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Inspired by the positive impact of serious games on science understanding and motivated by personal interests in scientific outreach, we developed "Bacttle," an easy-to-play microbiology board game with adaptive difficulty, targeting any player from 7 years old onward. Bacttle addresses both the lay public and teachers for use in classrooms as a way of introducing microbiology concepts. The layout of the game and its mechanism are the result of multiple rounds of trial, feedback, and re-design. The final version consists of a deck of cards, a 3D-printed board, and tokens (with a paper-based alternative), with all digital content open source. Players in Bacttle take on the character of a bacterial species. The aim for each species is to proliferate under the environmental conditions of the board and the interactions with the board and with other players, which vary as the play evolves. Players start with a given number of lives that will increase or decrease based on the traits they play for different environmental scenarios. Such bacterial traits come in the form of cards that can be deployed strategically. To assess the impact of the game on microbiological knowledge, we scored differences in the understanding of general concepts before and after playing the game. We assessed a total of 169 visitors at two different university open-day science fairs. Players were asked to fill out a brief survey before and after the game with questions targeting conceptual advances. Results show that Bacttle increases general microbiology knowledge on players as young as 5 years old and with the highest impact on those who have no "a priori" microbiology comprehension.

The basics of organic chemistry nomenclature were introduced in a laboratory organized in a nonformal environment such as a science festival. The laboratory, divided into three distinct but interconnected activities, was aimed not only at secondary school students but also at lay people. The intent was to explain the importance of associating a name to a molecular structure and conversely and that this is relevant not only for scientists but also in everyday life in order to better understand the properties of commonly used molecules. The overall goal was to stimulate interest in chemical topics with the aid of fun and engaging activities.

The findings reported in this paper are based on surveys of U.S. high school students who registered and managed their science and engineering fair (SEF) projects through the online Scienteer website over the three years 2019/20, 2020/21, and 2021/22. Almost 2500 students completed surveys after finishing all their SEF competitions. We added a new question in 2019/20 to our on-going surveys asking the students whether their high school location was urban, suburban, or rural. We learned that overall, 74% of students participating in SEFs indicated that they were from suburban schools. Unexpectedly, very few SEF participants, less than 4%, indicated that they were from rural schools, even though national data show that more than 20% of high school students attend rural schools. Consistent with previous findings, Asian and Hispanic students indicated more successful SEF outcomes than Black and White students. However, whereas Asian students had the highest percentage of SEF participants from suburban vs. urban schools--81% vs. 18%, Hispanic students had the most balanced representation of participants from suburban vs. urban schools--55% vs. 39%. Differences in students' SEF experiences based on gender and ethnicity showed the same patterns regardless of school location. In the few items where we observed statistically significant (probability < 0.05) differences based on school location, students from suburban schools were marginally favored by only a few percentage points compared to students from urban schools. In conclusion, based on our surveys results most students participating in SEFs come from suburban schools, but students participating in SEFs and coming from urban schools have equivalent SEF experiences, and very few students participating in SEFs come from rural schools.

In this paper, we report ethnicity trends in student participation and experience in high school science and engineering fair (SEFs). SEF participation showed significant ethnic diversity. For survey students, the approximate distribution was Asian-32%; Black-11%; Hispanic-20%; White-33%; Other-3%. Comparing the SEF level at which students competed from school to district to region to state levels, we observed that black students made up only 4.5% of the students who participated in SEF beyond the school level, whereas students from other ethnic groups were more equally represented at all levels. The lower percentage of Black students resulted from a combination of lower overall participation in SEF and lower percentage of those students who did participate to advance to SEFs beyond the school level. Students who advanced to SEFs beyond the school level frequently received help from scientists, coaching for the interview, and were not required to participate in SEF. Black students received the least help from scientists, were least likely to receive coaching for the interview, and were most likely to be required to participate in SEF. They also were most likely to receive no help from parents, teachers, or scientists. Asian and Hispanic students (63.8% and 56.8%) indicated a greater interest in careers in science and engineering (S&E) compared to Black and White students (43.7% & 50.7%). In addition to career interest, the most important experiences that correlated with students who indicated that SEF increased their interests in S&E were getting help from the internet, books and magazines; getting help fine tuning the report; and overcoming obstacles by doing more background research, making a timeline, and perseverance. Black students did not report a positive effect of any of these strategies but experienced time pressure as more of an obstacle than did other students. Our findings identify a wide range of student experiences associated with positive SEF outcomes that could be enhanced for all students but especially Black students. More involvement of scientists in helping students who participate in SEFs would be particularly valuable.

Elementary science education calls on teachers to facilitate student learning of the content of science while they engage in the work of scientists. Additionally, recent national and state standards incorporate the practices of engineering into science education throughout grades K-12. However, many practicing teachers receive little to no professional development related to this shift in educational practice for the science classroom. To exasperate the issue, elementary teachers are generalists by nature without content or practical expertise in science and engineering content or practices. This study investigated how two fifth-grade teachers experienced co-facilitating an independent engineering fair with their students. The findings from this study can inform the ways in which teacher educators can support the incorporation of authentic engineering practice in the elementary classroom.

In recent years, the organizations of the science fairs at schools have been emphasized on. Science fairs are important since students' perceptions, attitudes, and achievements towards sciences are affected positively by the science fairs. It is important to carry out studies for science fairs and follow up this process in this context. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the 4006 coded TUBITAK science fairs and the problems experienced by sciences teachers during the preparation and implementation stages of the fair. For this purpose, the study was carried out within the framework of the Phenomonographic approach, which is one of the qualitative research methods. The study group consists of 20 sciences teachers who participated in the support program of TUBITAK science fairs coded 4006 in the 2018-2019 academic year in Istanbul. In the study, a semi-structured interview form was used as a data collection tool. When the interview form was examined; It was determined that the majority of the teachers participating in the study demonstrated positive thoughts towards 4006 TUBITAK science fairs. Teachers stated that students who participated in science fairs developed skills such as imagination, active participation, self-confidence, socialization, work awareness, and responsibility.

