Open-Source Learning Plataform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perez-Campos, X.; Bello, D.; Dominguez, J.; Pérez, J.; Cruz, J. L.; Navarro Estrada, F.; Mendoza Carvajal, A. D. J.

2017-12-01

The high school Physics programs in Mexico do not consider the immediate application of the concepts learned by the students. According to some pedagogical theories many of the acquired knowledge are assimilated when experimenting, expressing, interacting and developing projects. It is in high school when young people are exploring and looking for experiences to decide the area in which they want to focus their studies. The areas of science and engineering are chosen, mainly motivated by technology and outer space. There is little interest in Earth science, reflected by the number of students in those areas. This may be due mainly to the lack of exposure and examples at the high school level. With this in mind, we are working on a project that seeks, through the preparation of teachers of this level, to bring their students to seismology and awaken in them their curiosity in issues related to it. Based on the above, and taking as examples the successful programs "Seismographs in Schools" from IRIS and "Geoscience Information For Teachers" from EGU, the Mexican National Seismological Service has launched a project that contemplates three stages. The first one consists of the design and delivery of a diploma addressed to high school teachers. The second contemplates the installation of short-period seismographs in each of the participating faculty facilities. Finally, the third one involves the active participation of teachers and their students in research projects based on the data collected in the instruments installed in their schools. This work presents the first phase. The diploma has been designed to offer teachers, in 170 hours, an introduction to topics related to seismology and to provide them with tools and examples that they can share with their students in their classroom. It is offered both online through Moodle, an open-source learning plataform, and in 12 classroom sessions. The first class started on June 2017 and will finish on November 2017. We selected high school professors from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), since their schools are based in Mexico City. Based on the results, we will adjust the program to offer it nation wide in future editions. The platform, diploma design and results on this first generation will be presented. This project has been funded by UNAM project DGAPA-PAPIME PE107317.

The role of intergenerational influence in waste education programmes: The THAW project

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

Maddox, P.; Doran, C.; Williams, I.D., E-mail: idw@soton.ac.uk

Highlights: > Children can be effective advocates in changing their parents' lifestyles. > We investigated the role of intergenerational influence in waste education programmes. > Waste Watch's Take Home Action on Waste project worked with 6705 children in 39 schools. > The results showed increased participation in recycling and declines in residual waste. > The study shows that recycling behaviour is positively impacted by intergenerational influence. - Abstract: Whilst the education of young people is often seen as a part of the solution to current environmental problems seeking urgent attention, it is often forgotten that their parents and other householdmore » members can also be educated/influenced via home-based educational activities. This paper explores the theory of intergenerational influence in relation to school based waste education. Waste Watch, a UK-based environmental charity ((www.wastewatch.org.uk)), has pioneered a model that uses practical activities and whole school involvement to promote school based action on waste. This methodology has been adopted nationally. This paper outlines and evaluates how effective school based waste education is in promoting action at a household level. The paper outlines Waste Watch's 'Taking Home Action on Waste (THAW)' project carried out for two and half years in Rotherham, a town in South Yorkshire, England. The project worked with 6705 primary age children in 39 schools (44% of primary schools in the project area) to enable them to take the 'reduce, reuse and recycle message' home to their families and to engage these (i.e. families) in sustainable waste management practices. As well as substantial increases in students' knowledge and understanding of waste reduction, measurement of the impact of the project in areas around 12 carefully chosen sample schools showed evidence of increased participation in recycling and recycling tonnages as well as declining levels of residual waste. Following delivery of the project in these areas, an average increase of 8.6% was recorded in recycling set out rates which led to a 4.3% increase in paper recycling tonnages and an 8.7% increase in tonnages of cans, glass and textiles collected for recycling. Correspondingly, there was a 4.5% fall in tonnages of residual waste. Waste Watch's THAW project was the first serious attempt to measure the intergenerational influence of an education programme on behaviour at home (i.e. other than schools' own waste). It clearly shows that household recycling behaviour can be positively impacted by intergenerational influence via a practical school-based waste education model. However, although the model could potentially have a big impact if rolled out nationally, it will require seed funding and the long-term durability of the model has not yet been fully quantified.« less

Teaching weather and climate science in primary schools - a pilot project from the UK Met Office

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Orrell, Richard; Liggins, Felicity; Challenger, Lesley; Lethem, Dom; Campbell, Katy

