Observing preserved specimens can spark lifelong curiosity, as illustrated by the author’s four-year-old child, whose fascination with a dead crab eventually led her to major in biology. However, according to Dr. Governor in her publication Is the Stink of Death Worth It?, educators must balance excitement with ethical and developmental considerations by following guidelines set forth by organizations like NSTA and NABT. An example involving young students reacting to preserved sharks underscores the need for proper preparation, safety measures, and offering alternatives for those uncomfortable with the experience. By carefully planning activities and respecting student maturity, teachers can foster appreciation for life’s complexities while maintaining responsible practices.

Alongside Lucas P. Butler, SLRG members Lombardi, Sinatra, and Bailey published a paper which proposes a new framework for how scientific thinking develops by integrating research on conceptual change, credibility assessment, science engagement, and active STEM learning. It underscores the importance of collaboration in scientific communities and increasing scientific literacy for all.

Dr. Donna Governor and colleagues recently published a study that suggests science fiction conventions offer an untapped platform for science engagement and learning. Survey results from 241 attendees revealed that non-STEM individuals who attended science track sessions reported higher interest in science than those who did not. Moreover, 66% of science track participants indicated they plan to apply what they learned in personal contexts. The findings point to sci-fi conventions as vital, accessible spaces for diverse science communication and education.

The duo successfully published an article on Model-Evidence Link (MEL) diagrams. Engaging students in scientific argumentation through socioscientific issues not only sharpens their critical thinking skills, but also fosters active listening and social collaboration. MEL diagrams serve as powerful scaffolds in this process, helping learners make connections between evidence and competing scientific explanations. These tools improve students’ scientific understanding and offer valuable insights into how they negotiate consensus.

Along with SLRG co-members, Archie Dobaria recently published an article highlighting results and analyses associated with the MEL Project. The team compared the more autonomy-supportive baMEL to the less autonomy-supportive pcMEL and found that both scaffolds shifted high school student and preservice teacher participants’ plausibility judgments toward a more scientific stance and increased their knowledge about the topics. Additional analyses revealed that the baMEL resulted in deeper evaluations and had stronger relations between levels of evaluation and post-instructional plausibility judgements and knowledge compared to the pcMEL.

There has never been a more pressing need for students to learn how to evaluate scientific information online than during the COVID-19 outbreak. Information, misinformation, and disinformation spread quickly across online news and social media platforms. This misleading or incorrect scientific information about infectious diseases could lead to negative outcomes for those who believe it is true or follow the information. Published in winter 2023 edition of The Science Teacher, Herrick et al. outline six steps to support students in evaluating scientific claims online.

Along with co-authors Gina Childers, David Osmond, and Stacy Britton, SLRG’s own Donna Governor has published a new article in Research in Science Education, a prestigious science education research journal.

Science cafés create open, public forums to promote the exchange of ideas between science experts and the public. This innovative research merged perspectives on informal learning
environments based on self-determination theory and the contextual model of learning. In fact, most science cafés attendees said that knowledge and learning;
fulfilled personal needs, but social interactions, with other attendees and science experts also factored heavily in the decision to attend. Exciting work as we seek to understand how to better engage the public in the scientific enterprise!

SLRG member Janelle Bailey has recently published two new articles. Along with Temple alumna and staff member Jess McLaughlin, a systematic review of spatial thinking research in geoscience education was recently published as an open access article in Studies in Science Education. This paper emerged from Jess’s capstone project for her M.Ed. in Educational Psychology at Temple. The second paper is a practitioner piece on the astronomy MEL activities, co-written by Doug Lombardi and published in The Physics Teacher’s AstroNotes column.

Citations: 

Bailey, J. M., & Lombardi, D. (2022). Astronomy activities for promoting scientific evaluation [AstroNotes column]. The Physics Teacher, 60(3), 87–88. https://doi.org/10.1119/10.0009695

McLaughlin, J. A., & Bailey, J. M. (2022). Students need more practice with spatial thinking in geoscience education: A systematic review of the literature. Studies in Science Education, Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057267.2022.2029305 [open access at this link]

SLRG team members Janelle Bailey, Sonia Jamani, Tim Klavon, Josh Jaffe, and Svetha Mohan recently published “Climate Crisis Learning Through Scaffolded Instructional Tools” in Educational and Developmental Psychologist. This is the first article for an upcoming special issue on the Climate Crisis under guest editor Doug Lombardi to be published in early 2022.

Dr. Donna Governor has written a blog post for ARISE on the value of professional organizations, such as National Science Teaching Association (NSTA), in supporting new teachers, especially Noyce Scholars who are beginning their first-full time teaching experiences. Check out the blog post here.