Engagement with learning

In most school settings in the United States, elementary students have limited opportunities to learn in outdoor settings, yet recent research has demonstrated several positive benefits associated with such opportunities. In this article, the authors provide a brief literature review of various positive impacts of outdoor education on achievement, behavior, and environmental attitudes. Additionally, the authors highlight several practical outdoor activities and suggest useful resources for classroom teachers.

A conflict inherent in teaching canonical science concepts in an inquiry-based framework exists. Can students be asked to explore for themselves, while also being taught testable scientific concepts? In this scenario, tension forms around how much guidance a teacher gives to foster authentic discovery and understanding of the scientific process, while still teaching important scientific information. This study asks: What happens when we use an inquiry-based model for teaching science?

The exploration of socio-scientific issues (SSIs) is becoming an important part of science education. With the discussion of SSIs, students merge moral and scientific reasoning, using scientific information to support their moral judgments on controversial topics. The approach is often promoted for its ability to help students learn science concepts, connect science concepts to everyday life, think critically, develop citizenship skills, and build their scientific literacy.

Complex concepts such as global climate change can be difficult to comprehend, but when guided by effective educational tools and lessons, students can begin to understand such systems. This study's authors designed and tested two versions of computer-based lessons featuring interactive visualizations, which were intended to help middle school students understand factors involved in climate change. The researchers used feedback from the first round of implementation to improve the version used in the second round, a design-based approach they referred to as “iterative refinement.”

When it comes to observing the classroom environment, experience counts. Research reveals that expert teachers are able to observe a classroom with a broader perspective and can attend to more details than novice teachers. Experts can also react quickly to situations that require intervention, often without even being aware of their actions.

Previous research has shown that while scientific knowledge tends to have an ephemeral quality, emotional factors such as feelings of interest, enjoyment, and curiosity about science tend to be enduring. In this paper, the researchers examined whether these positive emotions are correlated with greater levels of scientific literacy in 15-year-old students. In addition, they examined a potential link between these emotional factors and subsequent public engagement with science as adults.

Historically, educators have considered an interdisciplinary approach necessary when teaching about sustainability, but very little research has been done about how teachers and learners respond to the interdisciplinary aspect of sustainability education. This study looked at two interdisciplinary teaching programs and asked how successful they were at implementing an interdisciplinary approach.

It has become well accepted in the science education community (and the EE community, too) that inquiry-based approaches are good educational practice. But the approach is not without its challenges. Finding effective ways to train teachers, making connections to educational standards, providing sufficient guidance to students, and many other topics related to inquiry learning are routinely explored by education researchers.

As in the United States and many countries around the world, students in Britain are increasingly being “taught to the test,” with heavy emphasis on content and vocabulary, and less time for creativity, questioning, and investigating in science instruction. This article reports on a pilot study to explore the use of dramatic techniques for promoting engagement and understanding of science among five-to seven-year olds. In addition, the study investigated whether using drama promoted the development of teachers' understanding of primary science.

There is tremendous potential for technology to enhance students' experiences with nonformal environmental education. Instructional technology tools may tie local investigations to global issues, provide access to otherwise inaccessible locations, extend typically brief environmental education programs, and support the intellectual and emotional connections that foster the development of environmental identity and sense of place.