Although participation in citizen science can improve cognitive and affective learning outcomes, many citizen science projects exhibit low retention rates. By gaining an understanding of forms of engagement, reasons for ongoing participation, and the impact of project design on participant motivation and engagement, we can help keep people…

Recent conceptualizations of science literacy, a key aim of contemporary science education, suggest defining it as a function of actual uses of science in daily life. We characterize expressions of science literacy in online authentic public discourse, using content analysis of a year's worth of widely-read Israeli online news site coverage of…

This article presents a study of a full-day, university-organized, online hackathon that aimed at designing solutions to problems raised in remote learning and teaching. The event, with about 80 participants, was carried out during the COVID-19 pandemic when many schools were closed and shifted to emergency remote teaching. The hackathon…

This study explores the intersection of gender, sociocultural background, and argumentative socioscientific writing. It focuses on Jewish Ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) men and women who were educated in gender-segregated schools separated from the public education (PE) system in Israel. We compared argumentative essays written by these two groups to…

Recent efforts in the science education community have highlighted the need to integrate research and theory from science communication research into more general science education scholarship. These synthesized research perspectives are relatively novel but serve an important need to better understand the impacts that the advent of rapidly…

Responsible research and innovation (RRI) stands at the center of several EU projects and represents a contemporary view of the connection between science and society. The goal of RRI is to create a shared understanding of the appropriate behaviors of governments, business and NGOs which are central to building trust and confidence of the public…

This article deals with a pioneering project currently being developed, namely, the Exhibition on Testing and Measurement. This interactive traveling exhibition will be presented in science museums in Israel, the United States, and other countries. It has been conceived as an innovative means of familiarizing the public with educational…

Given the current striving for "sustainability" and the corresponding paradigms shift in science, technology, R&D, environment perception, economy and politics; e.g., from unlimited growth-to-sustainable development, correction-to-prevention and passive consumption of "goods", culture and education--to active participation,…

Today's society is continuously coping with sustainability-related complex issues in the Science-Technology-Environment-Society (STES) interfaces. In those contexts, the need and relevance of the development of students' higher-order cognitive skills (HOCS) such as question-asking, critical-thinking, problem-solving and decision-making…

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Describes an activity in which students try to assess the problematics of modifying brackish saline water to grow high-quality crops. Students grow seedlings in solution culture over a two-week period to learn about the effects of salts, ions, and essential plant nutrients. (WRM)

Representative samples of 10-, 14-, and 17-year-old Israeli students, about 2,000 in each, responded to background questionnaires and a battery of tests and scales concerning their conceptions of the nature of science and views about the scientific enterprise. A comparison is made between Israeli, British, and U.S. students. (LZ)

Evaluated is a course for twelfth graders to demonstrate a variety of aspects of applied science. The basic structure and content of the course are described. The evaluation results including achievement, interest/difficulty with other courses, lateral transfer, and attitudes are reported. Examples of problems and application questionnaire are…

Study of (n=78) elementary science teachers involved in in-depth, longitudinal inservice programs found that appropriately designed training courses did induce a shift in Science-Technology-Society (STS) views, attitudes, and literacy. (25 references) (Author/MKR)

This study examined 12th-grade biology students' opinions and beliefs on the desirability of the use and/or development of various biotechnologies. Describes the development of and presents results from the three questionnaires employed in the study. Includes a listing of the 15 biotechnology topics investigated in the study. (ML)