This study investigated whether the Science on Stage, a theatre and drama project, taught middle-school students more about the lives and discoveries of great scientists and whether it helped them develop positive views and attitudes towards the science course and scientists. This 8-month study employed an embedded design. The sample consisted of…

Background: Although plant reproduction is a core subject in school science curricula, botanical topics are typically unpopular with students. Integrating the arts into science subject matter has the potential to increase student interest and understanding. Educational theatre has shown particular promise in this area. Purpose: The study examined…

Students learn about science in a range of life contexts. Unfortunately, science classrooms are often disconnected from the ways of knowing about science that are embedded in, and embodied by, the life experiences of students. Drama has been identified as a potential means by which deeper understandings of the nature of science can be derived and…

This paper highlights an investigation of how middle school students responded to a theatre performance designed to portray science as a humanistic and relatable endeavour that youth -- similar to the youth in the audience -- engage in during their everyday lives. The play included in this study was generated as a part of a design research project…

Since 2002, a multidisciplinary program has been used to encourage science students to build on their chemical knowledge and to appreciate how it applies to the world around them. The program is interactive and instills a new set of core learning skills that are often underrepresented in undergraduate curricula, namely, cooperative learning,…

This document presents the proceedings of the 17th Annual Research Forum held June 29, 2012, at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Included herein are the following 25 action research papers: (1) "Reading and Writing": A Study Comparing the Strengths of Peer Review and Visible Author Writing Strategies (Elizabeth Behar); (2)…