High School Science Courses Research Articles

THE DESIGN OF AN INSTRUMENT TO ASSESS COGNITIVE LEVELS OF INFORMAL INFERENTIAL REASONING IN HIGH SCHOOL PHYSICS

Informal logical reasoning (English Informal Inferential Reasoning, IIR) is a cognitive process, the main characteristic of which is to take into account the student's environment, informal and formal reasoning, and the latter, as a rule, is promoted in high school science courses such as physics, and in courses that are developed and consolidated during adolescence. The study aims to consider the construction of methods for measuring IIR with elements based on the educational goals of the Marzano and Kendall taxonomy, which are detailed in terms of the performance that must be achieved in each cognitive process. Similarly, the key concepts of physics are considered from the topics of Uniform Rectilinear Motion (URM) and Uniformly Accelerated Rectilinear Motion (UARM). The method was evaluated by 12 experts for understanding and relevance, and a pilot test was conducted with a sample of 212 high school students aged 15 to 18 years. The results showed the reliability and reliability of the method (V Aiken = .73) to evaluate the cognitive processes necessary for the study of physics. This experiment is a useful method for teachers who want to adapt the thematic content of the curriculum to gradually encourage cognitive processes, ranging from recall to analysis and use of knowledge.

But I did science so I wouldn’t have to write essays

A dislike of writing, sometimes bordering on a phobia, seems to be a common experience for many science students and indeed practising scientists. This represents a serious challenge, as regular publication is a key requirement for most areas of research. In seeking to understand the origins of this aversion, a few interesting findings have arisen. First, there are some crucial differences between technical and creative writing, but these are rarely highlighted as part of either high school or university science courses. Second, there are surprisingly few degree courses in which the scientific method is introduced and discussed explicitly. In this talk, strategies for addressing these deficiencies and taking the pain out of report and paper writing will be discussed.

Students’ interest, engagement, and achievement in online high school science courses

Though documented extensively using self-report measures—especially in post-secondary course contexts—the relations among students’ interest, engagement, and academic achievement in high school science courses has been studied far less—especially when considering online versions of these courses. Self-reported interest collected at the beginning of the semester, process measures of emotional, behavioural, and cognitive engagement measured with textual analysis using the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) measures of online discussion threads and time spent on the learning management system were collected throughout the semester, and final course grades were collected at the end of the semester. A sample of 622 high school students were recruited from five STEM courses to participate in this study. Results indicate that interest predicts behavioural engagement, behavioural and cognitive engagement predict final course grade, and interest predicts final course grade. Findings extend research by describing the role of engagement in online high school STEM courses.

Learning from COVID‐19: Research education in troubling times

AbstractThe United Nations has identified the COVID‐19 pandemic as the largest global disruption of education in history. Collaborative and hands‐on learning activities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics were particularly challenging to maintain during this period. Future large‐scale disruptions of schools are considered likely, leading to questions about how educators can be better prepared. Since 2019, the REACH program has worked with schools in Montana, Idaho, Alaska, and Hawaii to educate students about air quality and health. The program also provides a framework and support for teachers to incorporate rudimentary student‐led scientific field research in middle and high school science courses. Through student and teacher surveys, we inquired about how the pandemic affected program experiences during the 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 school years. Responses from 416 students and 31 teachers showed both difficulties and adaptive capacity in implementing the REACH program during COVID‐19‐related restrictions. It is encouraging to appreciate the resilience of students and teachers as they adapted to emergency remote teaching and learning strategies. However, the extent and the specific kinds of difficulties they encountered may inform efforts to help schools and teachers become better prepared for potential future events that may disrupt in‐classroom learning.

Pre-concept Inquiry of "Matter State Changes" in Junior High School Science

The junior high school science course is a subject closely related to the reality of life, and before starting the formal learning of science concepts, students have formed many pre-concepts, which play a very important role in the formation of science concepts. In junior high school science teaching, it is necessary to explore students' relevant pre-concepts and the reasons for their formation, so that appropriate transformation strategies can be adopted to enable students to deeply understand science concepts, which is conducive to improving the effectiveness of science teaching. In this paper, a questionnaire survey was conducted to understand the pre-concepts embedded in students' minds before they learn the content related to matter state changes in junior high school science, and the reasons for the formation of erroneous pre-concepts were analyzed. In general, the formation of students' pre-concepts first comes from their own life experience and intuitive feelings, and is preceded by common sense of life. Second, through their own intuitive reasoning, they make wrong speculations about nouns. By identifying students' existing correct and wrong pre-concepts, it provides a basis for transforming vague and wrong pre-concepts in students' minds into science concepts in the subsequent teaching design.

