How Designing, Making, and Playing Relate to the Learning Goals of K-12 Science Education

2013 ◽  
pp. 35-51
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
Learning Goals ◽  
K 12

scholarly journals The key characteristics of project-based learning: how teachers implement projects in K-12 science education

2022 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anette Markula ◽  
Maija Aksela
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
Science Teachers ◽  
Project Based Learning ◽  
Learning Goals ◽  
Scientific Practices ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Key Characteristics ◽  
Multiple Case ◽  
K 12

AbstractThe aim of this multiple-case study was to research the key characteristics of project-based learning (PBL) and how teachers implement them within the context of science education. K-12 science teachers and their students’ videos, learning diaries and online questionnaire answers about their biology related PBL units, within the theme nature and environment, were analysed using deductive and inductive content analysis (n = 12 schools). The studied teachers are actively engaged in PBL as the schools had participated voluntarily in the international StarT programme of LUMA Centre Finland. The results indicate that PBL may specifically promote the use of collaboration, artefacts, technological tools, problem-centredness, and certain scientific practices, such as carrying out research, presenting results, and reflection within science education. However, it appeared that driving questions, learning goals set by students, students’ questions, the integrity of the project activities, and using the projects as a means to learn central content, may be more challenging to implement. Furthermore, although scientific practices had a strong role in the projects, it could not be defined how strongly student-led the inquiries were. The study also indicated that students and teachers may pay attention to different aspects of learning that happen through PBL. The results contribute towards a deeper understanding of the possibilities and challenges related to implementation of PBL and using scientific practices in classrooms. Furthermore, the results and the constructed framework of key characteristics can be useful in promoting research-based implementation and design of PBL science education, and in teacher training related to it.

scholarly journals Integrating engineering in K-12 science education: spelling out the pedagogical, epistemological, and methodological arguments

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Senay Purzer ◽  
Jenny Patricia Quintana-Cifuentes
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
Scientific Literacy ◽  
Student Learning Outcomes ◽  
School Science ◽  
School Resources ◽  
Science And Engineering ◽  
Teaching Models ◽  
Engineering Design Process ◽  
Stem Literacy ◽  
K 12

AbstractThis position paper is motivated by recent educational reform efforts that urge the integration of engineering in science education. We argue that it is plausible and beneficial to integrate engineering into formal K-12 science education. We illustrate how current literature, though often implicitly, discusses this integration from a pedagogical, epistemological, or methodological argumentative stance. From a pedagogical perspective, a historically dominant argument emphasizes how engineering helps make abstract science concepts more concrete. The epistemological argument is centered on how engineering is inherently interdisciplinary and hence its integrative role in support of scientific literacy and more broadly STEM literacy is natural. From a methodological perspective, arguments focus on the engineering design process, which is compatible with scientific inquiry and adaptable to answering different types of engineering questions. We call for the necessity of spelling out these arguments and call for common language as science and engineering educators form a research-base on the integration of science and engineering. We specifically provide and discuss specific terminology associated with four different models, each effectively used to integrate engineering into school science. We caution educators against a possible direction towards a convergence approach for a specific type of integrating engineering and science. Diversity in teaching models, more accurately represents the nature of engineering but also allows adaptations based on available school resources. Future synthesis can then examine student learning outcomes associated with different teaching models.

After-Hours Learning

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-31
Author(s):  
Joslenne Peña ◽  
Benjamin V. Hanrahan ◽  
Mary Beth Rosson ◽  
Carmen Cole
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
Computer Science ◽  
Young Women ◽  
Computer Programming ◽  
Computer Science Education ◽  
Professional Women ◽  
Web Development ◽  
Learning Space ◽  
After Hours ◽  
K 12

Many initiatives have focused on attracting girls and young women (K-12 or college) to computer science education. However, professional women who never learned to program have been largely ignored, despite the fact that such individuals may have many opportunities to benefit from enhanced skills and attitudes about computer programming. To provide a convenient learning space for this population, we created and evaluated the impacts of a nine-week web development workshop that was carefully designed to be both comfortable and engaging for this population. In this article, we report how the professionals’ attitudes and skills grew over the course of the workshop and how they now expect to integrate these skills and attitudes into their everyday lives.