Science fairs have been around for decades, yet their critics question the extent to which parent involvement shapes students' investigations and creates inequitable experiences. Parent involvement in the science fair has been viewed as objectionable by parents themselves. However, research has shown that parent support can play a vital role in student learning. This article describes the results of research that explored the role of parents in middle school science fairs. Data from parent surveys and interviews, teacher interviews, and student focus groups were gathered from 21 schools across the U.S. (prepandemic) to examine patterns in parents' involvement in science fairs, including the roles parents play and whether involvement varied by parental characteristics. Findings show that parents' income and education affected their level and type of involvement, as did certain features of the science fair itself. Our findings have important implications for the structures of and equity in school-based science fairs.

As innovation has gained importance worldwide, educating students as individuals with innovative qualities has become imperative. Therefore, identifying students' perceptions of innovativeness in science lessons has become an issue of concern. The aim of this study was to determine secondary school students' perceptions of innovativeness. The research was conducted according to the survey method. 'Perceptions of Innovative Thinking Scale,' was revised, and necessary scale development steps were followed. Accordingly, secondary school students' general innovative thinking perceptions and the relationships of the scale subdimensions with the variables were determined with single and correlational survey models. After the responses that 831 students gave to the scale were analysed, it was determined that the students' perceptions of innovativeness were high and that gender excepted, grade level, achievement in the subject of science, participation in the TÜBITAK 4006 science fair, and the case of receiving programming training created significant differences in the subdimensions. The research findings were discussed according to the literature. It was recommended that STEM and programming be included in science courses and that teachers guide these processes.

Incorporating authentic engineering practices into educative experiences in elementary school has the potential to positively impact student consideration of STEM careers and increase student self-efficacy in later engineering study. Additionally, as students move from primary to secondary grades, their interest in STEM topics tends to decline. To that end, teachers and researchers at Chaparral Elementary facilitated an independent engineering fair project to engage students in authentic practices of engineering to solve a self-identified problem with a designed or improved solution. We investigated how students' perceptions of science and engineering were affected by their engagement in the practices of engineering through a two-week long independent engineering fair project. Data sources for the study include student surveys, researcher qualitative memos, informal student interviews, and student presentations. Our findings indicate that as students engaged with their independent engineering projects, their understanding of science as a tool for explaining the natural world improved and their perceptions of science and engineering and themselves as scientists and engineers was positively impacted.

We describe two established STEM camps that went virtual following the outbreak of COVID-19 during the summer of 2020. Our Summer Research Opportunity (SRO) camp engages middle school science fair winners in a forensic research opportunity, while The Immokalee Foundation (TIF) camp introduces middle school students from historically underrepresented groups to STEM topics. Home kits were carefully prepared and delivered to all participants to enhance their engagement with our faculty facilitators. Modifications to accommodate the virtual experience are discussed. Our program assessment used a retrospective pretest-posttest design delivering a modified STEM Semantics survey to measure interest in STEM topics and STEM careers. While the programming and the population was different for each camp, both programs achieved positive outcomes in the virtual environment enhancing participant interest in, excitement for, and importance of STEM topics and STEM careers. The local TV news even broadcasted a short video of one of the camps.

Founded in 2011, the Bay Area Science Festival (BASF), led by the Science and Health Education Partnership (SEP) at UC San Francisco, brings together academic, scientific, corporate and civic groups to develop and lead STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) events for all ages. From 2011-2019, the Festival hosted over 50 events each year, reaching tens of thousands of people. In 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Festival pivoted to a virtual format, offering nearly 150 virtual events over five days. Events included hands-on science experiments, STEM storytimes, live interviews with scientists, demonstrations, behind-the-scenes tours and more. Nearly 19,000 unique users from over 35 countries have logged 82,100 views of Festival events to date. In a post-Festival survey, attendees rated their experience similarly to previous years and over 60% of attendees are interested in attending virtual events even when in-person events are again possible. Like many aspects of our lives, the Bay Area Science Festival will look different in future years as a result of the pandemic: a hybrid Festival made up of virtual and in-person events. While there are great benefits to in-person events, we have also come to better understand the benefits of virtual ones.

Science fairs offer potential opportunities for students to learn first-hand about the practices of science. Over the past six years we have been carrying out voluntary and anonymous surveys with regional and national groups of high school and post high school students to learn about their high school science fair experiences regarding help received, obstacles encountered, and opinions about the value and impact of science fair. Understanding what students think about science fairs will help educators make science fairs more effective learning opportunities. In this paper, we focus on the findings with two national groups of post high school students--undergraduate research fellows (SURF students) who did research at UT Southwestern Medical Center during 2014-2019 and undergraduates biology students attending the 2019 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Science Education Alliance (SEA) summer symposium. About 25% of the students who completed surveys indicated that they had participated in high school science fair, but more than half attended high schools where science fairs were unavailable. Effectively, 6 out of every 10 students participated in science fair if available. Students who could have participated in high school science fair but chose not to do so identified "not enough time" and "coming up with their project idea" as major reasons why not. About half the SURF students favored requiring non-competitive science fair regardless whether they themselves had participated in science fair. On the other hand, less than 1 in 5 thought that competitive science fair should be required. "Introduction to the scientific process" and "general learning" were mentioned most frequently as the reasons to require non-competitive science fair; these reasons were mentioned rarely in connection with competitive science fair. Unlike the national cohort of high school students we surveyed previously, who mostly did science fair in 9th and 10th grades, SURF students participated in science fair throughout high school and were twice as likely as high school students to have carried out science fair more than once. In conclusion, our findings suggest that participation of the undergraduate bioscience majors in high school science fairs occurs far more frequently than recognized previously and provide insights into how these successful college students (gauged by the fact that they are doing summer science research) view science fairs. The findings emphasize further the importance of incentivizing rather than requiring science fair participation, especially in 9th and 10th grades, and the potential value of developing non-competitive science fairs.

