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In this article, we discuss role-play as a pedagogical strategy to engage kindergarten and first-grade students in science and engineering. We present a five-part Mars colony lesson that we developed [...]

What motivates individuals to embark on graduate careers in physics and chemistry and how could these motivations impact future productivity? This study examines gender differences in such motivations and their ability to predict select future success outcomes (publications and grant funding) for physical scientists. The data were obtained as part of Project Crossover, a national study of physicists and chemists. Overall, motivations for males and females were similar. Regression results indicate that individuals who chose a graduate career in the physical sciences primarily because they enjoyed thinking about science or were encouraged by significant others were more productive in terms of primary/first-author publications and generation of grant funding than those who were motivated by factors such as academic performance or desire to impact society., It is of critical importance to U.S. scientific productivity and economic prospects to effectively recruit those students who have the potential to impact future scientific research and to provide these [...]

Byline: Robert H. Tai, Philip M. Sadler, and Joel J. Mintzes As college science teachers, our work is reflected in the achievement of our students. Their success in achieving course [...]

Undergraduate research experiences (UREs) have been endorsed as a powerful instructional tool in higher education; however, relatively little is known about the long-term effects of participation in these programs. The purpose of this study was to investigate the educational enhancements of URE participation from the perspective of practicing scientists in chemistry and physics. Data used in this analysis are from a national mixed-methods study, which sought to investigate the transition from graduate student to practicing scientist. Respondents (n = 4,300) provided extensive data regarding their demographic and educational backgrounds, motivations, research, and professional experiences. Initial findings indicate UREs afford students a multitude of long-term enhancements, with the largest being exposure to genuine research, building of confidence to conduct research, and development of laboratory techniques. Although research type was found to have a limited effect on reported outcomes, the findings of this study support the value of UREs structured in collaborative student-mentor models that are based on the individual., The role of undergraduate research in science education has been recognized by the National Science Foundation (NSF; 1989) as 'one of the most powerful instructional tools' for providing valued hands-on [...]

Recent research and public policy have indicated the need for increasing the physical science workforce through development of interest and engagement with informal and formal science, technology, engineering, and mathematics experiences. This study examines the association of family education and physical scientists’ informal experiences in science along with the association of informal family science experiences and early initial interest in science through multiple and logistic regression analyses. Research questions addressed are as follows: Controlling for demographic variables, do physical scientists parents’ level of education associate with participation in informal family science experiences? And which informal family science experiences are associated with physical scientists that report an initial personal interest in science by elementary school? These questions are analyzed with survey data from Project Crossover (N = 4,285), a sequential mixed-methods study that examines factors influencing entrance into physical science doctoral programs as well as the transition from graduate students to independent researcher. Results indicate that families with higher parental education are more likely to take part in informal science experiences and therefore more likely to provide positive encouragement for their children to develop an early interest in science. Detailed analyses show that the following family forms of informal science education: occupation, diversions and hobbies, and encouragement are associated with an early initial interest in science by elementary school.

Mentors play important roles in determining the working environment of out-of-school-time clubs. On robotics teams, they provide guidance in hopes that their protégés progress through an engineering process. This study examined how mentors on one robotics team who defined their mentoring style as ‘let the students do the work’ navigated the challenges of a ‘build season’ and participation in regional competitions. What were some of the challenges faced by mentors and students? How did they cope when students played the largest role in team and design decisions? The mentor–student interactions captured in the research showed mentors playing supporting roles while students took command of all aspects of building the robot. The students on the team found themselves self-directing, learning, and gaining confidence by doing, and having fun with like-minded peers.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the association between self-efficacy and maintenance of interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) resulting in completion of an undergraduate degree in a science related area. To pursue this analysis, the researchers surveyed 3,510 graduates from selective specialized science high schools within the United States as well as 603 same age participants in Talent Search programs who did not graduate from a specialized science high school. Using binary logistic regression analysis, the researchers identified individual-level variables associated with the decision by both groups of high-ability adolescents to earn an undergraduate degree in STEM. These variables include self-efficacy and stability of interest in science, mathematics, and/or technology, and suggest that both specialized science high schools and Talent Search programs both serve equally well as incubators of talent for adolescents with a proclivity for STEM related disciplines.

This study addresses the association between middle-school students' reported participation in science summer programmes and their reported expectation of a career in science and engineering. Data were collected on 1,580 students from eight middle schools in five states, applying an accelerated longitudinal design. Two consecutive cohorts were sampled over a two-year period time. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between students' participation in science summer camps and their career interest in science and engineering while initial career interest and background information were considered. Results indicate that students who participated in science summer camps before or in the first year of the study, compared to students who did not, are significantly more likely to report science and engineering as their future career field in the second year of the study. It appears that students who once participated in science summer camps were more likely to later report a career interest in the science and engineering fields.

In this exploratory study, eye movements of students with and without a learning disability in reading were recorded as they solved a set of third grade science problems. The recorded eye-gaze information included location of eye-gaze fixation on a computer screen, duration of fixation, the path of eye movement, and duration between fixations. The results revealed statistically significant differences in latent response time, question-zone fixation time, total fixations and correct responses.

This pilot study investigated the use of juxtaposed think aloud and eye-gaze tracking to understand a possible different understanding of think aloud process of participants. Four participants completed eight multiple-choice science questions while thinking aloud and having their eye-gazes tracked. Analysis of the data revealed that participants had behaviors such as fore telling of an eye movement, pauses in the think-aloud, different duration of the think-aloud, and the interaction between the think-aloud and associated eye movements. These findings suggest that juxtaposed think aloud and eye-gaze tracking may be a useful approach to furthering our understanding of students’ problem solving behaviors.

Using Add Health data, the authors provide evidence that some adolescents gave inaccurate and/or invalid responses on a self-administered questionnaire. Further analyses show that these adolescents were much more likely to report extreme levels on psychosocial and behavioral outcome variables. A distinction was made between inaccurate responders (e.g., inaccurate/false responses due to carelessness or confusion) and jokesters (e.g., intentional false responses). The findings show that the jokesters showed considerably more pronounced distorting effects on some psychosocial and behavioral outcome variables than the inaccurate responders did. The authors suggest that although this jokester effect may not seriously bias the results in studies that focus on large groups, for research focusing on some special subgroups (e.g., adoption groups, immigrant groups, disability groups), this effect could pose a serious challenge for the validity of research findings.