Exploring Compensations for Demographic Disadvantage in Science Talent Development.

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.

Since the entrance of the graduates of technical high schools to engineering programs is hindered, in application, the graduates of general or science high schools only are accepted to engineering education. For these students, four years are not sufficient to teach the basic and the related application courses of the profession. Looking at the existing curriculum of mechanical engineering, it can be seen that in the 1st Year, the physics and chemistry courses repeat the content of the ones given in high school education. The current approach considers the students as they come to university with inadequate and incomplete knowledge and therefore not ready to follow the engineering science courses. This approach underestimates and denies the high school education contrary to the main objective of its curriculum. The main objective of high schools (secondary schools) is expressed in the Laws and Regulations with such a statement: “General high schools do not prepare students for a specific profession but rather for higher education”. Today, the existing curriculum of Mechanical Engineering is to be renewed by some new science and application courses to satisfy the demands of labor market. However, the total course credit limit prevents such a renewal. In the face of this dilemma, the answer to this question becomes important: Should the university really repeat high school physics and chemistry? In science high schools and in science branch of general high schools the science and mathematics courses have the major importance. The students are well educated on physics, chemistry, biology and mathematics. They are provided with the necessary science and mathematics background that is required in engineering education. Although only the well-educated graduates of science and general high schools are admitted to engineering programs and the students are already ready to follow the engineering science courses thanks to their high school background, unfortunately in some universities (in Turkey in all) science courses part of engineering curricula is filled by physics and chemistry courses with the same content of the ones taught in high school.

Since the recommendation of biology (or natural history, as it used to be called) in 1893 as part of the high school science curriculum, biology was considered a descriptive subject. In the late 1890s biology consisted of zoology, botany, and physiology. The group that decided on the high school science course configuration was the Committee of Ten. The committee was organized by the National Education Association (NEA) in 1892 to deal with the issue of uniform college entrance requirements. This essay argues that the decision of the Committee of Ten to place biology before chemistry and physics needs to be reexamined. The committee’s recommendations are still being implemented over a hundred years later, and the issue of high school science course sequence is currently being debated. Charles W. Eliot, then president of Harvard University, chaired the Committee of Ten. Eliot had been active in the NEA and was considered a leader in both precollege and higher education. In addition, he was a scientist and considered reasoning power as the central function of the schools (Kleibard, 1995, p. 41). The rest of the committee consisted of key figures from colleges and high schools. There were nine subcommittees each devoted to different academic subjects of which three were responsible for science. One science subcommittee was for physical science (physics, astronomy, and chemistry), another for natural history (botany, zoology, and physiology), and a third for geography (physical geography, geology, and meteorology). The general recommendations of the Committee of Ten regarding natural history (biology) were that:

Forensic chemistry distinguishes itself from other branches of chemical sciences by the necessity to cater to the requirements of both the scientific and legal communities. Its research, application, and presentation are uniquely geared towards meeting the needs of these two domains. Consequently, forensic chemistry research is inherently practical and derived, emphasizing metrology (the science of measurement) and validation. Forensic chemistry has evolved beyond its initial analytical origins and now encompasses a broader range of chemical sciences. As the field expands, established forensic practices are being reevaluated, extending beyond drug analysis and toxicology to encompass diverse areas such as combustion chemistry, materials science, and pattern evidence. Chemistry has been used more and more to help with criminal investigations and forensic chemistry has become an important topic of study for students at all levels of education. The excitement of carrying out chemical tests is increased with the chance to explore a criminal incident. Both educators and students are consistently intrigued by the prominence of chemistry in crime scene investigations depicted in television shows. Fingerprint analysis, a key component of forensic science, has been adapted for every educational level. From elementary school students creating fingerprints with ink to the exciting (and messy) activity of revealing latent fingerprints through dusting, educators have found engaging ways to incorporate forensic science lessons. Superglue, readily available commercially, allows anyone interested to show its capabilities for detecting latent prints. Forensic science or forensic chemistry courses in high school and postsecondary education often include experiments involving the revelation of latent fingerprints. Latent fingerprints are formed when a person touches a surface, leaving behind a nearly transparent chemical residue that mirrors their unique skin ridge patterns. Latent fingerprints are likely to be left on surfaces every time you contact or grab them. To improve the contrast between the fingerprint residue and the surface it has been applied on, many methods have been established. Abundant and resilient, latent prints are unintentionally left behind on the surfaces you touch daily. Specialized techniques can reveal many of these latent prints, highlighting their potential significance in forensic investigations.

High school science courses should provide the knowledge and skills to make all students scientifically Literate. To achieve this, many high schools now require three years of science courses for graduation. But what is the best sequence in which to study them?

A study on the effects of model-based inquiry pedagogy on students’ inquiry skills in a virtual physics lab

The simultaneous effects of the two instructional variables of degree of teacher direction (student‐directed versus teacher‐directed) and time allowed for study and the student variable of general ability are described for student achievement in three life‐science instructional modules covering approximately three months. The instructional variables were controlled in this study; that is, high school teachers were randomly assigned to one of six combinations of the student‐directed versus teacher‐directed method variable and the allowed time variable with three levels. Between‐class, within‐class, and between‐student analyses of data for 912 students in 43 classes resulted in a description of effects complicated by the presence of interactions among the three independent variables. For example, there was a disordinal interaction between instructional method and allowed time, so that statements about the relative superiority of the student‐directed and teacher‐directed approaches must be qualified by specification of allowed time. In any event, the estimated differences were modest, suggesting that the factor of possible achievement differences should not be dominant among the many factors considered in selecting an approach. A very modest ordinal aptitude (ability)‐treatment‐interaction (ATI) was also found, although the main effect of ability was quite strong. The allowed time effect suggested the possibility of decreased achievement under some circumstances when allowed time is increased, due perhaps to increased misuse of time and associated disruption.