Out-of-school time (OST) science research can be an important part of a student's decision to pursue a career in STEM. This article reports on the findings from a transformative phenomenological study of what secondary students experience while completing OST scientific research. The purpose of this study was to use an emic research lens to better understand the contexts and content of student experiences. We collected data from in-depth interviews with an ethnically diverse group of eight students who previously participated in science fairs, and five sponsors who supported science fair students. Major themes were found to be consistent through the student experiences, including opportunities to explore their own interests, deeply learn and apply science, and being supported by mentors and other professionals. The interplay of these themes seems to be critical to the experience as a whole. These findings hold implications for expanding out-of-school time science research opportunities for a more diverse group of learners.

Our objective was to examine if a co-curricular activity incorporated with assessment methods affected students' competence in a course. Natural Sciences (201) was chosen as a candidate course for this study. Students' grade breakdown was examined and analyzed using SPSS and MINITAB software over four academic years from Fall 2012-13 to Fall 2015-16. The number of failed male students was significantly lower (p<0.05) in Fall semesters when compared with the number of failed male students in Spring semesters. A further analysis was attempted as an approach to understand the reasons for the remarkable elevation of success in the Fall semesters. Hence, a questionnaire was given to 121 students and the data showed that the 'Science Communicators Program', metaphorically the Science Festival, played a key role in the students' achievements. The excellence of performance in the Natural Sciences course was detected during the Fall semesters. Thus, this research paper recommends the accommodation of off-campus co-curricular activities in other courses taught at the university.

This study aimed to reveal the experiences of science teachers conducting a science fair project for the first time. The research used quantitative data based on an online assessment survey for science fair projects. There are twenty-one questions (one of them is open-ended, the others are Likert type) developed by the researcher. The questionnaire was shared with science teachers on the science fair, 4006 science fairs, Tübitak science fairs themed social media pages between June and October 2018. 244 coordinator science teachers marked the survey. The data obtained from the questionnaire was presented in a tabular form by deducting % and frequencies. On the other hand, the last open-ended questions were analyzed by using content analysis. Based on these results, science teachers, who carried out the fair coordinator for the first time and to be able to do it again have some expectations of practicing positive experiences such as the students should gain scientific skills, the fair should be carried out in cooperation, the responsibilities were shared in a balanced way in the school, the school administrators should both support and help the process, the advisors should take ownership of the job, be appreciated by stakeholders with awards, etc. However, this first experience posed a sufficiently unexpected result at least for some of them.

This manuscript shares the implementation of an after-school literacy in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) program designed for middle grades students to increase their interest in science and mathematics learning. This program was conducted at our local Boys and Girls Club facilities where students learned about four science topics (renewable energy, water cycle, Newton's laws, and natural disasters). Students participated in culturally responsive reading and writing activities incorporating culturally relevant books, journal writing, hands-on projects, and a culminating science fair presentation on the topic of their choice. The authors determined that using literature, particularly culturally responsive picture books and graphic novels, to bridge the students' understanding of scientific and mathematical concepts was an important component of this program. The students' reactions to the program reflect the importance of offering a variety of avenues for students to represent their understanding, and they corroborate the significance of after-school programs to provide opportunities for diverse student populations to participate in culturally responsive programs to promote literacy and interest in STEM disciplines.

The Flipped Science Fair (FSF) transforms the traditional science fair format by having middle-school students judge the research of early career scientists. At the FSF, students learn about cutting-edge research in a small group setting, with opportunities to ask questions and participate in hands-on demonstrations. By placing the students in the role of the "judge," the event gives students the opportunity to engage with scientists interactively and with authority. The FSF also provides science communication training for the presenting scientists. Leading up to the event, the presenters attend three workshops focused on distilling their research message to a middle-school level. The FSF effectively promoted science engagement by middle school students who expressed increased interest in science after the event. Moreover, presenters reported an improvement in their science communication skills to a broad audience and increased confidence during public speaking. Our partnership with Pathways to Science, Yale's coordinated STEM outreach infrastructure, enables us to measure the FSF's effectiveness long term, since the Pathways program tracks student trajectories through their college education. The success of the FSF led to the organization of satellite and virtual events, which provided more opportunities for public engagement and gave presenters additional chances to share their research.

This study aims to determine the effect of using out-of-school learning environments in science teaching on motivation for learning science. It is a quasi-experimental study and it has been designed as pre- and posttest experimental study. The study was carried out with seventh grade students enrolled in a secondary school in the city centre of a metropolis of Turkey in 2018 within a period of 20 weeks. There were 28 students in the control group and 28 students in the experiment group. Students' motivation for science learning was evaluated using the Motivation Scale for Science Learning. The scale was used as pretest before the study, post-test at the end of the study, and follow-up test 12 weeks after the study. In the research, the application step was carried out by the science teacher and the researcher. In the control group, science teaching process was performed in accordance with the present science curriculum. Out-of-school learning environments related to the objectives of the current science teaching were used for the experiment group during the science teaching. The students in the experiment group visited out-of-school learning environments like nature trips, botanic parks, science fairs, science museums, natural history museums, the observatory, anatomy exhibitions, and energy parks for the subjects that were taught to them. It was found in the study that using out-of-school learning environments in science teaching had a significant effect in developing students' motivation for learning science. Based on this finding, formal education of science students can be supported with out-of-school learning environments.

