Stewart, Nikki and Lidster, Susan and Anchikoski, Tory and Cinel, Bruno and Brewer, Sharon and REES, CAROL
(2017)
Creating an engaging science inquiry activity for middle school students that incorporates online remote access to analytical instrumentation.
Alberta Journal of Science Education, 45 (1).
Abstract
The decline in young peoples’ interest in science and
technology education and the reduction in the proportion of students choosing to pursue careers in science
and technology have been causing concern internationally for over a decade (OECD 2006). It is known that
young people’s attitudes to science and technology are
usually established early in life and that efforts to encourage interest and build awareness are best targeted
toward middle school students (DeWitt, Archer and
Osborne 2014; Riegle-Crumb, Moore and Ramos-Wada
2010). This context prompted three initiatives that came
together to create the learning opportunity for middle
school students evaluated in the pilot study described
in this paper. In the context of their inquiry project, the
Grade 8 class worked with science professionals to remotely use an instrument in the university chemistry
lab to analyze river water samples for total nitrogen. A
pilot study of the initiative that examined students’
responses to survey questions using the lens of productive disciplinary engagement (Engle and Conant 2002) indicated high levels of student engagement, specifically
in the discipline of science, that were productive in
advancing their learning of science and awareness of
the actual practices that science professionals use. At
the end of the paper, these findings are corroborated
and expanded upon by the teacher in her reflections.
Further work will look at how this productive disciplinary engagement develops, by analyzing video recordings
of students, teachers and scientists interacting within
this collaborative venture.
| Item Type: |
Article
|
| Keywords: |
Creating; engaging; science; activity; middle school students; incorporates; online remote access; analytical instrumentation; |
| Academic Unit: |
Faculty of Social Sciences > Froebel Department of Primary and Early Childhood Education |
| Item ID: |
17354 |
| Depositing User: |
Carol Rees
|
| Date Deposited: |
27 Jun 2023 10:41 |
| Journal or Publication Title: |
Alberta Journal of Science Education |
| Publisher: |
Science Council of the Alberta Teachers' Association |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| URI: |
|
| Use Licence: |
This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available
here |
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