A Summer Academic Research Experience for Disadvantaged Youth

Internships are an effective way of connecting high school students in a meaningful manner to the sciences. Disadvantaged minorities have fewer opportunities to participate in internships, and are underrepresented in both science, technology, engineering, and mathematics majors and careers. We have developed a Summer Academic Research Experience (SARE) program that provides an enriching academic internship to underrepresented youth. Our program has shown that to have a successful internship for these disadvantaged youth, several issues need to be addressed in addition to scientific mentoring. We have found that it is necessary to remediate and/or fortify basic academic skills for students to be successful. In addition, students need to be actively coached in the development of professional skills, habits, and attitudes necessary for success in the workplace. With all these factors in place, these youths can become better students, compete on a more level playing field in their internships, and increase their potential of participating actively in the sciences in the future.     

Curriculum Mapping: A Method to Assess and Refine Undergraduate Degree Programs

Over the past several decades, there has been increasing interest in program‐ and university‐level assessment and aligning learning outcomes to program content. Curriculum mapping is a tool that creates a visual map of all courses in the curriculum and how they relate to curriculum learning outcomes. Assessment tools/activities are often included in the curriculum map. The School of Food Science, a joint program between the Washington State Univ. and the Univ. of Idaho, recently completed a curriculum mapping and assessment exercise. The goal of this exercise was to determine the alignment of the undergraduate curriculum with program learning outcomes and the degree of student mastery of these outcomes. Curriculum learning outcomes were revised from existing learning outcomes to better align with university learning outcomes and the IFT Core Competencies. All undergraduate courses were mapped to the IFT Core Competencies, and several competencies were assessed to determine student mastery. The mapping and assessment activities revealed potential gaps and redundancies in course content, as well as student ability to meet standards for competency. The results of the mapping and assessment exercises will be used to refine the content delivered to undergraduate students in the School of Food Science, with the overall goal of increasing the quality of the education provided to these students and helping them to be more prepared for a successful career in food science.     

美国数学与科学技术高中的课程及其特色

美国的数学与科学技术高中是以数学与科学技术为学校主题或特色的磁石学校,也是吸引该领域出类拔萃学生的一种选拔性高中或英才学校。其课程设置围绕其鲜明主题分必修课、选修课、科研实习课程与大学预科（AP）课程等四类,语言、人文社会科学及数学与科学技术等三组,具有深度与广度结合、学术性与职业性连接、统一标准与自主弹性兼顾等特色,体现着追求平等与卓越合一的教育理念与因材施教的精神。这对我国高中课程改革特色的凸显具有一定启示。     

The Barnstable High School P.M. Program: One Approach to the Education of High-Risk High School Students

The P.M. Program, located at Barnstable High School (BHS) in Hyannis, Massachusetts, is an alternative high school program for students from 16 to 22 years old who, for a variety of personal, social, economic, and academic reasons, have not been successful in a traditional high school setting. Without compromising rigorous academic or behavioral standards, the program offers students a chance to attain a high school diploma rather than a General Equivalency Diploma (GED) through a variety of nontraditional means. Following a regular school calendar, the program holds classes from 3 to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday in the BHS. By meeting in the afternoon and evening, the students in the program are able to use all the facilities of the high school, including the library, computer laboratories, science laboratories, and home economics kitchen, at a time when these facilities are idle. On Fridays classes meet from 8:30 a.m. to noon in a local church building because there is no classroom space available in the high school during day school hours. The switch to morning hours on Fridays allows us to meet Massachusetts time and learning requirements without holding classes on Friday nights, a time when few students would attend.     

The School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt: An Innovative Research-Based Program for High School Students

The School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt (SSMV) is an innovative partnership program between a Research I private university and a large urban public school system. The SSMV was started in 2007 and currently has 101 students enrolled in the program, with a total of 60 students who have completed the 4-yr sequential program. Students attend the SSMV for one full day per week during the school year and 3–6 wk in the summers following their ninth- to 11th-grade years, with each grade of 26 students coming to the Vanderbilt campus on a separate day. The research-based curriculum focuses on guiding students through the process of learning to develop questions and hypotheses, designing projects and performing analyses, and communicating results of these projects. The SSMV program has elevated the learning outcomes of students as evidenced by increased achievement scores relative to a comparison group of students; has provided a rigorous research-based science, technology, engineering, and mathematics elective curriculum that culminates in a Summer research internship; has produced 27 Intel and Siemens semifinalists and regional finalists over the past 4 yr; and has supported the development of writing and communication skills resulting in regional and national oral presentations and publications in scientific journals.     