The goal of our ongoing research is to identify strengths and weaknesses of high school level science fair and improvements that can help science educators make science fair a more effective, inclusive and equitable learning experience. In this paper, we confirm and extend our previous findings in several important ways. We added new questions to our anonymous and voluntary surveys to learn the extent to which students had an interest in science or engineering careers and if science fair participation increased their interest in science or engineering. And we surveyed a national rather than regional high school student group by incorporating our survey into the Scienteer online portal now used by Texas and some other states for science fair registration, parental consent, and project management. We learned that about [approximately]60% of the more than 300 students in the national cohorts completing surveys in 2017 and 2018 said that they were interested in a career in science or engineering, and [approximately]60% said that participating in science fair increased their interest in science or engineering. About two-thirds of the students were required to participate in science fair, and that requirement reduced the frequency of students who said that science fair increased their interest. In the worst case, [approximately]10% of the students who said that they were not interested in a career in science or engineering and who were required to participate in science fair engaged in research misconduct (i.e., plagiarism and making up their results). Students' positive comments about competition in science fair focused on the competition incentive, whereas their positive comments about science fair that was non-competitive focused on learning about the scientific process and learning in general. We discuss the findings in the context of National Science Teaching Association guidance about voluntary science fair participation and begin to identify features of science fair practice consistent with increased student interest in the sciences or engineering.

Background: STEM education and research are increasingly emphasized by governments worldwide to foster national development and productivity, economic competitiveness and societal wellbeing. There is no exception in Hong Kong, with its desire to promote STEM education and to strengthen Innovation and Technology development in the future. Purpose: This study aimed to explore the STEM activities employed in primary students' STEM projects under the theme 'Living in a Smart City', and to identify what and how computation technologies were generally used and to examine the differences of computation technology used among project types and award levels. Sample: 168 project reports were collected from a STEM Fair with the following areas of content: the origins of the inquiry idea; scientific/STEM theories employed; inquiry process and testing methods implemented; findings and results obtained; difficulties encountered; and students' reflections. Design and methods: Content analysis on project reports and students' reflections was performed. The qualitative data were coded for statistical analysis, to explore the differences in the association of the STEM activities in the projects. Analyses were supported by students' reflections in the reports to explore students' computation experiences. Results: Most students worked on new device projects, and projects producing new devices were more likely to integrate technological activities. On the whole, science, engineering and mathematics activities complemented each other well, with less evidence of integration with respect to technology activities. Students gained valuable knowledge and got a sense of achievement from the STEM project work. Conclusion: It is encouraging to find that students were capable of integrating STEM activities to different extents into STEM projects. It is noticed that more emphasis should be laid on promoting the infusion of computation technological activities. More attention should also be paid on providing computation technique assistance or logical explanation to students.

High school science fairs provide an exceptional opportunity for students to gain experience with scientific research, and participation has positive outcomes with respect to chosen careers in the sciences. However, it can be challenging to engage high school students in university-level research outside of formal internship programs. Here, we describe an experimental pipeline for a computational structural biology project that engages high school students. Students are involved at every step of the investigation and utilize freely available software to dock inhibitors onto protein homologues, and then analyze the resulting complexes. Bacterial sortases are transpeptidases on the cell surface of Gram-positive bacteria and are a potential target for the development of antibiotics. Students modeled inhibitors bound to sortases from several organisms, asking questions about affinity and selectivity. Their project was ranked in the top 10% at both regional and state science fairs. This project design is easily adaptable to countless other protein systems and provides a pipeline for collaborative high school student/university professor inquiry.

The aim of this study is to review the opinions of principals and teachers on TUBITAK-4006 (Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey) science fairs which are organized in about 10.000 schools every year in Turkey. This study is a qualitative research and it is formed with phenomenological design. The study group is determined with criterion sampling method, and it comprises 10 teachers and 10 school administrators who have participated in TUBITAK-4006 science project fairs. The data are collected with a semi-structured interview form, and the interviews are carried out face to face. The data collected have been evaluated using content analysis method. As a result of the analysis, the viewpoints of the school administrators and teachers are presented in two themes and seven categories. For the both participant groups, the themes are analysed by categorizing them as the effects on teachers, the effects on students and parents. Besides, the suggestions category is indicated under one single title. According to the findings, all the participants stated that TUBITAK-4006 science project fairs are useful if carried out considering their purposes while they cause more harm when their objectives are disregarded.

Although science fairs have been an institution of science education for decades in schools across the United States, little is understood about how students' science fair experiences vary and how these variations relate to student learning. Research on this topic is particularly imperative as new science standards increase emphasis on the teaching of science and engineering practices. Science fairs represent a potential opportunity to engage students in these practices, but may not be effective in supporting the learning of all students. As a first step in a programmatic research agenda, this study employs a nationally representative survey of middle schools to describe the most commonly conducted, broad approaches to middle school science fairs. Using a framework based on teacher support for inquiry, three types of science fairs emerged: mandatory fairs with high levels of teacher support for students' project work, mandatory fairs with low levels of teacher support, and voluntary fairs. Mandatory fairs with limited teacher support were more common in schools with a high proportion of African American students and high poverty, but were also more likely to emphasize goals related to learning. Implications for the effectiveness and equity of science fairs are discussed.