2017-04-01

Wow Schools is a pilot project from the Met Office with an aim to inspire and educate the next generation of scientists and, uniquely, use the data collected by schools to improve weather forecasts and warnings across the UK. Wow Schools was launched in late 2015 with a competition open to primary schools across the UK. 74 schools entered the draw, all hoping to be picked as one of the ten lucky schools taking part in the pilot scheme. Each winning school received a fully automatic weather station (AWS), enabling them to transmit real-time local weather observations to the Met Office's Weather Observation Website (WOW - wow.metoffice.gov.uk), an award winning web portal for uploading and sharing a range of environmental observations. They were also given a package of materials designed to get students out of the classroom to observe the weather, get hands-on with the science underpinning weather forecasting, and analyse the data they are collecting. The curriculum-relevant materials were designed with the age group 7 to 11 in mind, but could be extended to support other age groups. Each school was offered a visit by a Wow Schools Ambassador (a Met Office employee) to bring the students' learning to life, and access to a dedicated forecast for its location generated by our new supercomputer. These forecasts are improved by the school's onsite AWS reinforcing the link between observations and forecast production. The Wow Schools pilot ran throughout 2016. Here, we present the initial findings of the project, examining the potential benefits and challenges of working with schools across the UK to: enrich students' understanding of the science of weather forecasting; to source an ongoing supply of weather observations and discover how these might be used in the forecasting process; and explore what materials and business model(s) would be most useful and affordable if a wider roll-out of the initiative was undertaken.

A multilingual and multimodal approach to literacy teaching and learning in urban education: a collaborative inquiry project in an inner city elementary school.

PubMed

Ntelioglou, Burcu Yaman; Fannin, Jennifer; Montanera, Mike; Cummins, Jim

2014-01-01

This paper presents findings from a collaborative inquiry project that explored teaching approaches that highlight the significance of multilingualism, multimodality, and multiliteracies in classrooms with high numbers of English language learners (ELLs). The research took place in an inner city elementary school with a large population of recently arrived and Canadian-born linguistically and culturally diverse students from Gambian, Indian, Mexican, Sri Lankan, Tibetan and Vietnamese backgrounds, as well as a recent wave of Roma students from Hungary. A high number of these students were from families with low-SES. The collaboration between two Grade 3 teachers and university-based researchers sought to create instructional approaches that would support students' academic engagement and literacy learning. In this paper, we described one of the projects that took place in this class, exploring how a descriptive writing unit could be implemented in a way that connected with students' lives and enabled them to use their home languages, through the creation of multiple texts, using creative writing, digital technologies, and drama pedagogy. This kind of multilingual and multimodal classroom practice changed the classroom dynamics and allowed the students access to identity positions of expertise, increasing their literacy investment, literacy engagement and learning.

A multilingual and multimodal approach to literacy teaching and learning in urban education: a collaborative inquiry project in an inner city elementary school

PubMed Central

Ntelioglou, Burcu Yaman; Fannin, Jennifer; Montanera, Mike; Cummins, Jim

2014-01-01

This paper presents findings from a collaborative inquiry project that explored teaching approaches that highlight the significance of multilingualism, multimodality, and multiliteracies in classrooms with high numbers of English language learners (ELLs). The research took place in an inner city elementary school with a large population of recently arrived and Canadian-born linguistically and culturally diverse students from Gambian, Indian, Mexican, Sri Lankan, Tibetan and Vietnamese backgrounds, as well as a recent wave of Roma students from Hungary. A high number of these students were from families with low-SES. The collaboration between two Grade 3 teachers and university-based researchers sought to create instructional approaches that would support students’ academic engagement and literacy learning. In this paper, we described one of the projects that took place in this class, exploring how a descriptive writing unit could be implemented in a way that connected with students’ lives and enabled them to use their home languages, through the creation of multiple texts, using creative writing, digital technologies, and drama pedagogy. This kind of multilingual and multimodal classroom practice changed the classroom dynamics and allowed the students access to identity positions of expertise, increasing their literacy investment, literacy engagement and learning. PMID:24994986

Evaluation of a collaborative project to develop sustainable healthcare education in eight UK medical schools.