Invisible women: Gender representation in high school science courses across Australia

The visibility of female role models in science is vital for engaging and retaining women in scientific fields. In this study, we analyse four senior secondary science courses delivered across the states and territories in Australia: Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Science, and Physics. We compared male and female representation within the science courses by examining the mentions of male and female scientists along with the context of their inclusions in the syllabuses. We find a clear gender bias with only one unique mention of a female scientist. We also find a clear Eurocentric focus and narrow representation of scientists. This bias will contribute to the continuing low engagement of women in scientific fields. We outline possible solutions to address this issue, including the accreditation of scientific discoveries to include female scientists and explicit discussion of structural barriers preventing the participation and progression of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

Jewels from chaos: A fascinating journey from abstract forms to physical objects.

An intellectual journey that began with the discovery of strange attractors derived from Chua's circuit, their translation into physical shapes by means of 3D printers, and finally, to the production of jewelry is presented. After giving the mathematical characteristics of Chua's circuit, we explain the chaotic design process, used for creating jewels, providing specifications of the used methodological approach, for its reproduction. We discuss the feasibility of this approach and the transmission of scientific contents on chaos theory, usually restricted to university students, in a high school Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics course, for the realization of advanced educational processes, implemented both in computational and real environments. We think that the idea of transforming science into art forms can drive students in acquiring scientific knowledge and skills, allowing them to discover the inner beauty of chaos.

High School Course-Completion Trajectories and College Pathways for All: A Transcript Analysis Study on Elective Computer Science Courses

Whereas researchers regard high school math and science coursework as the best indicator of college readiness for students in the United States, computer science coursework and its relationship to college attendance, particularly for minoritized students, have not received due attention despite its root in the mathematical and scientific reasoning ability. We examined students’ high school course completion patterns across subjects and grade levels with a special focus on elective computer science courses and whether the coursework pattern transitions worked differently for minoritized students in Texas, USA. Latent profile analysis and latent transition analysis revealed multiple patterns of coursework, including Regular, Trailing, and Computer Science-Intensive. However, high school students seemed to attempt computer science courses with an experimental attitude. High school girls, low-income, and Latinx and African American students were less likely to complete computer science courses, despite demonstrating a similar coursework pattern in the previous year. Similarly, students with limited English proficiency, those eligible for free- or reduced-price lunch programs, and Native American students systematically have a lower chance to attend college, despite sufficient academic preparation in high school. Findings highlight the challenges minoritized students face and how students approach elective computer science courses in high school.

Teaching outside as third space: toward school science that acknowledges student ecological expertise

In this article, we consider the narrative reflections of elementary teacher and study co-author, Khahlela, as she recounts her difficult transition from a childhood and primary schooling filled with rich experiences in the natural world into high school and university science courses which left her feeling marginalized and lacking science expertise. Using a method we term participatory narrative to unpack Khahlela’s story, we reflect on the implications of her experiences for the way science is taught in schools. We argue that an important step in addressing the way science is taught is shifting where science is taught. Based on Khahlela’s struggles, we advocate a funds of knowledge approach to recognize students who enter school with specialized outdoor, ecological, and/or naturalist knowledge, and urge the creation of space for this expertise within science classes. We combine this approach with Third Space theory to suggest using the outdoors as Third Space for school science instruction.

Integrated STEM in high school science courses: an analysis of 23 science textbooks in China

ABSTRACT Background STEM education, which features interdisplines and integration of disciplines, influences the reform of curriculum and teaching, and is reflected in Chinese science textbooks. Purpose This study aims to analyse how STEM and its integration factors are presented in Chinese science textbooks. Sample Three sets of high school science textbooks in China, encompass a set of current textbooks nationwide, a set of old national textbooks and a set of old local textbooks, totalling 23 volumes. Each set of scientific textbooks involves physics, chemistry and biology. Design and methods An evaluation framework was developed to analyse STEM and its integrated content from the distribution of STEM content, types, location, degree of closeness and teaching objectives. Content analysis method was used for STEM and its integrated content. Results The quantity of science knowledge is the largest, followed by engineering, technology, and mathematics. Physics textbooks are closely related to mathematics, while chemistry textbooks are closely connected with engineering. The STEM integration is more of an integration involving two subjects, which appears in the text most frequently. Conclusion Although different Chinese science textbooks covered STEM content and its integrated elements, there were differences in publishers and disciplines. The new ideas of science education and curriculum reform can be embodied in science textbooks to update the content.