Recent trends show the number of students studying geography in upper secondary school is declining. Among the reasons identified is that geography is perceived as a very tedious and difficult subject to study. With the rapid development of technology in the twenty-first century, the use of multi-media tools and technologies in education have given a new dimension to the process of teaching and learning. One of the most widely used technological tool is robots. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the perceptions of high school students who are using minimalist robotic games for teaching and learning activities in Geography. Qualitative research methods were used to collect the research data. In total there are 15 groups of students participating in the Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education Carnival; each group consists of three to six members who have created a minimalist robot game for the subject of Science, Mathematics and Social Sciences. However, there are only two groups of students consisting of two male and four female students who created games for Geography. Therefore, a purposive sampling method was used to select students from these two groups. Six students who participated in the development of a minimalist robotic game for Geography in the STEM education carnival were selected and interviewed. Semi-structured interviews were conducted at the end of the carnival. The data analysis of the interview shows five out of six students had a very positive perception of using minimalist robotics in Geography education. In addition, this study also showed that the use of minimalist robotics in the teaching and learning of Geography also changed the interest and attitudes of students towards learning Geography. The application of minimalist robotics also enhances students' intrinsic motivation to study Geography. implications of this study suggest that minimalist robotics games are an alternative technology teacher can integrate into teaching and learning activities for Geography in schools to enhance students' interest in learning about this subject.

Using voluntary and anonymous surveys, we have collected answers from more than 700 high school students about the types and sources of help they received with their science and engineering fair projects, the obstacles they encountered, the strategies they used to overcome obstacles, and the impact of science fairs on their interest in science and engineering. Based on our research, we suggest that incentivizing voluntary student participation and offering students the choice of science fair formats--both noncompetitive and competitive- would best achieve the broad educational aims of science and engineering fairs to aid in the development of the scientific leaders of the next generation and at the same time foster a better understanding of science among its laymen.

This mixed methods research explored the autonomous experiences of South African school students when participating in a science fair. A prominent global goal for school science education is for students to partake in scientific inquiry in order to acquire understanding of science concepts, the processes and skills of science, and the nature of science. This places a demand on teachers as it requires a change in pedagogy from a teacher-centred to a student-centred approach. Student autonomy, has been described as both a rationale for and a characteristic of students doing scientific inquiry. In this research, a quantitative survey questionnaire was administered to 50 students participating in a science fair. The questionnaire sought to establish the autonomy level of students when doing their investigative inquiry projects and the degree of support they received. Thereafter, 5 students were interviewed to elaborate upon their responses and to describe in detail their experiences of doing the projects. The findings of this study revealed that the students enjoyed optimal autonomy and perceived their experience as being empowering and stimulating. It is also suggested that science fairs can provide an opportunity for students to enjoy autonomy in choosing their own topic for inquiry, in designing the inquiry, in doing the inquiry, and arriving at their own conclusions. This autonomy can enable students to experience authentic inquiry, show their creativity and demonstrate critical thinking skills.

Inquiry-based science instruction (IBSI) has the potential to contribute to social justice through widening participation and success in science. However, teachers struggle to implement IBSI because of contextual factors. The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of agency as a framework for understanding teachers' decision-making, by asking the question: what was the agency of six science teachers in their social-justice aspirations and use of IBSI? An agency framework recognizes that teachers' decisions are informed by their internal conversations at the intersection of personal aspects (their history, repertoire, and aspirations) with the cultural and structural constraints and resources of their contexts. However, research on IBSI has focussed on teachers' personal aspects or their perceptions of contextual factors. The sample had learnt IBSI through service learning in the context of a science fair. From teacher interviews, it emerged that these teachers had strong social-justice aspirations to serve disadvantaged students. The teachers linked their social-justice aspirations to their choice of school rather than their use of IBSI. The teachers at better-resourced schools initiated participation in science fairs at their schools, whilst the rest judged that science fairs were not appropriate for their students. The results suggest that, rather than prescribing particular pedagogies, teacher education programmes should aim to increase teachers' pedagogical repertoires, in order to enrich their agency in whatever contexts they teach.

Scientific epistemological beliefs reveal the philosophical understanding of the science subjects about the meaning, producing and sharing processes of scientific knowledge. It is important to use informal environments, museums, science centers, natural parks, aquariums, all kinds of natural area, during science teaching, because students interact with nature and natural phenomena by acting like scientists. Moreover, teachers can easily follow whether students use scientific processes and try to find solutions to problems by using these processes. One of the informal learning environments is Science Fairs which are public exhibitions where students expose their projects to visitors. Students develop their research skills, critical thinking skills and positive attitudes toward science during the science fair. The study was conducted to examine the changes in the scientific epistemological beliefs of adults participating in the 12 science fairs held on different days in the province of Bornova in Izmir and their views on the science fair as informal teaching environment. The sampling group consisted of 92 individuals (69 female, 23 male) selected from the people visited to science fair by random sampling method. The results were analyzed using quantitative and qualitative data collection tools. The research design is a single group pretest - posttest design. The Scientific Epistemological Beliefs Scale, consisting of 30 items of 5 Likert type, was applied to participants. Whether or not there was a statistically significant difference in the opinions before and after the Science Fair was analyzed with the SPSS package program. Then 2 people from each science fair selected randomly from 12 science fairs for interview. 4 adults changed their mind to interview. Twenty were interviewed with 4 questions that the researcher prepared and developed via 3 different expert opinions. The results were evaluated using descriptive analysis. According to the results, there was no statistically significant difference in the mean of pre-test and post-test scores of the participants. Participants have a strong positivist science perspective. There was no statistically significant change in scientific epistemological beliefs of the participants after the Science Fair. On the other hand, it has been seen that the changes in the conclusions of the postmodern science, such as the interchangeability of scientific knowledge and the subjectivity of science.