PubMed

Walpole, S C; Mortimer, F

2017-09-01

Environmental change poses pressing challenges to public health and calls for profound and far-reaching changes to policy and practice across communities and health systems. Medical schools can act as a seedbed where knowledge, skills and innovation to address environmental challenges can be developed through innovative and collaborative approaches. The objectives of this study were to (1) explore drivers and challenges of collaboration for educational development between and within medical schools; (2) evaluate the effectiveness of a range of pedagogies for sustainable healthcare education; and (3) identify effective strategies to facilitate the renewal of medical curricula to address evolving health challenges. Participatory action research. Medical school teams participated in a nine-month collaborative project, including a one-day seminar to learn about sustainable healthcare education and develop a project plan. After the seminar, teams were supported to develop, deliver and evaluate new teaching at their medical school. New teaching was introduced at seven medical schools. A variety of pedagogies were represented. Collaboration between schools motivated and informed participants. The main challenges faced related to time pressures. Educators and students commented that new teaching was enjoyable and effective at improving knowledge and skills. Collaborative working supported educators to develop and implement new teaching sessions rapidly and effectively. Collaboration can help to build educators' confidence and capacity in a new area of education development. Different forms of collaboration may be appropriate for different circumstances and at different stages of education development. Copyright © 2017 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Role of Hands-On Science Labs in Engaging the Next Generation of Space Explorers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Williams, Teresa A. J.

2002-01-01

Each country participating on the International Space Station (ISS) recognizes the importance of educating the coming generation about space and its opportunities. In 2001 the St. James School in downtown Houston, Texas was approached with a proposal to renovate an unused classroom and become involved with the "GLOBE" Program and other Internet based international learning resources. This inner-city school willingly agreed to the program based on "hands-on" learning. One month after room conversion and ten computer terminals donated by area businesses connectivity established to the internet the students immediately began using the "Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE)" program and the International Space Station (ISS) Program educational resources. The "GLOBE" program involves numerous scientific and technical agencies studying the Earth, who make it their goal to provide educational resources to an international community of K-12 scientist. This project was conceived as a successor to the "Interactive Elementary Space Museum for the New Millennium" a space museum in a school corridor without the same type of budget. The laboratory is a collaboration, which involved area businesses, volunteers from the NASA/Johnson Space Center ISS Outreach Program, and students. This paper will outline planning and operation of the school science laboratory project from the point of view of the schools interest and involvement and assess its success to date. It will consider the lessons learned by the participating school administrations in the management of the process and discuss some of the issues that can both promote and discourage school participation in such projects.

Virtual field trips: exploring a new approach to ocean education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cary, C.; Bryant, T.

2003-04-01

During the past four years with primary support from the National Science Foundation, the University of Delaware College of Marine Studies has launched the "Extreme series" of virtual field trips to get students and the public excited -- and learning -- about science by enabling them to follow along with researchers as they explore hydrothermal vents in the Pacific Ocean. The Extreme series has blossomed from a small pilot project involving about 800 students in 14 schools primarily in Delaware, to a thriving program that last year welcomed aboard more than 500 schools representing over 42,000 students from across the United States and in several foreign countries. Participants range from small, rural schools on American Indian reservations and in the landlocked states of America's "heartland," to large public schools in major coastal cities such as New York and Los Angeles. Each participating teacher receives a resource package containing student guides, curricula, evaluation tools, and a documentary video. During the expedition, an interactive Web site serves as the program's "lifeline." Education coordinators aboard ship -- a UD graduate student and a schoolteacher -- post daily journals, conduct experiments submitted by classrooms, and relay photos and video clips back to shore each day for uploading to the Web site. The project also involves selected classrooms in teleconferences with scientists working live on the seafloor aboard the submersible Alvin. Evaluated for its educational quality and impact, the Extreme series continues to grow and develop with the enthusiastic support of teachers.

Why education can foster sustainability in the fashion market

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grundmeier, A.-M.

2017-10-01

This project focuses on exploring sustainable-oriented options for young people as they are the primary target group of an accelerating fashion industry. The fast fashion market has major problems along its globally organised supply chain regarding its social and environmental compatibility. The project is conducted within a greater urban area, using the city of Freiburg exemplarily. Pupils of the Staudinger Gesamtschule, the only comprehensive school in Freiburg, engage themselves exploratively in the perspective of sustainability within the fashion market and create a catalogue of measures for sustainable-oriented handling. The main focus of this research project is to evaluate sustainable-oriented course of actions by interviewing selected consumers and active participants as well as protagonists of the fashion market and textile research field. The empirical social research is conducted by using guidelines as an interviewing technique when contacting commercial and product enterprises as well as research institutes and welfare institutions. Explorations and interviews give pupils the opportunity to become familiar with the fields of work and its individual sustainability options within the fashion market. The project is promoted by the programme “Our Common Future” of the Robert Bosch Foundation, Germany.

