The Impact of Environmental Education on Sense of Place Among Urban Youth

Publications

Research suggests that an ecologically informed sense of place, including strong place attachment and ecological place meaning, contributes to pro-environmental behaviors. Yet it is unclear whether an intervention such as environmental education can intentionally influence sense of place, especially in cities. To investigate the impact of urban environmental education programs on sense of place, we used pre/post surveys of youth in 5-week environmental and non-environmental summer youth programs in the Bronx, New York City, in 2010. Results show that urban environmental education programs

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The Nature Relatedness Scale

Instruments

Disconnection from the natural world may be contributing to our planet's destruction. The authors propose a new construct, Nature Relatedness (NR), and a scale that assesses the affective, cognitive, and experiential aspects of individuals' connection to nature. In Study 1, the authors explored the internal structure of the NR item responses in a sample of 831 participants using factor analysis. They tested the construct validity of NR with respect to an assortment of environmental and personality measures. In Study 2, they employed experience sampling methodology examining if NR people spend

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Epistemological Beliefs Assessment for Physical Science (EBAPS)

Instruments

This scale measures students' views about the nature of knowledge and learning in the physical sciences along five non-orthogonal dimensions (structure of scientific knowledge, nature of knowing and learning, real-life applicability, evolving knowledge, & source of ability to learn.

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Motivation, Learning, and Transformative Experience: A Study of Deep Engagement in Science

Publications

This study investigated the prevalence of transformative experiences, antecedents of transformative experience, and the relation between transformative experience and deep‐level learning (conceptual change and transfer) for high school biology students (N = 166). Results suggested that the high school students in our sample typically engaged in low levels of transformative experience with respect to biology, but those students who strongly identified with science and who endorsed a mastery goal orientation were more likely to report engagement in higher levels of transformative experience

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Student Interest in Technology and Science (SITS) Survey: Development, Validation, and Use of a New Instrument

Instruments

This study presents the systematic development, validation, and use of a new instrument for measuring student interest in science and technology. The Student Interest in Technology and Science (SITS) survey is composed of 5 sub-sections assessing the following dimensions: interest in learning science, using technology to learn science, science careers, technology careers, and attitudes toward biotechnology. Our development process included review of existing instrumentation, pilot testing, and expert panel review. The resulting instrument was administered before and after implementation of a

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Engineering Identity Development Among Pre‐Adolescent Learners

Instruments

The purpose of this study was to examine the development of the Engineering Identity Development Scale (EIDS), an instrument designed to assess elementary school students' identity development in engineering. This study describes a three-phase approach to item construction, administration, and the gathering reliable and valid evidence for scores on the EIDS.

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Florida's iDigFossils program uses giant 3D printed shark teeth to get kids into STEM subjects

News

A new educational curriculum established by the University of Florida and the Florida Museum of National History is using 3D printing technology to bring kids closer to our pre-historic forebears. The program is known as iDigFossils, and a report in Paleontological Society Special Publications titled ''3-D Fossils for K-12 Education: A Case Example Using the Giant Extinct Sharkcarcharocles Megalodon’' suggests that it is having great success.

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How University of Florida researchers are using 3D printing and digital fossils to improve education

News

A recently conducted case study on the effectiveness of utilizing 3D printing technology to teach intricate subjects within science to young students showcases what researchers from the University of Florida have been working on in a National Science Foundation-funded program called iDigFossils that offers curriculum on intricate subjects such as evolution and climate change through the usage of 3D printed fossil replicas. The case study of the

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iDigFossils receives $1.2 million, will donate 3-D printers to children

News

A UF professor will help give 3-D printers and scanners to children in Florida and California. Pavlo “Pasha” Antonenko, a UF associate professor of educational technology, helped lead “iDigFossils,” a project awarded almost $1.2 million by the National Science Foundation. The funding to give students scanners and printers started Monday. The 3-year project will allow kindergarten through high-school students to develop skills and interest in

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