This article is organized around describing a pair of resources developed to support student and teacher use of the instructional model Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning (CER) in the classroom and incorporate writing as a meaningful part of their science instruction. Project LISTO developed and put the Scaffolding Scientific Explanations (SSE)…

Science communication is increasing through the use of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) or drones. Within the Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture at Stephen F. Austin State University (SFASU), UASs such as the DJI Phantom 4 Pro and Mavic Mini2 drones were used by students and faculty to study mistletoe, crepemyrtle and fire ants and…

Moonshot is the redesign of NASA's High School Aerospace Scholars (HAS), which traditionally engaged Texas high school juniors in a 16-week online course for credit and an intense week-long onsite experience working in teams with experts at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC). Due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), our challenge was to design,…

Striking differences between physics and biology have important implications for interdisciplinary science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. The author is a physicist with interdisciplinary connections. The research group in which he works, the Center for Nonlinear Dynamics at the University of Texas at Austin, is…

To address the low priority given to university-level outreach, the authors created an outreach program that makes it easy for scientists to connect with the public, while at the same time providing effective transfer of scientific research results to the public and the K-12 community. The result is a program called the Hot Science--Cool Talks…

Obtaining more federal funds is the expressed research goal in "Closing the Gaps by 2015." It states: By 2015, increase the level of federal science and engineering research and development obligations to Texas institutions to 6.5 percent of obligations to higher education institutions across the nation. In 2006, Texas institutions of…

The International Polar Year-Research and Educational Opportunities in Antarctica for Minorities (IPY-ROAM) program was designed to increase minority participation in polar science by immersing participants in an academic program that included a trip to Antarctica. The IPY-ROAM program was focused on increasing public understanding of the polar…

This project was a field research experience designed to enhance the capacity of middle and high school teachers to incorporate active research into their classroom teaching. Evaluation was designed for both formative and summative purposes. All activities in the project had the goal of using inquiry-based learning in the classroom. Teams of one…

Courts in New York and Texas have imposed limits on psychiatric research involving involuntarily institutionalized patients as subjects, citing state and constitutional protection of privacy, due process, and equal protection. Some are concerned that mental health research and treatment will suffer. (MSE)

An annual study, mandated by the Texas State Legislature, was done of research expenditures at Texas public institutions of higher education for the fiscal year 1990-1991. The year's report contains, for the first time, data on intellectual property patents, copyrights, and licensing agreements. Findings indicate the following: (1) total research…