Impact of Virtual Reality on Student Motivation in a High School Science Course

It is essential to expose students to real situations in science courses, to experience how classroom concepts are reflected in the real world. However, the materials and methods available are not always very adequate; for example, chemistry courses involve the supervision of reagents to avoid risky situations, in addition to the costs, logistics of preparing materials, and possible adverse environmental factors. As an alternative solution, the following experience was carried out using virtual reality (VR) equipment, with very realistic applications that allowed 304 fourth semester high school students to have an immersive, interactive, and contextualized experience of the disciplinary contents. The students were asked about their perception regarding the motivation and acceptance of the use of virtual reality. The results were 72% positive for attention, 61% positive for relevance, 64% positive for trust, and 71% positive for satisfaction. Also, they mentioned their intention to continue using this resource and create lines of research to study the different aspects that could form a disciplinary proposal for an entire course based on virtual reality.

Impacts of attending an inclusive STEM high school: meta-analytic estimates from five studies

BackgroundInclusive STEM high schools seek to broaden STEM participation by accepting students on the basis of interest rather than test scores and providing a program sufficient to prepare students for a STEM major in college. Almost nonexistent before the present century, these high schools have proliferated over the last two decades as a strategy for addressing gaps in STEM education and career participation. This study uses a meta-analytic approach to investigate the relationship between attending an inclusive STEM high school and a set of high school outcomes known to predict college entry and declaration of a STEM college major.ResultsCombining effect estimates from five separate datasets of students from inclusive STEM high schools and matched comparison schools, the analysis reported here used data from administrative records and survey data for 9719 students in 94 high schools to obtain estimates of the average impact of attending an inclusive STEM high school on STEM-related high school outcomes. Positive effects for inclusive STEM high schools were found for completion of key STEM courses and for likelihood that students would engage in self-selected STEM activities. Students who attended an inclusive STEM high school also identified more strongly with mathematics and science and were more likely as high school seniors to be very interested in one or more STEM careers. Importantly, these positive impacts were found for low-income, under-represented minority, and female students as well as for students overall. Attending an inclusive STEM high school appeared to have a small positive impact on science test scores for students overall and for economically disadvantaged students, but there were no discernible impacts on mathematics test scores.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that the inclusive STEM high school model can be implemented broadly with positive impacts for students, including low-income, female, and under-represented minority students. Positive impacts on the odds of taking advanced mathematics and science courses in high school and on interest in entering a STEM profession are of particular importance, given the strong association between these variables and entry into a STEM major in college.

Examining the Profiles of Scientists in Secondary Science Textbooks in Turkey

The aim of this study is to examine the profiles of scientists in textbooks prepared to be taught in high school science courses in Turkey. The sample of this study consists of 33 high school science textbooks prepared by the Ministry of National Education Publishing House for both general high schools and science high schools and by private publishing houses for the textbooks of biology, physics and chemistry courses at high schools in 2018-2019 academic year. Document analysis design, which is one of the qualitative research methods is used in this study. The data of the study are analyzed in terms of gender, nationalities, physical characteristics, the types of scientific study and working environments of the scientists in the textbooks according to class level, science field and the type of publishing house. According to the results of the study, there is no balanced distribution of gender and nationality in textbooks. In addition, it has been found that scientists are represented as stereotypes and the working environments and forms are largely ambiguous. The results of this study indicate that the descriptions of scientists made in secondary school science textbooks should be rearranged in Turkey.

Making ‘Brain Food’: converting photosynthesis into a positive learning experience through authentic instruction

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of authentically based instruction using the 5E model as the structure for lesson delivery on student emotions and the extent to which the students perceived that the teacher was facilitating mastery goals. Participants were 241 sophomore and junior biology students in three urban high schools in a large city in the Midsouth region of the United States. Two conditions occurred: a lesson designed using authentic 5E model, while the other was a text-based lesson on the topic of photosynthesis. The results suggest that the authentic 5E instruction increased interest and enjoyment and decreased anxiety, hopelessness, frustration, confusion, and boredom as compared to the text-based instruction. Furthermore, the students in the authentic group perceived that the teacher facilitated more mastery goals than the comparison group. Finally, we found that the change of student perception in teacher mastery had a predictive relationship with change in positive and negative emotions. Implications of this study are that authentic instruction can lead to positive academic outcomes and that perceived teacher mastery can have a positive influence on student emotions, which in turn can generate motivation and achievement in high school science courses.

