Science

Yes-2-Technology (Y2T) is a physical, life and earth science, IT and workforce development project for teens at the St. Louis Science Center. Funded by NSF’s ITEST program, the goal of the project is to provide disadvantaged teens with the opportunity to broaden their STEM and workplace skills and encourage them to consider further education and careers in IT or STEM.

CSE is working with the Massachusetts State Science and Engineering Fair to help design and develop a sustainable, scalable model of teacher professional development in inquiry-based learning. The goal of the one-week course is to enable middle and high school teachers to imbue their science curricula with inquiry-based activities that will help students develop science literacy, prepare them for college majors in science and technology, show high achievement on MCAS science tests, and acquire workplace skills such as critical thinking, communication, teamwork, and perseverance.

The FunWorks is a digital library of career exploration resources for youth ages 11 to 15. The FunWorks provides “real world” experiences and uses children’s current interests and passions, such as music and sports, to help them explore exciting future careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The site was designed for and by children—over 300 young people have participated in the design and launch of this one-of-a-kind collection from the initial concept to design, usability testing, and launch.

This three-year research project, funded through the National Science Foundation’s Evaluation Capacity Building program, is developing and rigorously testing an observation protocol (Inquiry Science Instruction Observation Protocol—ISIOP) that assists evaluators in determining the nature of and extent to which elements of inquiry science instruction are present in middle school classroom teaching. The protocol relies on work from two other projects at CSE, Inquiry Synthesis, and the Middle-Grades Science Mentoring Program, in addition to existing instruments from other researchers.

CSE was funded by the National Science Foundation to convene this invitational conference, which has begun to build a foundation of knowledge about various models of support for science learning at the elementary level. From the conference findings, CSE is developing a research agenda that will lead to more informed decision making about how best to ensure adequate and appropriate elementary science instruction.

CLLC provides evaluation support to the University of Pittsburgh for their National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded GK—12 project, a collaboration among university graduate students and teachers in Pittsburgh Public Schools to improve science education. CLLC supports instrument and data collection design and analysis by project staff, and examines lessons learned by graduate students and teachers about developing effective partnerships to improve instruction.

GSDL provides high-quality digital resources to: (1) help educators promote interest and engagement with STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education by learners of all ages, particularly females; (2) encourage learners to pursue science education and future careers in science; (3) provide an inter-disciplinary examination of the role of gender in the creation, teaching, and learning of science; and (4) build community among all interested users for the purposes of inquiry, information exchange, best practices development, and mentoring.

CSE is partnering with EDC’s Center for Children and Technology (CCT) to conduct the evaluation of the American Museum of Natural History’s Science Research Mentoring Program. This three-year project offers training in biological science technologies and systematics to high school students from populations currently underrepresented in the STEM fields. The program includes preparatory courses, a summer institute, and year-long individual projects supervised by working scientists.

Under a previous NSF grant, CSE is developing the Inquiry Science Instruction Observation Protocol (ISIOP), an instrument designed to assist evaluators and researchers in determining the nature and extent of scientific inquiry instruction and best practices that are present in middle grades science classroom teaching.

The Micro- and Nano-space Explorations of Health and Disease (MNEHD) project is part of The University of Southern Maine’s initiative to incorporate health science-related studies of microbiology, nanotechnology, and electron microscopy into bioscience education.