A Curriculum Innovation Framework for Science, Technology and Mathematics Education

There is growing concern about falling levels of student engagement with school science, as evidenced by studies of student attitudes, and decreasing participation at the post compulsory level. One major response to this, the Australian School Innovation in Science, Technology and Mathematics (ASISTM) initiative, involves partnerships between schools and community and industry organisations in developing curriculum projects at the local level. This project fulfils many of the conditions advocated to engage students in learning in the sciences. ASISTM is underpinned by the notion of innovation. This paper describes the findings of case study research in which 16 ASISTM projects were selected as innovation exemplars. A definition of innovation and an innovation framework were developed, through which the case studies were analysed to make sense of the significance of the ideas and practices, participating actors, and outcomes of the projects. Through this analysis we argue that innovation is a powerful idea for framing curriculum development in the sciences at the local level that is generative for students and teachers, and that these ASISTM projects provide valuable models for engaging students, and for teacher professional learning.     

The effectiveness of take-home science kits at the elementary level

A major reason for the lack of scientific and technological literacy in this country is the lack of emphasis on high-quality science education at the elementary school level. The National Science Board Commission on Precollege Education in Mathematics, Science, and Technology states in its report (1983) that formal study of science must be reinforced by a wide range of activities outside the school. Learning in the home appears to be an excellent way to enhance elementary school science programs. Students who study with their parents or whose parents are involved in school activities achieve more in school. This study describes and presents evaluation data for a program that encourages elementary school students and their parents to study science topics in a hands-on, inquiry fashion in their own homes. The analyses of the data indicate that the program is viewed very positively by both the students and their parents, that there are gender and grade-level differences in the students, and that the program seems to be more effective for girls, a group at risk for continuing in science.     

以培养从业技能为导向的小学科学教学技能课程改革策略研究

"小学科学教学技能"是小学教师的必修教法课程之一。通过本课程教学,使学生具备基本的小学科学教育理论和从事小学科学课程教学的能力,促使学生形成现代儿童观和教育观。但据调研,本课程的教学现状和教学目标达成度并不乐观。结合创新创业教育理念和教学实际,提出基于从业技能培养为导向的"小学科学教学技能"课程改革策略。     

Transitioning From On-Campus to Online in a Master of Science Nursing Program: a Comparative Study of Academic Success

This comparative study examined the academic success rates of online graduate nursing students by comparing final grades to the on-campus cohort of graduate nursing students prior to the program transitioning online. Analysis was conducted by identifying and comparing final course grades in 4 required Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) courses over a period of 6 years. Five key themes related to online student success are discussed, including the need for graduate nursing MSN programs to transition to an online format, barriers to online learning, comprehensive program evaluation of an online degree program, online student retention approaches, and exploration of whether online students have been shown to be as academically successful as on-campus students. Results reveal that both cohorts of course delivery modes yield academically successful MSN students and both course delivery modes are providing the MSN program with almost equal pass rates by the students taking the required core courses.     

The Women's Educational Equity Act Resources for Ongoing Efforts

This article discusses how an experimental social science curriculum has influenced Latina/o students' perspectives of their potential to graduate high school and attend college. The curriculum, which is called the Social Justice Education Project (SJEP), requires students to adopt a serious academic subjectivity to analyze and address social conditions that may undermine their future opportunities. The curriculum reflects graduate-level seminars in critical theory and participatory action research. Many students in the first cohort to participate in the program were labeled “at risk” of dropping out. These students not only graduated but also excelled with the advanced-level course work. Their exposure to advanced-level work was the best measure for preventing their premature departure from high school as well as preparation for college. The article concludes with recommendations for how universities can work with local schools to foster the type of academic climate that is conducive to success.     

An effective mathematics and science curriculum option for secondary gifted education

Project Ga‐GEMS (Georgia's Project for Gifted Education in Math and Science) viewed the effect that placement in an integrated, hands‐on mathematics and science curriculum had on the achievement of academically talented high school students. For a two‐year period of time, students gifted in the areas of mathematics and science participated in a curriculum which incorporated higher‐level thinking skills and more real life laboratory experiences into mutually reinforcing mathematics and science lessons. After the conclusion of the two‐year program, Ga‐GEMS participants and a control group were given the mathematics and science sections of the ACT as they exited the tenth grade. The Ga‐GEMS students scored significantly higher on the Science Math Total, Pre‐Algebra/Elementary Algebra, Intermediate Algebra/Coordinate Geometry and Plane Geometry/Trigonometry sections of the ACT. To determine if the Ga‐GEMS students retained their higher scores throughout high school the SAT scores of both groups were compared as the students exited high school. Significant differences in the areas of total score and mathematics were noted. This study lends support for the use of a differentiated curriculum for educating gifted students in science and mathematics.     

课程改革前后医学生对基础科学的态度

该研究调查了荷兰乌得勒支大学医学中心课程改革前后医学生对基础科学的态度。结果表明，与旧课程的医学生相比，新课程的医学生认为医学知识并不那么重要，临床实践前并不需要掌握太多的生物学知识，他们更喜欢由临床医生讲授基础课。虽然医学生对基础课的重要性的认识并不全面，但他们更喜欢将基础科学和临床实践相结合的教学方法。     

Beyond the domestic sphere? A home science education at the University of New Zealand, 1911–1936

International developments in the field of household science, debates about women’s rights to a higher education and changes in workforce demographics came together in the first decade of the twentieth century to facilitate the establishment of a School of Home Science at the University of Otago. The early years were characterised by struggles over the nature of the curriculum, conflicts with university administrators and difficulties maintaining a commitment to high academic standards while meeting the competing expectations of the public, university administrators and the Department of Education that students would become technically proficient in the practical household arts. Despite the ongoing struggle for academic and scientific credibility and its location in a low‐status ‘domestic’ sphere of higher education, a home science qualification provided an alternative pathway to an increasing range of professional and academic careers, at a time when most women graduating with arts and science degrees entered teaching.     