To help promote a culture of innovation, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Telecommunication of Costa Rica established a national executive decree requiring all public schools in the country participate in the National Program of Science and Technology Fairs (NPSTF). This case study examines the role of five elementary school principals in Costa Rica in implementing and preparing their schools for the NPSTF initiative. Principals played three significant roles: the motivator of teachers and students; acquirer of NPSTF resources; and the organizer of NPSTF committees and coalitions to help train and finance the initiative. It is recommended the Ministry of Education establish a budget solely dedicated to support infrastructure and professional development for NPSTF while aligning goals with all stakeholders

The goal of our research is to identify strengths and weaknesses of high school level science fair and improvements that might enhance learning outcomes based on empirical assessment of student experiences. We use the web-based data collection program REDCap to implement anonymous and voluntary surveys about science fair experiences with two independent groups--high school students who recently competed in the Dallas Regional Science and Engineering Fair and post high school students (undergraduates, 1st year medical students, and 1st year biomedical graduate students) on STEM education tracks doing research at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Herein, we report quantitative and qualitative data showing student opinions about the value of science fair. Few students in any group thought that competitive science fair (C-SF) should be required. The most common reasons given for not requiring C-SF were no enjoyment and no interest in competing. On the other hand, student attitudes towards requiring non-competitive science fair (NC-SF) were nuanced and ranged as high as 91%, increasing with student maturation, science fair experience, and STEM track. The most common reasons given for requiring NC-SF were learning scientific thinking skills and research skills. Students opposed to requiring NC-SF most frequently mentioned no enjoyment and no interest in science. Several student comments critical of the fairness of science fair led us to determine possible differences in science fair experiences depending on whether or not students received help from scientists. Those who received help from scientists had an easier time getting their research idea, more access to articles in books and magazines, and less difficulty getting resources. We discuss the idea that two different types of science fairs--competitive science fair with a performance goal orientation and non-competitive science fair with a mastery goal orientation--might be required to promote the broad goal of educating all students about science and engineering.

In this essay from a teacher in Argentina, Valeria Vincent describes how she employed Multiple Literacies in Project-based Learning (MLPBL) (Krajcik, Palincsar, and Miller 2015). ML-PBL, an open education free resource, has three design principles that support teacher and student learning and satisfaction. ML-PBL builds on teacher ingenuity and adaptation (Miller, Severance, and Krajcik 2021; Miller et al. 2021) rather than prescription through contexts where both students and teachers play, create, and learn (Charara, Miller, and Krajcik 2021). Some of the challenges included finding materials that can work for designing investigations and sharing artifacts. For example, classroom and recycled materials are different in Argentina. In addition, the "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS) are more comprehensive than the science standards of Argentina. The NGSS are foundational to ML-PBL, as three-dimensional standards expand learning opportunities (Ford 2015; Severance 2016).

Science and Engineering (S&E) fairs are a valuable educational activity and are believed to increase students' engagement and learning in science and engineering. However, due to differences in resources, many schools do not implement fairs to achieve these benefits for their students. This study reports the findings of a program intended to increase the participation of students from low-achieving and under-resourced schools in a regional fair program that feeds into the international fair competition. We found that the number of schools and projects participating in our regional fair increased dramatically since the start of the program. Teachers had mostly positive expectations for the project and expressed buy-in for the effort the project would take. They recruited a diverse pool of students to participate in the school fairs. Quasi-experimental methods allowed us to explore the impact of completing S&E fairs on student gains on science self-efficacy, interest and value perceptions. Controlling for pre-existing differences in these attitudes, we found that students not completing projects showed declines in their science attitudes during the year. Students who completed projects maintained similar attitudes, while those whose projects advanced to the regional fair had substantial gains on all three variables. It is unknown whether this gain can be attributed to the experience of engaging with a quality project, from being the kind of student who completes a quality project, or some other factor. Future research with greater experimental control could address these questions.

In Turkey, science festivals have become more widespread and have begun to be organized especially in secondary schools. The aim of this research was to determine and compare the science festival attitudes of students participating as observers in 4006 TUBITAK science fairs organized at schools. In the research, descriptive survey was employed. The sample of the research consisted of 531 (268 female, 263 male) secondary school students of four different schools in different provinces of Turkey. Data were collected with the students of two schools in Elazig, a school in Malatya and a school in Diyarbakir, using science festival attitude scale. Data were analyzed by using the one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results show that students participating in the science fairs have moderate attitude to science festivals. The attitudes of the different school students to science festivals were significantly different. This situation was interpreted as the fact that the workshops taking place at the fairs were varied and different approaches of the teachers and administrators in charge. The attitudes of the students can be raised from moderate to high with the increase of the number of fairs in which students exhibit their projects without competition environment.

This study was conducted to determine the aims and learning attainments of secondary school and high school students participating in science festivals. A case study approach which is one of the qualitative research methods was used in the research. This study was carried out in the science festival held in Elazig, Turkey. The sampling consists of 39 students; 19 secondary school students and 20 high school students were selected on a voluntary basis from the secondary and high school students who were visitors of science festival. In the study, semi-structured interview form and demographic information form were used as data collection tool. Data were analyzed with content analysis. In this study, the aim of students participating in science festivals was acquiring new information, a sense of curiosity, applying the knowledge they acquire in everyday life, entering science competitions with new projects they develop from fresh ideas, and having an interest in science. Students express their learning attainments as acquiring new information, expanding their perspectives, learning about the uses of technology, using the information in daily life and exhibiting a positive attitude toward knowledge and nature.

