Browsing by Subject "Science -- Study and teaching"

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    An Evaluation of Student Interest, Influence and Motivation in Science and Science Related Courses and Their Relevance to Student Performance, Course Selection and Long-Term Interest in Science
    (2002-08) Welsh, Cynthia Ann; Sandholm, Paul H; Meyer, Tamara A; Damme, Susan; Geams, James
    This study investigates and evaluates the ages that students are most interested in science. Understanding the factors that affect and influences this interest, will allow educators to have a better knowledge of conditions that could motivate school age students to take higher-level science courses. This in turn could promote a society with greater science literacy, and one that is better prepared to meet the future demands of a highly technical workforce and environmentally sensitive world. A survey was given to students who attended a three state science symposium and students from two urban middle schools and two urban high schools. In addition to demographic and background information, students were asked to identify the age and grade they first became interested in science, who or what most influenced their science interest, and then rate an interest level of the various science disciplines. The researchers assume that students will have some interest level in science, and that there is an age when students are more likely to discover their inclination towards science. The study determined that there is a peak interest age for students in the fields of science inquiry and that the factors affecting this interest vary between male and female respondents.
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    Native American Students' Perceptions of the Manoomin STEM Camp
    (2013) Kowalczak, Courtney C
    Tribal governments are facing harsh realities as climate change, development, and economics threaten not only the sustainability of the natural resources but also their culture. There is a growing need to recruit Native American students into STEM fields to meet the needs of their tribal communities. Tribal communities are seeking educational interventions that will motivate their young people to go to college and pursue STEM fields that will benefit future generations. The Manoomin (“wild rice” in the Ojibwe language) camp is a place-based American Indian youth science research program based in Cloquet, MN. This camp is a result of partnerships between University of Minnesota researchers, Fond du Lac Reservation natural resource managers, local teachers, Fond du Lac Tribal & Community College, and community members, working together to integrate meaningful research with emphasis on the cultural significance of wild rice on the Fond du Lac Reservation. The study described how the students in the Manoomin STEM camp felt that camp impacted their sense of community, their academic success, opportunities for careers, connection with their culture, and influenced their attitudes and behavior. These results holds out hope that the Manoomin STEM camp model is an educational intervention that will lead to academic success and future generations of STEM professionals.