Exploration of the Moon and Asteroids by Secondary Students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shaner, A. J.; Bakerman, M. N.; Buxner, S.

2016-12-01

Since 2014, the Exploration of the Moon and Asteroids by Secondary Students, or ExMASS, program provides an opportunity for students to participate in authentic scientific research. The ExMASS program is an effort managed by the Center for Lunar Science and Exploration (CLSE). Led by the Lunar and Planetary Institute and Johnson Space Center, CLSE is one of nine teams comprising NASA's Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI). Over the course of one academic year, 10 teams of U.S. high school students conduct their own scientific investigations of Earth's Moon, or asteroids, with guidance from a scientist advisor. The program includes two elements: 1) two guided-inquiry introductory research activities that builds student knowledge of current lunar/asteroid science and lunar/asteroid data, and 2) an open-inquiry research project in which the students apply their knowledge to a self-defined project. Because the research is student-driven, it is not necessarily original research; original research is therefore not required. However, one team's research has been published in a professional journal. At the end of the school year, teams submit an abstract and research poster which are scored by a panel a judges. The top four scoring teams gather virtually to give short presentations to the judges. After presentations and time for Q&A, the judges choose one team to present in person at the Exploration Science Forum (ESF). The posters of all finalist schools are displayed at the ESF. The ExMASS program is evaluated by collecting data on changes in students' lunar/asteroid content knowledge, student attitudes toward science and science careers, and student perceptions of the processes of science in which their team participated. Exit surveys for teachers, students, and advisors are also distributed at the end of each program year to gather general feedback about the program and its impact. Results of this data from the first two years of the ExMASS program (2014 and 2015) will be discussed.

Mobile(izing) Educational Research: Historical Literacy, M-Learning, and Technopolitics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Bryan; Ng-A-Fook, Nicholas; Corrigan, Julie

2014-01-01

This research project explored the nexus between historical literacies, digital literacy and m-learning as a praxis of mobilizing technopolitics. To do this, we developed a mobile application for teacher candidates to study the absence of the Indian Residential School system from history textbooks and other curricular materials. Building on the…

A Model Program for the Retention of High-Risk, Postsecondary Vocational Students. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cossatot Vocational Technical School, DeQueen, AR.

An orientation, testing, and counseling program to improve the dropout rate of at-risk postsecondary vocational students in Arkansas was developed and field tested at Cossatot Vocational Technical School, DeQueen, Arkansas. Project activities included: (1) improving prevocational exploration and assessment through the development of a…

Improving College Faculty Instruction in the Basic and Allied Health Sciences.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Washton, Nathan S.

A project to improve college instruction in the basic and allied health sciences at New York Chiropractic College and the New York Institute of Technology is described. Attention was directed to: the kinds of resources colleges and professional schools provide to improve instruction; motivation of faculty to explore innovative or strategic…

The Language of Mathematics: Learning to Read Mathematics for Understanding and Success

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Im, Yang Ok

2013-01-01

The intention of this project was to explore the effect of utilizing basic reading skills to promote student growth in mathematical literacy among middle school students. Mathematics was approached as a linquistical language and teachers utilized decoding skills as the treatment. This study used a nonequivalent control group quasi-experimental…

Teachers Communicating about Life-Limiting Conditions, Death and Bereavement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robinson, Sally; Ekins, Alison; Durrant, Ian; Summers, Kathryn

2018-01-01

The number of children with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions in England is double what it was at the millennium. These conditions include cystic fibrosis, cancer, organ failure and severe neurological injuries. The Teaching for Life project aimed to explore the needs of teachers working in English schools in relation to working with…

Learning Based on "Entrepreneurial Volunteering": Using Enterprise Education to Explore Social Responsibility

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clarke, Julia; Underwood, Sarah

2011-01-01

This article presents a case study of how a business school has developed enterprise education to incorporate ethics and social responsibility. The authors describe the process of developing volunteering opportunities and embedding them in the curriculum, and outline the underlying pedagogy. They describe how existing approaches to project-based…

Giving Literacy, Learning Literacy: Service-Learning and School Book Drives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walker, Anne B.