Research misconduct has become an important matter of concern in the scientific community. The extent to which such behavior occurs early in science education has received little attention. In the current study, using the web-based data collection program REDCap, we obtained responses to an anonymous and voluntary survey about science fair from 65 high school students who recently competed in the Dallas Regional Science and Engineering Fair and from 237 STEM-track, post-high school students (undergraduates, 1st year medical students, and 1st year biomedical graduate students) doing research at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Of the post-high school students, 24% had competed in science fair during their high school education. Science fair experience was similar overall for the local cohort of Dallas regional students and the more diverse state/national cohort of post-high school students. Only one student out of 122 reported research misconduct, in his case making up the data. Unexpectedly, post-high school students who did not participate in science fair anticipated that carrying out science fair would be much more difficult than actually was the case, and 22% of the post-high school students anticipated that science fair participants would resort to research misconduct to overcome obstacles. No gender-based differences between students' science fair experiences or expectations were evident.

Using social cultural career theory (SCCT) linked with tenets of equity, we examined the role of participation in science and engineering fairs (SEFs) on youth's science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) educational and career choices. We analyzed data for evidence of the SCCT constructs of self-efficacy, interest, and learning experiences using constructs of Native American (NA), culturally responsive, and rural equitable pedagogies. Qualitative data included semi-structured interviews, focus groups, practice presentations of SEF prtojects, classroom observations, and mentoring students. Quantitative data consisted of two surveys: STEM Semantics Survey and the Motivation Strategies for Learning Questionnaire. Qualitative results reveal how the teacher built self-efficacy using equitable pedagogy by putting the students in control of their projects, created a network of experts in various science disciplines, developed a culture of mentorship that promoted belonging, and removed barriers for student participation by blending academics with culture for NA and rural mixed socioeconomic status students. She evoked asset-based pedagogies that inspired students to further their education and go into STEM fields. Quantitative findings reveal former student's orientation to participation in science fair activities related to their high interests, perceptions of a challenge, curiosity, and emerging mastery, where students demonstrated high dispositions in science and engineering and self-identified as STEM people. Implications include the use of SCCT, linked with equitable pedagogies to understand interest in STEM fields, mentoring, tapping into the expertise of local professionals to support development of projects, and navigating cultural barriers to provide access for underrepresented youth.

Science fairs have a long history in the United States and internationally. Their implementation varies greatly (Kook et al, 2020), yet few empirical studies have examined the outcomes of these experiences for student learning. Research indicates that authentic scientific inquiry that focus on students' agency in investigations can contribute to students learning (e.g., Houseal, Abd-El-Khalick, and Destefano, 2014). However, teachers have been challenged with implementing inquiry-based investigations (e.g., Anderson, 2007; Harris & Rooks, 2010). As new science standards increase the demand for science investigations in classrooms that afford students opportunities to engage with science and engineering practices (SEPs; NGSS Lead States, 2013), research is needed to understand the role of teachers and how these experiences can contribute to student learning. In this article, we describe the results of a national study that included data from 21 middle school science fairs. Data included observations of 20 science fairs, pre and postscience fair assessment data from 343 sixth grade students, and interviews or focus groups with 131 students, 122 teachers, 16 administrators, and 29 science fair judges. These data enabled the exploration of features of science fairs, including opportunities for students to engage in SEPs and the teachers support for SEPs through the science fair investigations. Findings reveal that science fair implementation varies considerably across schools. HLM analysis indicates that teachers' support for critiquing practices, particularly when it included students' engagement in evaluating the work of their peers, are positively associated with students understandings of SEPs. Qualitative findings highlight the ways in which teachers structured students' experiences and supported their enactment of SEPs as they conducted their science fair investigations.

Although residues and resource shortages are major problems of modern living, these topics are not usually properly covered in university curricula. To tackle this situation, we have guided undergraduate students through the design of a group of active learning activities, to demonstrate the science behind separation and recycling: trash separation and recycling of paper, plastic, oil, and metals (lithium and cobalt available in mobile phone batteries). With a better understanding of the underlying scientific processes and fundamentals, undergraduate students were engaged to undertake and develop adequate physicochemical procedures for waste separation and recycling. A selection of the activities was presented at a science and technology fair at the University of the Balearic Islands as outreach activities that enrolled undergraduate students acting as teachers for fair visitors. The results showed a good engagement rate of the involved undergraduates as well as a stimulated visitors' interest.

Little is known about the impact of science fair participation on student science inquiry learning. Furthermore, there is only a small research base relating to science fair participation and student attitudes toward science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers and coursework. In this study, 41 seventh-grade science fair contestants from three schools participated in focus group sessions to qualitatively assess their interest in STEM careers and coursework and their understanding of science inquiry. Science fair participation increased student understanding of science inquiry, and positively influenced the attitudes of the majority of students in the study toward STEM courses and careers. The strengths of the science fair programs were a focus on science inquiry as well as student choice in choosing and carrying out projects. However, for a subgroup of students, the stress level they experienced as they worked on their projects resulted in negative attitudes toward STEM fields. The length and complexity of the science fair process was of concern for many students, but especially so for this sub-group. It is possible that an undertaking of the length and complexity of a typical science fair project is not appropriate for all students in this age group. Alternatives for students include carrying out several shorter projects, rather than one large project, or working with partners or small groups. These strategies could serve the larger goals of increasing student science inquiry understanding and increasing positive student attitudes toward STEM fields in a more age-appropriate manner.