scholarly journals Computational Thinking, Between Papert and Wing

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Lodi ◽  
Simone Martini
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
Computer Science ◽  
Computer Science Education ◽  
Computational Thinking ◽  
School Curriculum ◽  
Common Theme ◽  
Technical Content ◽  
Technical Competencies ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Affective Involvement

AbstractThe pervasiveness of Computer Science (CS) in today’s digital society and the extensive use of computational methods in other sciences call for its introduction in the school curriculum. Hence, Computer Science Education is becoming more and more relevant. In CS K-12 education, computational thinking (CT) is one of the abused buzzwords: different stakeholders (media, educators, politicians) give it different meanings, some more oriented to CS, others more linked to its interdisciplinary value. The expression was introduced by two leading researchers, Jeannette Wing (in 2006) and Seymour Papert (much early, in 1980), each of them stressing different aspects of a common theme. This paper will use a historical approach to review, discuss, and put in context these first two educational and epistemological approaches to CT. We will relate them to today’s context and evaluate what aspects are still relevant for CS K-12 education. Of the two, particular interest is devoted to “Papert’s CT,” which is the lesser-known and the lesser-studied. We will conclude that “Wing’s CT” and “Papert’s CT,” when correctly understood, are both relevant to today’s computer science education. From Wing, we should retain computer science’s centrality, CT being the (scientific and cultural) substratum of the technical competencies. Under this interpretation, CT is a lens and a set of categories for understanding the algorithmic fabric of today’s world. From Papert, we should retain the constructionist idea that only a social and affective involvement of students into the technical content will make programming an interdisciplinary tool for learning (also) other disciplines. We will also discuss the often quoted (and often unverified) claim that CT automatically “transfers” to other broad 21st century skills. Our analysis will be relevant for educators and scholars to recognize and avoid misconceptions and build on the two core roots of CT.

scholarly journals Broadening the Impact of K–12 Science Education Collaborations in a Shifting Education Landscape

BioScience ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 68 (9) ◽  
pp. 706-714 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie Bestelmeyer ◽  
Elizabeth Grace ◽  
Stephanie Haan-Amato ◽  
Ryan Pemberton ◽  
Kris Havstad
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
K 12 ◽  
The Impact

scholarly journals A Remote Online Microscopy Lab as a Tool for K-12 Science Education and a Platform for Teacher-Scientist Partnerships

2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (S2) ◽  
pp. 292-293
Author(s):  
E.H. Ferrin ◽  
A. Pratt ◽  
K. Jona
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
K 12

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2013 in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, August 4 – August 8, 2013.

scholarly journals Competencies, Culture, and Change: A Model for Digital Transformation in K-12 Educational Contexts

2021 ◽  
pp. 203-218
Author(s):  
Angela Elkordy ◽  
Jessica Iovinelli
Keyword(s):  
Technology Implementation ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Organizational Context ◽  
Digital Transformation ◽  
Interconnected Systems ◽  
Learning Goals ◽  
The People ◽  
Order Change ◽  
Second Order Change ◽  
K 12

AbstractOn the surface, adopting technology presents itself as a technical issue. Yet, the real challenge of digital transformation in educational contexts necessitates a second-order change to disrupt and realign interconnected systems. A significant component of digital transformation in K-12 schools is an understanding of the unique affordances of digital tools and technologies and how these can be leveraged to align with learning goals and targets to impact teaching and learning in new ways. While there are several models for innovation diffusion and technology adoption in K-12 contexts, they fall short, particularly in describing the nature and interactions of these interconnected systems. These aspects of technology implementation remain a mystery. As a result, efforts to enact change in K-12 organizations often fall short due to a lack of understanding of context, inadequate goal-setting, insufficient professional development and personalized supports to build capacity, and a failure to evaluate progress. In K-12 educational settings, the people, the competencies, and the culture, alongside the strong leadership, resources, and organizational context, are all essential to effect sustainable change. We propose a model for digital transformation that considers all of these factors and interconnected systems.

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