2015-01-01

Service-learning can provide a range of literacy learning experiences for children as they work to solve real world problems and engage in inquiry, collaboration and reflection. Rather than being an extracurricular activity, service-learning projects are designed to meet standards and align with existing curriculum. This article explores how…

The Historical Origins of Social Studies Teacher as Athletic Coach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stacy, Michelle

2016-01-01

This project traces the connection between social studies curriculum and coaching, and explores how history, social studies, and athletics at the secondary school level grew from the rhetoric of classics and statesmanship in the early nineteenth century into the pedagogy of citizenship and democracy during the Progressive era in early twentieth…

Principals' Perceptions of "Quality" in Mauritian Schools Using the Baldrige Framework

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ah-Teck, Jean Claude; Starr, Karen

2013-01-01

Purpose: This article aims to report the findings of a research project exploring Mauritian principals' receptivity to the main tenets inherent in Total Quality Management (TQM). The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) framework (aligned with, and an outcome of, the TQM movement) provides a set of criteria for organizational quality…

Managing School-Based Curriculum Innovations: A Hong Kong Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Law, Edmond H. F.; Wan, Sally W. Y.; Galton, Maurice; Lee, John C. K.

2010-01-01

This study was originally designed to explore the impact of a distributed approach to developing curriculum leadership among schoolteachers. Previous papers have focused on reporting evidence of teacher learning in the process of engaging teachers in various types of curriculum decision-making in an innovation project based on interview data. This…

Learning through Conversation: Exploring and Extending Teacher and Children's Involvement in Classroom Talk

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Kirsty; Kennedy, Hilary

2011-01-01

This article details a professional development process with a group of teachers and educational psychologists in the UK, at a school for children identified as having social, emotional, and behavioural difficulties. The project focused on how teachers use conversation to include children within dialogue and incorporate children's ideas within the…

Landscape in a Lacquer Box

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Savage, Martha

2010-01-01

A symbolic dry landscape garden of Eastern origin holds a special fascination for the author's middle-school students, which is why the author chose to create a project exploring this view of nature. A dry landscape garden, or "karesansui," is an arrangement of rocks, worn by nature and surrounded by a "sea" of sand, raked into patterns…

A Socio-Cognitive Approach to Knowledge Construction in Design Studio through Blended Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kocaturk, Tuba

2017-01-01

This paper results from an educational research project that was undertaken by the School of Architecture, at the University of Liverpool funded by the Higher Education Academy in UK. The research explored technology driven shifts in architectural design studio education, identified their cognitive effects on design learning and developed an…

Multicultural Children's Literature and Teacher Candidates' Awareness and Attitudes toward Cultural Diversity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Iwai, Yuko

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to look at elementary/middle school pre-service teachers' perceptions of multicultural and diversity issues through multicultural children's literature. Nineteen pre-service teachers in a foundation of literacy course explored multicultural children's literature and involved group/class discussions and a project over…

Working Parents Project (WPP). Final Interim Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mason, Theresa; Espinoza, Renato

Results are reported from a 2-year study designed to explore how the nature of women's jobs, as viewed by women and their husbands, influences the system of nuclear family relationships and affects parents' involvement with their children's schools. The research has evolved into a comparative exploratory study of the responses of 30 families to…

The Ground They Walk on: Photography and Narrative Inquiry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ketelle, Diane

2010-01-01

In this project, the author explores a novel variation on an established social science research method, photo-elicitation. The author photographed eight school principals during a two-year period and asked the principals to respond to the photographs by writing narratives below each. The author uses photography, reflections, and her own memories…

Vocational Exploration and Skill Building in Marine and Related Occupations. Final Report, 1979-1980.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schaefer, Larry; And Others

The first year of a project to train high school aged handicapped and/or disadvantaged youth for employment in marine and related trades was considered successful. Specific areas of training included motor mechanics, electrical, woodworking, refinishing, restoration, fiberglass work, and blueprint reading under the direction of skilled…

People, Places, and Pandas: Engaging Preschoolers with Interactive Whiteboards

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berson, Ilene R.; Cross, Megan D.; Ward, Jennifer; Berson, Michael J.

2014-01-01

In this article, the authors describe a recent project undertaken at the University of South Florida's (USF) Preschool for Creative Learning. To align with the inquiry approach of their laboratory school, the environment at the Preschool is designed so that children can learn through exploration and individual initiative. The administration and…

The Power of Time: Teachers' Working Day--Negotiating Autonomy and Control

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Steen-Olsen, Tove; Eikseth, Astrid Grude

2010-01-01

This article focuses on teachers' repeated complaints of lack of time. The theme is explored within data material collected in a research and development project in a Norwegian primary school (2006-09), including observations from development work together with a teacher team, and interviews with their principal, a representative of the teacher…

"Let's Talk about the Books": The Complexity of Book Discussions in a Multilingual Preschool Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fassler, Rebekah

2014-01-01

This sociolinguistic study explores complexities of supporting preschool emergent bilinguals' communicative competence in multilingual classrooms. These complexities were highlighted in the author's qualitative research of a three-month school-home literacy project in one Head Start classroom. This article investigates what supported the…

Exploring Quadrilaterals to Reveal Teachers' Use of Definitions: Results and Implications

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Salinas, Tracie McLemore; Lynch-Davis, Kathleen; Mawhinney, Katherine J.; Crocker, Deborah A.

