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Full-Text Articles in Education

Exploring Problem-Based Learning For Middle School Design And Engineering Education In Digital Fabrication Laboratories, Monica M. Chan, Paulo Blikstein Sep 2018

Exploring Problem-Based Learning For Middle School Design And Engineering Education In Digital Fabrication Laboratories, Monica M. Chan, Paulo Blikstein

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

This is a research study of design and engineering classes that use a problem-based learning (PBL) approach in digital fabrication makerspaces in two middle schools. In these studies, teachers employ a PBL approach and provide an ill-structured problem scenario to facilitate design and engineering lessons in the FabLab (fabrication laboratory). Students in each school tackled different challenges that they defined for themselves in groups. This study provides examples of student-student interactions separated into key themes—defining specifications with teammates, personal exploration, and communication about discoveries. This study also provides examples of teacher-student interactions, and themes include demonstrations with tangible objects, discussing …


Code4her Spring 2018, Rebeccah Knoop Apr 2018

Code4her Spring 2018, Rebeccah Knoop

Honors Projects

CODE4her is a mentorship program with a goal of sparking interest in computer science organized by the BGSU Women in Computing (BGWIC) student organization. Participation is open to middle school girls (grades 5-8), and participants are paired with BGWIC members who serve as mentors.


Male And Female Middle School Students' Attitudes Toward Science, Michelle Schpakow Apr 2018

Male And Female Middle School Students' Attitudes Toward Science, Michelle Schpakow

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Women continue to be underrepresented in certain disciplines of science. Differences in male and female students’ attitudes toward science have been observed down to the middle school level. Attitudes, however, may be formed through the integration of multiple constructs: attitudes toward school science, desire to become a scientist, value of science to society, and perceptions of scientists. To fully understand the problem of the underrepresentation of females in science, differences in male and female middle school students’ attitudes toward science were analyzed across these constructs. A causal-comparative design was used to compare students’ attitudes toward science based on biological sex. …


Analyzing School-Wide, Project-Based Learning In A Middle School: From A Cultural Historical Activity Theory Perspective, Laura Venegas Jan 2018

Analyzing School-Wide, Project-Based Learning In A Middle School: From A Cultural Historical Activity Theory Perspective, Laura Venegas

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Recognizing the importance of preparing students for the 21st century along with meeting the accountability measures, educators must continually seek those educational practices that will support both endeavors. Through the literature and during this research, project-based learning has emerged as a promising curriculum tool that answers these objectives. To implement 21st century educational experiences, project-based learning has been attempted in various capacities of specific contents, grade levels and individual teachers; however, there has been limited application of a school-wide practice. While there is potential of project-based learning as a transformative curriculum tool in education, challenges of implementation still exist. Given …


Middle School Natural Disaster Inquiry Unit With Scaffolding, Megan Mali Ireson-Janke Jan 2018

Middle School Natural Disaster Inquiry Unit With Scaffolding, Megan Mali Ireson-Janke

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Inquiry based learning is complex and challenging. In order to maximize its benefits, it is vital to understand what teaching methods and scaffolds best support different student populations as they are introduced to inquiry-based learning in different contexts. One major challenge of inquiry is organizational: planning the process and organizing the information. This project studied the effectiveness of using a particular scaffolding tool, an advanced organizer template, to support seventh grade science students in an introductory inquiry-based unit. One group of seventh grade students used the advanced organizer template and one group did not. Students chose the type of project …


A Study On Science Achievement And Motivation Using Computer-Based Simulations Compared To Traditional Hands-On Manipulation, Stacey L. Hannel, Joshua Cuevas Jan 2018

A Study On Science Achievement And Motivation Using Computer-Based Simulations Compared To Traditional Hands-On Manipulation, Stacey L. Hannel, Joshua Cuevas

Georgia Educational Researcher

This study was conducted to investigate whether or not computer-based simulations had a greater impact on science achievement compared to traditional hands-on methods for middle school students in an on-level science course. The study also sought to determine if either method had an impact on retention as well as motivation. The participants in the study were 6th grade students attending a public middle school in suburban metro-Atlanta. A variety of statistical analyses were utilized to measure science achievement, retention, and motivation. Results indicated that there was no significant difference on science achievement between the traditional hands-on method and the …