People are regularly confronted with environmental and science-related issues presented to them in newspapers, on television, or even in their own doctor's office. Often the information they use to inform their decisions on matters of science may be ambiguous and contradictory. This article presents an activity that investigates how students deal…

Many university science outreach programs involve presentations of research projects to high school students. These presentations often focus more on exciting scientific content and less on fostering direct relationships between high school students and scientists. Such interactions are important for sustaining student interest in science…

In the social sciences, public access to data is now the norm at a variety of federal agencies, such as the National Science Foundation. This openness dramatically expanded the quality of research that social scientists can pursue, and it discourages unscrupulous practices such as inventing or manipulating data. It also means, essentially, that…

The purpose of this research was to examine the consistency between students' practical and formal understandings of scientific epistemologies (also known as nature of science (NOS) understandings) in the context of a research apprenticeship program. Six high school student participants of a residential summer research apprenticeship program at a…

"Air Toxics Under the Big Sky" is an environmental science outreach/education program that incorporates the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) 8 Practices with the goal of promoting knowledge and understanding of authentic scientific research in high school classrooms through air quality research. This research explored: (1)…

This study describes an investigation of a research apprenticeship program that we developed for diverse high-school students often underrepresented in similar programs and in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) professions. Through the apprenticeship program, students spent 2 weeks in the summer engaged in biofuels-related research…

This paper presents, for further discussion, a review of the scientific literature produced internationally on the use of Social Network Sites (SNS) in different levels of education and settings. A total of 62 articles published in international scientific journals with peer review have been analysed. The main objective of this paper is to discuss…

BASE (Broadening Access to Science Education) Camp is a hands-on, two-week residential summer science experience on the Fairfield University campus in Fairfield CT, USA. The annual program targets 24 young women who attend high school in the neighboring city of Bridgeport, CT, the most economically depressed city in CT. The camp, which is free to…

A number of previous studies have shown that there is a widespread view among young people that science and religion are opposed. In this paper, we suggest that it requires a significant level of what can be termed "epistemic insight" to access the idea that some people see science and religion as compatible while others do not. To…

This study explores in-service elementary and secondary science teachers' conceptions of the Nature of Scientific Inquiry and the influence of participation in two different Research Experience for Teacher (RET) programs had on these conceptions. Participant teachers attended one of two six week RET programs in which they worked with scientists to…

This study explored how eight widely used secondary science textbooks described scientific methodology and to what degree the textbooks' examples and investigations were consistent with this description. Data consisted of all text from student and teacher editions that referred to scientific methodology and all investigations. Analysis used an…

"Science and Engineering Indicators" ("Indicators") is a biennial congressionally mandated report that provides high-quality quantitative information on the U.S. and international science and engineering enterprise. The report employs a variety of presentation styles--such as narrative text, data tables and figures--to make the…

Preconceptions are a crucial factor in the educational learning process. Hence, the investigation of preconceptions is important for learning and teaching in the field of geography. This study examines the preconceptions of 12- and 13-year-old students, regarding the major environmental problem of "desertification." The students'…

Education, science, and technology disciplines are closely and extensively connected in all formats and levels. The outbreak of COVID-19 has further squeezed this interconnection where the delivery of education in different scientific fields of studies at all education levels is almost impossible without the presence of technology. Today, there is…

Reading is critical for scientific thinking. It is a foundation for many of the skills in which scientists and engineers must be proficient, such as conducting research, developing informed conjectures, and engaging in reasoned argument (NRC 2012). Yet, students frequently find science reading difficult, time-consuming, and frustrating. Strategies…