2014-01-01

About 80 middle and secondary school teachers participated in the professional development sequence as a part of a larger professional development project. Sessions provided participants with half-day experiences in an inquiry-oriented classroom taught by a master teacher, in which they experienced examples of inquiry lessons as both student and…

Imagining Postnationalism: Arts, Citizenship Education, and Arab American Youth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

El-Haj, Thea Renda Abu

2009-01-01

This article explores an Arab American community arts organization as a site for promoting youth civic participation and social activism. Studying a citizenship education project outside the school walls, and focusing on the arts as a medium for this work, foregrounds the role of the symbolic for engaging youth as active participants in democratic…

Promoting Social and Emotional Development in Deaf Children. The PATHS Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greenberg, Mark T.; Kusche, Carol A.

This book explains the background and rationale for the PATHS (Promoting Alternative THinking Strategies) curriculum, reports the results of 4 years of research on its use with children who are deaf, and explores theoretical and practical concerns in the implementation of school-based mental health promotion programs. It emphasizes the crucial…

Project Exchange, Proyecto Intercambio: A Guide to Exploring Hispanic and North American Cultures.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perez, Maria L.; Zanger, Virginia Vogel

Based on a successful high school student exchange program, a curriculum was designed to bring together Hispanic students learning English and Anglo students learning Spanish for intercultural experiences. The flexible curriculum includes over 40 activities that students can participate in while meeting together once a week for either a brief…

Power and Citizenship through Youth-Centered Project-Based Clinical Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Daoud, Nisreen; Pellegrino, Anthony; Zenkov, Kristien

2017-01-01

"Partnerships in/as/for Literacies" explores the idea that literacies are as much evolving processes as they are static contents. Co-authored by university- and school-based teachers and teacher educators, pre-service teachers, and youths, columns consider how very traditional literacies (e.g., in reading, writing, composing, speaking,…

Video Production and Youth-Educator Collaboration: Openings and Dilemmas

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stack, Michelle

2009-01-01

This study explores a collaborative project between high school youth and adult educators (graduate students in education) to create public service announcements. How do young people and educators talk about media, politics, power, and social change? Based on my observations of participant interaction, I argue that power is not dichotomous, with…

Video Pals: An Experiment in Pupil-Generated Video Communication.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wong, Martin R.; Barbatsis, Gretchen S.

A visual literacy project to explore how children who have had no experience or instruction in the use of television would use the technology as a communication medium is discussed. One second and one fourth grade class were chosen to prepare three videotape "letters" communicating to their counterparts in another school information about their…

Collaboration, Creativity and the Co-Construction of Oral and Written Texts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rojas-Drummond, S. M.; Albarran, C. D.; Littleton, K. S.

2008-01-01

In this paper we explore how primary school children "learn to collaborate" and "collaborate to learn" on creative writing projects by using diverse cultural artefacts--including oracy, literacy and ICT. We begin by reviewing some key sociocultural concepts which serve as a theoretical framework for the research reported. Secondly, we describe the…

OECD Work on Future Educational Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Theisens, Henno; Benavides, Francisco; Dumont, Hanna

2008-01-01

Designing school buildings to respond to change is not a new idea. But perhaps what is different today is the kind and degree of change which we have to anticipate. The OECD is carrying out projects that can help in the planning and design of future educational facilities--exploring trends in education and studying innovative learning…

Projects and Prospects: Art in Multicultural Society.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

City of Birmingham Polytechnic (England). Dept. of Art.