Exploring Compensations for Demographic Disadvantage in Science Talent Development.

This study explores factors enhancing the likelihood that three demographically disadvantaged groups of selective science high school graduates would complete a university STEM degree 4-6 years later. The target groups are labeled as disadvantaged in terms of STEM pipeline persistence compared to school peers, and include: (1) women, (2) those without a parent in a STEM field, and (3) those whose parents were not educated beyond high school. Employing Social Cognitive Career Theory as a conceptual framework, we focus on two categories of factors. Individual factors incorporate motivation and career intention brought to the high school experience. Environmental factors include graduates' high school experiences related to their STEM interest and capacity development. The individual variables include: STEM career intentions prior to high school, motivation for attending a specialized science high school, and motivation for pursuing advanced science courses in high school. Environmental factors include whether participants partook in an authentic research experience, had a mentor, felt they belonged at the school, maintained their interest in STEM as well as perceived intellectual capacity for STEM throughout high school. The results have promising implications for educational policy associated with STEM talented students.

High School Course Access and Postsecondary STEM Enrollment and Attainment

We study the effects of access to high school math and science courses on postsecondary science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) enrollment and degree attainment using administrative data from Missouri. Our data include more than 140,000 students from 14 cohorts entering the 4-year public university system. The effects of high school course access are identified by exploiting plausibly exogenous variation in course offerings within high schools over time. We find that differential access to high school courses does not affect postsecondary STEM enrollment or degree attainment. Our null results are estimated precisely enough to rule out moderate impacts.

Making it RAIN: Using Remotely Accessible Instruments in Nanotechnology to Enhance High School Science Courses.

The Remotely Accessible Instruments in Nanotechnology (RAIN) Network is a conglomerate of nineteen community colleges, four-year universities and high school sites that aims to enhance STEM learning by bringing advanced technologies to K-12 education. RAIN provides free remote access to instruments such as Scanning Electron, Atomic Force and Transmission Electron Microscopes, as well as Energy Dispersive and Infrared Spectroscopy. The following is a variety of experiments and an empirical formula lab that can be performed in a high school physical science or chemistry classroom that utilizes the RAIN Network.

Challenges and prospects to the integration of ocean education into high school science courses in Nova Scotia

Ocean education can potentially improve understanding and engage individuals to act sustainably. Within Canada, a country bordered by three oceans with vast ocean resources, there is no formal mandate to teach ocean literacy within the school system. The ocean impacts the economy, culture, and ecology of Nova Scotia. This study examines, through semi-structured interviews, the challenges experienced by high school science teachers to the integration of ocean education into science courses. Results from this study indicate that despite placing value on the ocean the main challenges teachers incurred were limited background knowledge, lack of resources, curriculum outcomes, and time constraints.

Describing Connections between Science Content and Future Careers: Implementing Texas Curriculum for Rural At-Risk High School Students Using Purposefully-Designed Field Trips

The state of Texas has an ‘essential knowledge’ component in some high school science courses indicating that students be able to describe connections between academic science content and future jobs or training through effective exposure to course content. The participants in this study were from a small rural high school in central Texas. Each was labeled as ‘at-risk’ and self-identified an inability to describe those types of connections after earning credit in more than one science course with that ‘essential knowledge’ component. A career-focused field trip to a local vocational/technology training center was designed to address that particular deficit. This study followed a narrative multiple-case case study design. Data included school records, surveys, individual and focus group interviews, and field notes from observations during the field trip. The effectiveness of the field trip was evident as each participant was able to describe connections immediately following the excursion.

Fake News with Real Consequences: The Effect of Cultural Identity on the Perception of Science

Fake news and alternative science are increasingly popular topics of conversation in the public sphere and the classroom due to increasingly far-reaching social media and a shifting political climate. Promoting scientific literacy by providing opportunities for students to evaluate reports of contentious scientific issues and analyze the underlying factors that influence public perception of science is necessary for the development of an informed citizenry. This article describes a three-part learning activity useful for engaging biology students in evaluating the accuracy of science-related news reports, and reflecting upon the ways that social cues, religion, and political ideologies shape perception of science. These activities are appropriate for teaching about climate change, evolution, vaccines, and other important contemporary scientific issues in upper-level high school and undergraduate science courses.