Social Science Boot Camp: Development and Assessment of a Foundational Course on Academic Literacy in the Social Sciences

We developed a course, as part of our institution's core program, which provides students with a foundation in academic literacy in the social sciences: how to find, read, critically assess, and communicate about social science research. It is not a research methods course; rather, it is intended to introduce students to the social sciences and be better consumers of social science research. In this article, we describe the key learning objectives of this course, the basic content areas, and some of the innovative teaching and learning strategies used in the course. We also provide empirical evidence of the effectiveness of the course in meeting its learning objectives and of student responses to the course. Finally, we discuss some of the challenges in developing interdisciplinary core courses and offer suggestions for best practices for teaching social science literacy as part of the core curriculum.     

基于核心素养的小学科学高效课堂的构建

新一轮基础教育课程改革特别强调学生科学核心素养的获得。《小学科学课程标准》也明确提出了培养学生以科学探究精神为核心的核心素养。作为一名小学科学教师,在教学的过程中要持续关注基础科学知识的讲解和传授,也需要通过基础理论引导帮助学生形成一定的科学探究意识,引导他们在实验操作的过程中能够认真思考,提高实践能力。本文就以构建小学科学高效课堂,培养学生科学核心素养为基础性内容,进一步探讨培养策略问题。     

Engaging youth of color in applied science education and public health promotion

Participation in inquiry-based science education, which focuses on student-constructed learning, has been linked to academic success. Whereas the benefits of this type of science education are evident, access to such high-quality science curriculum and programming is not equitable. Black and Latino students in particular have less access to supplementary science programming, and fewer opportunities to engage in inquiry-based education. This paper describes outcomes associated with an inquiry-based out-of-school time science education program, Nuestro Futuro: Applied Science Education to Engage Black and Latino Youth (NFASE), which sought to build the capacity of middle school students of color to ‘think’ like health scientists from diverse disciplinary perspectives. The program was designed with the intent of (1) improving student attitudes toward and motivation for science and (2) increasing active and engaged citizenship (AEC). NFASE students explored health inequity and the social determinants of health locally and engaged in developing health promotion, outreach and education efforts targeted to their peers, parents/families, and community. Interest in the program was high overall, but implementation was not without challenges. Although evaluation outcomes indicate that there were no statistically significant changes in science-related attitudes or motivation, students reported significant increases in neighborhood social connection, as well as overall AEC.     

The Software Factory: An Undergraduate Computer Science Curriculum

Industry often complains that current academic curricula fail to address the practical issues of real software development. This paper outlines a proposal for an innovative core curriculum for a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science. The proposed core curriculum contains elements of traditional computer science programs combined with software engineering via a team-oriented, hands-on approach to large-scale software development. In addition to traditional lecture/ project/exam courses, students are required to take an eight-semester sequence of ‘Software Factory’ courses. Software Factory courses put the students' newly acquired skills to work in a real software organization staffed and managed by all students in the program. Students from all courses in the Software Factory sequence meet simultaneously to fulfill their roles in the software organization. We expect that the students will be better prepared software engineering practitioners after completing a curriculum that combines traditional courses with practical Software Factory experience.     

初中科学教学中学生学习兴趣的培养

兴趣是学好科学的动力和保证。初中科学课程是自然科学入门课程,在初中科学教育体系中是八至九年级分科科学课程的基础课程。如果学生对其感兴趣,将会主动认真地学习,为今后的理科分科学习打下良好的基础;如果不感兴趣,不仅会视学习如苦役,还将影响今后的理科学习。因此,在初中科学教学中培养学生学习科学的兴趣具有现实的意义。文章从六个方面阐述如何培养学生的学习兴趣,让学生喜欢科学课,进而转化为学习科学的动力。     

Closing the Gap: Inquiry in Research and the Secondary Science Classroom

Teaching students how to conduct authentic scientific inquiry is an essential aspect of recent science education reform efforts. Our National Science Foundation-funded GK-12 program paired science graduate students—fellows—with secondary science teachers in order to enhance inquiry-based instruction. This research examined the roles of the fellows, teachers, and school culture in the implementation of inquiry and the fellows’ conceptions of classroom inquiry versus that in their own research. Qualitative data were collected for two academic years. Overall, the classrooms shifted toward a more inquiry-oriented approach over the academic year. Several aspects of school culture influenced inquiry implementation. Fellows described their research as similar in overall structure but less constrained by known concepts, less guided by mentors, and more in-depth than that of secondary school students. The teacher-fellow scientist partnership is a potentially effective professional development model to create positive and lasting change within the science classroom.