Practical ways in which visual arts may contribute to multicultural education are explored in eight conference papers. A welcoming address describes the objectives of the meeting and the role of multicultural education in the schools. The first paper describes the role of the art gallery in the community. Examples of programs offered by a local…

A 21st-Century Art Room: The Remix of "Creativity" and Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bryant, Courtney

2010-01-01

This article describes the author's innovative approach to facilitating students' imaginations and critical thinking through a computer animation project. The author conducted a qualitative case study in a computer animation unit and explored urban high school students' use of creative problem-solving strategies, defined as techniques that offer…

Teacher Competences for Telecollaboration: The Role of Coaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Melchor-Couto, Sabela; Jauregi, Kristi

2016-01-01

This paper explores the role of coaching in enhancing teachers' key competences for integrating Telecollaboration (TC) in their language course. A total of 23 secondary school teachers participated in this case study as part of the EU-funded project TILA. Quantitative and qualitative data were gathered via two surveys, the first one measuring…

"Bringing the Message Forward": Using Poetic Re-Presentation to Solve Research Dilemmas

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ward, Angela

2011-01-01

Researchers cannot always rely on traditional methods for solving research dilemmas. In a research project that explored the friendships and social relationships of four students with severe disabilities in four secondary schools in New Zealand, the author uses poetic re-presentation to solve several ethical and pragmatic research dilemmas. Within…

The Project Approach: An Appreciation for the Constructivist Theory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cook, Pamela R.

2006-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore my appreciation for the "constructivist theory" for which an epistemological stance is expressed as an educational ideology, or referred to as constructivism; essentially to construct one's own knowledge. Six energetic five-year-old boys from an urban public school, located within a mid-western…

Missteps, Flaws and Morphings in Children's Musical Play: Snapshots from School Playgrounds

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Countryman, June

2014-01-01

This article, drawing upon fieldwork from a larger project investigating the nature of children's self-chosen musical play, explores instances of play that stumble and either morph into something else or are abandoned altogether. Four vignettes of musical play are described, documented during recess observations at several Canadian elementary…

Insiders Doing PAR with Youth in Their Schools: Negotiating Professional Boundaries and Healing Justice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Herr, Kathryn

2017-01-01

In this essay, I explore my experiences as a practitioner researcher collaborating with my students on a participatory action research project aimed at institutional change. I take up two areas: blurring the boundaries of professionalism in working toward authentic collaborations with students, and secondly, incorporating perspectives of…

Practical Evaluation of a Mobile Language Learning Tool in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kétyi, András

2015-01-01

Following on preliminary research (Kétyi, 2013), in this project we looked for a mobile language learning solution, which combines computers and mobile devices. Our main idea was to explore whether by integrating mobile devices in our language teaching practice, our students at the Budapest Business School would gain valuable additional learning…

Telecollaboration in the Secondary Language Classroom: Case Study of Adolescent Interaction and Pedagogical Integration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ware, Paige; Kessler, Greg

2016-01-01

This study builds on research examining the in-school technology practices of adolescent language learners by exploring the patterns of classroom literacy practices that emerge when a telecollaborative project is introduced into a conventional secondary language classroom. We draw on the conceptual frameworks and discourse analytical tools…

Drama in Education and Self-Directed Learning for Adults

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karavoltsou, Athina A.; O'Sullivan, Carmel

2011-01-01

Drama in Education (DIE), as an artistic and educational experience, is sufficiently evidenced in the literature as a dialogical, liberating practice of education. This article discusses a practitioner research project in a second chance adult education school in Greece, where the use of a DIE teaching and learning approach was explored in an…

Where and Why There? Spatial Thinking with Geographic Information Systems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Milson, Andrew J.; Curtis, Mary D.

2009-01-01

The authors developed and implemented a project for high school geography students that modeled the processes in a site selection analysis using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). They sought to explore how spatial thinking could be fostered by using the MyWorld GIS software that was designed specifically for educational uses. The task posed…

Cruising through Research: Library Skills for Young Adults.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Volkman, John D.

This book presents an approach for school librarians to use to introduce basic research tools to students in grades 7-12. Twelve "Excursions" (i.e., library research projects) are described. Excursions 1 and 2 provide an introduction to reference books, and Excursions 3 and 4 explore note-taking and basic organization of research papers. The…

An Online Chinese-Australian Language and Cultural Exchange through Digital Storytelling

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oakley, Grace; Pegrum, Mark; Xiong, Xi Bei; Lim, Cher Ping; Yan, Hanbing

2018-01-01

In a 2013-2014 Australia-China Council project, middle school students in Australia and China shared digital stories about their everyday lives and local cultures, and traditional tales with a modern twist. This article reports on research that aimed to explore the successes and challenges associated with this digital story exchange between…

How Do Children Understand Themselves as Learners? Towards a Learner-Centred Understanding of Pedagogy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bibby, Tamara

2009-01-01

This paper challenges notions that pedagogy is predominantly rational, conscious and deliberate. Drawing on two research projects about experiences of learning in primary and secondary schools, the paper explores pedagogic relationships and the ways these structure and enable different kinds of learning and knowledge creation. The data are read…

Collaboration at the Nanoscale: Exploring Viral Genetics with Electron Microscopy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duboise, S. Monroe; Moulton, Karen D.; Jamison, Jennifer L.