In his book "Letters to a Young Scientist," renowned biologist Edward O. Wilson recounted his own coming-of-age story as a scientist, and distilled the motivating qualities of science down to curiosity and creativity. Individuals become scientists when they are curious about a phenomenon in the world around them and ask about the real nature of that phenomenon: What are its origins, its causes, or its consequences? Scientists then employ some creativity to answer their questions through a systematic testing of hypotheses (the scientific method), and form some conclusion based on their findings. Wilson described the broad field of science as a "culture of illuminations dedicated to the most effective way ever conceived of acquiring factual knowledge." His description points to another critical aspect in becoming a scientist: not only acquiring some knowledge but contributing that knowledge to a shared culture and community. Scientists engage with others in their field through collaborations, presentations, and publication, thereby strengthening their own findings and assessing information within a broader context of knowledge. While public school students should receive more resources and guidance to do science in schools, motivated students have typically had very limited avenues to experience being a scientist--that is, by sharing their research with the larger scientific community. "The Journal of Emerging Investigators" ("JEI") was established to address this challenge. A nonprofit online science publication exclusively for middle and high school students, "JEI" (www. emerginginvestigators.org) gives students an opportunity to submit original research, receive feedback on their work from expert scientists, and have their work published.

Rapid changes and developments in education have also changed the content and the scope of the activities carried out in schools. Learning and teaching through experiencing and practicing process carried out after the transition to the constructivist approach in recent years has started and expedited the performance of new activities in several institutions and organizations including both Ministry of National Education and TUBITAK, as the leading, in Turkey. Holding science fests during the educational process has led the observation of the developments in students' cognitive academic competence and psycho-motor levels and encouragement of students' participation into the activities especially with TUBITAK's starting to support. This research especially aimed to determine the situations of the students on project-based thinking skills related to science fests and science fest process supported by TUBITAK within the scope of the history lesson in recent years. The answer was sought to the question of "Do the science fests held in high school history lessons affect project-based thinking of the students?" The research was a descriptive study revealing the contribution of science fests activities performed in history lessons upon the project-based learning of high school students. Qualitative and quantitative data were obtained in the research. This study was limited with 66 participants from the 10th and 11th grade of three different high schools in central districts of Mersin province in 2014-2015 academic year. According to the data obtained at the end of the study, science fests were noticed to provide a clear contribution. In project-based studies, the students were determined to express themselves more easily and get rid of memorizing. Furthermore, it was also noted that visual materials, tools and equipment and three-dimensional materials were expected to be exhibited in science fests. In this study, it was determined that the projects students carried out within the scope of science fests held in the high school history lessons had effect upon the learning awareness of the students.

This article presents findings from a secondary study of science capital within the context of U.S. science festivals. Drawing on attendee survey data from eleven science festivals across the United States (n = 1,645) and evaluation surveys from a statewide school-based festival program (n = 2,320), we explore the concept of science capital (i.e. science-related cultural capital, science-related social capital, and science-related behavior and practices) within science festival programs. Using linear regression, we utilize attendee demographics and event characteristics to predict shifts in science capital. Our results indicate that members of STEM minority groups (i.e. girls and women; Black/African Americans, Latino/Hispanic/Latinx, Native Americans, Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders) report greater shifts in science capital scores. Time at event and scientist interactions at the event are also associated with greater shifts in scientific cultural capital. We interpret these findings in light of Philip and Azevedo's work (2017) on out-of-school science learning and equity. As a concept, science capital offers a useful lens through which to view informal science learning, science communication, and how public science events (e.g. science festivals) play an important role in contributing to the local STEM learning ecosystem.

High school students need more comprehensive scientific inquiry learning instruction through research ethics education. Yet, this topic is often overlooked in the science curriculum. To collect basic data to guide research ethics education for high school students, this study documents the kinds of research misconduct students commit, the contexts in which they do so, and the factors that influence such misconduct. Data were collected via questionnaires from 223 gifted high school students at science academies in Korea. The results showed that high school students engaged in the most research misconduct in experiment-based classes rather than in mentorship programmes and science fair competitions. The largest number of data fabrication and falsification instances were seen in experiment-based classes. A regression analysis on the effect of influencing factors on each research misconduct type showed that falsification and plagiarism can be reduced by increasing education and regulation and lowering desire and neglect, whereas duplicate publications can be reduced by decreasing desire and neglect levels.

Scientists are key actors in public engagement activities, such as science festivals. This study sought to explore factors that encouraged and/or deterred scientists' participation in Scifest Africa, the flagship science festival in South Africa. A self-administered, online survey was completed by 40 scientists who participated in this science festival in 2019. The survey was comprised of a mix of closed- and open-ended questions, and responses were processed statistically and thematically. The results showed that objectives of informing, exciting and inspiring the public were key motivators, while time constraints and concerns over the efficacy of engagement were prominent deterrents. Factors linked to the legacy of apartheid in South Africa and current societal challenges, inspired a strong moral obligation amongst most scientists to give something back to society through inclusive platforms such as the Scifest. In particular, for black African and/or female scientists, being role models was a key motivating factor. Our findings illustrate the importance of context-specific factors concerning motivators for public engagement. Understanding why scientists participate in public engagement events, is crucial for festival organisers, who rely on scientists as volunteers. These insights could also help to advance public engagement with science, which features prominently in government policy frameworks.

Virtual reality applications turn abstract concepts into experienceable phenomena and present exciting opportunities to transform science education and public outreach practices. While research has started to look into the affordances of virtual reality (VR) in the formal science education context, the potential of these technologies to enhance public engagement with science is largely unexplored. To improve the way that VR may be used in informal learning and public outreach contexts, the purpose of our study was to undertake evidence-based investigations that shed light onto the relationship between VR and public engagement. Aiming to identify and develop the benefits of VR technologies, we propose a conceptual framework for engagement with VR at a science festival that comprises four aspects of participant activity: "immersion," "facilitation," "collaboration," and "visualisation." This framework guided the research design of our exploratory case study of one VR tour at a science festival. Data included visitor surveys, video recordings, VR screen captures, and focus group interviews with outreach and science professionals. Our findings reveal important ways that VR supports visitor engagement at a science festival. More generally, these findings and our framework contribute to the ongoing efforts of engaging the public with science in more diverse informal learning contexts.