Young American adults' assessment of the risks associated with nuclear power was examined by using data from the Longitudinal Study of American Youth (LSAY). A structural equation model was estimated using LISREL8 to examine the development of young adults' attitudes toward nuclear power. Many factors that have been associated with general attitudes toward science and technology were found to have no effect on young adults' assessment of the risks of nuclear power. Science achievement, academic science attitudes, and enrolment in high school and college science courses were found to have no effect on young adults' attitudes. Twelfth grade students who believed that the risks of nuclear power were relatively low were more likely to hold the same beliefs as young adults. Plans to have a career in science, mathematics, or engineering in grade twelve had the second greatest total effects, while gender's total effects were nearly identical in magnitude. Partisan identification had the fourth greatest total effects on attitudes about the risks of nuclear power. Peer science push, parent college push, parent science push, and parent education had lesser, but significant effects on the attitudes of young adults about the risks of nuclear power.

This study examines progression trends of Chinese students’ scientific reasoning skills across grade levels from elementary school to university. A large-scale survey using the Classroom Test of Scientific Reasoning (CTSR) was conducted with 2669 Chinese students at 13 grade levels (grades 4–16). The construct validity of the CTSR was first examined using Rasch analysis to verify that the various reasoning sub-skills targeted by the test (hypothetical-deductive reasoning, proportional reasoning, correlation reasoning, probabilistic reasoning, and control of variables) form a cohesive cognitive construct. Based on an affirmative result, we proceeded to fit grade-level averages to the best-fit logistic regression model and generated trend lines for the reasoning sub-skills measured by the CTSR. Results show that the cross-grade progression trends generally follow continuous paths through increasingly greater levels of improvement. While all sub-skills display a noticeable growth during middle and high school years, they progress across the grades with different rates. Specifically, the development of proportional reasoning is fast-paced and large, but the progression of hypothetical-deductive reasoning and control of variables is markedly tardy and small. Formal science instruction, particularly the emergence of multiple domain-specific science courses in middle and high school, can influence the cross-grade progression trends. Possible causes and future improvement in science education are proposed. This study contributes to our understanding about the development of scientific reasoning and offers important implications for science instruction and research at different grades.

High School Science Course Pathways and College Access

This paper reports the design and evaluation of small‐scale teaching interventions addressing the epistemology of science as part of the regular high school science courses followed by English students. Although there is a growing consensus that the curriculum should include aspects of the nature of science, there is a limited body of knowledge about how this might be achieved in an already crowded curriculum. Single lessons were designed in order to raise epistemological questions in subject matter contexts likely to be encountered by students as part of regular teaching. This paper presents findings from an evaluation of the teaching, addressing both the impact of the resources and associated teaching strategies on student learning, and teachers' reactions to the interventions. The teaching interventions were successful in their aim of “opening up” epistemological issues with a majority of students. A significant minority of students did not make any progress in terms of their responses to diagnostic questions, even though they appeared able to participate in the lesson's activities. The paper concludes with a discussion of issues surrounding the design and implementation of teaching with an epistemological focus in the context of crowded science curricula. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed 87:831–848, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/sce.10072

There is a good deal of talk these days about the need to develop an integrated science to replace the separate high school science courses. In this article, Mr. Slesnick reports on a study in which a sequential program of “unified science” was developed and tested at The Ohio Slate University.

Student centered teaching was previously found to enhance student understanding and even improve performance of students in other courses taken in the same semester in high school. In an effort to improve student performance in related science classes, the same student centered methods used in my Physiology and Disease class were implemented in a Biophysics class this semester. Initial student surveys showed that students preferred diverse teaching methods and hands on experiences to help them understand and transfer material better. Students also felt that integrating physiology concepts into Biophysics helped them understand the material from two very different perspectives, giving them a “more complete picture”. Further research and statistical evaluations of student test scores at the end of the semester are planned. These preliminary results suggest that student centered physiology learning can extend a positive influence when integrated into related science classes.

Over the most recent two decades, federal policy has urged high schools to embed applied science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses into the curriculum to reinforce concepts learned in traditional math and science classes as well as to motivate students’ interests and long-term pursuits in STEM areas. While prior research has examined whether these courses link to STEM persistence for the general student population, no work has examined the role of these courses for students with learning disabilities (LDs). This is a critical lapse, as these courses have been supported as being one path by which STEM material can become more accessible for students with diverse learning needs. Hence, this descriptive study examines the landscape of applied STEM course taking for students with LDs. The findings suggest students with LDs are less likely to take applied STEM courses in high school compared to the general population. Additionally, while the general population does benefit from taking these courses, there is a unique association between applied STEM course taking and advanced math and science course taking or math achievement for students with LDs. Hence, there is no evidence that applied STEM course taking is related to any closure of the STEM achievement gap for students with LDs.

While gender and racial/ethnic performance gaps in math and science have been well documented, we know little about how students feel while they are in these courses. Using a sample of 793 high school students who participated in the Experience Sampling Method of the Study of Youth and Social Development, this study examines the gender and racial/ethnic differences in self-reported levels of challenge, a measure of student engagement, while students are in math and science courses. Results from multivariate regression analyses indicate that boys report similar levels of engagement while in math and science classes, but girls do not. While Black female students report lower levels of challenge in math classes, Latina girls report lower levels of challenge while in science class in comparison to other racial/ethnic groups.