2009-01-01

The Maine Science Corps is a project sponsored by the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Graduate Teaching Fellows in K-12 Education (GK-12 ) program. Through this program, the University of Southern Maine's (USM) virology and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) research group provides high school teachers and students in rural areas with…

Predicting College Student Success: A Historical and Predictive Examination of High School Activities and Accomplishments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davey, Carla Mae

2010-01-01

According to generational theorists, the interests and experiences of incoming students have fluctuated over time, with Millennial students being more engaged and accomplished than their predecessors. This project explored data from 1974-2007 to determine the actual trends in engagement and accomplishments for three generations of students. Over…

Improving Reading Instruction through Research-Based Instructional Strategies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nash, Vickie Lynn

2010-01-01

The diverse population of students in grades 1- 3 at a suburban elementary school has created a challenge for teachers when differentiating instruction in reading. The purpose of this doctoral project study was to explore the lived experiences of these teachers as they have acquired research-based instructional strategies in reading that support…

London Education and Inclusion Project (LEIP): Exploring Negative and Null Effects of a Cluster-Randomised School-Intervention to Reduce School Exclusion—Findings from Protocol-Based Subgroup Analyses

PubMed Central

Obsuth, Ingrid; Cope, Aiden; Sutherland, Alex; Pilbeam, Liv; Murray, Aja Louise; Eisner, Manuel

2016-01-01

This paper presents subgroup analyses from the London Education and Inclusion Project (LEIP). LEIP was a cluster-randomised controlled trial of an intervention called Engage in Education-London (EiE-L) which aimed to reduce school exclusions in those at greatest risk of exclusion. Pupils in the control schools attended an hour-long employability seminar. Minimisation was used to randomly assign schools to treatment and control following baseline data collection. The study involved 36 schools (17 in treatment—373 pupils; 19 in control—369 pupils) with >28% free school meal eligibility across London and utilised on pupil self-reports, teacher reports as well as official records to assess the effectiveness of EiE-L. Due to multiple data sources, sample sizes varied according to analysis. Analyses of pre-specified subgroups revealed null and negative effects on school exclusion following the intervention. Our findings suggest that the design and implementation of EiE-L may have contributed to the negative outcomes for pupils in the treatment schools when compared to those in the control schools. These findings call into question the effectiveness of bolt-on short-term interventions with pupils, particularly those at the highest risk of school exclusion and when they are faced with multiple problems. This is especially pertinent given the possibility of negative outcomes. Trial Registration: Controlled Trials: ISRCTN23244695 PMID:27045953

Wildlife habitat management on college and university campuses

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bosci, Tierney; Warren, Paige S.; Harper, Rick W.; DeStefano, Stephen

2018-01-01

With the increasing involvement of higher education institutions in sustainability movements, it remains unclear to what extent college and university campuses address wildlife habitat. Many campuses encompass significant areas of green space with potential to support diverse wildlife taxa. However, sustainability rating systems generally emphasize efforts like recycling and energy conservation over green landscaping and grounds maintenance. We sought to examine the types of wildlife habitat projects occurring at schools across the United States and whether or not factors like school type (public or private), size (number of students), urban vs. rural setting, and funding played roles in the implementation of such initiatives. Using case studies compiled by the National Wildlife Federation’s Campus Ecology program, we documented wildlife habitat-related projects at 60 campuses. Ten management actions derived from nationwide guidelines were used to describe the projects carried out by these institutions, and we recorded data about cost, funding, and outreach and education methods. We explored potential relationships among management actions and with school characteristics. We extracted themes in project types, along with challenges and responses to those challenges. Native plant species selection and sustainable lawn maintenance and landscaping were the most common management actions among the 60 campuses. According to the case studies we examined, we found that factors like school type, size, and location did not affect the engagement of a campus in wildlife habitat initiatives, nor did they influence the project expenditures or funding received by a campus. Our results suggest that many wildlife habitat initiatives are feasible for higher education institutions and may be successfully implemented at relatively low costs through simple, but deliberate management actions.