Scaffolding scientific inquiry: Adapting Tiny Earth for engaging high school students and their teachers in authentic research

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Abstract

Initiatives to engage high school and undergraduate students in research-like STEM projects are proliferating based on aims related to promoting students’ interests and persistence in STEM higher education. Novice students do not yet have qualifications to work with research literature and methods, so it places high demands on STEM teachers’ professional skills to scaffold students’ scientific inquiries in a way that makes them feel they can do well. Here we present the adaptation of the research-based course Tiny Earth to the context of a university outreach program for high school students. The course addresses socio-scientific issues related to antimicrobial resistance, guiding students through the authentic discovery of new antibiotics. Referring to models on research-based teaching, we analyze how university staff and high school teachers scaffold students' work and how students engage during the phases of the discovery process. Based on data from interviews and post-course questionnaires, we investigate how students and teachers perceive outcomes and challenges in their participation in and contribution to authentic research. We discuss how scaffolding strategies influence students' interests, outcomes, and self-efficacy in science inquiry, and how participation in outreach initiatives may promote teachers' professional development.
Original languageDanish
Publication date7 Jun 2024
Publication statusPublished - 7 Jun 2024
EventThe Nordic conference on Science Education Research, NFSUN 2024, - University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Reykjavik, Iceland
Duration: 5 Jun 20247 Jun 2024
https://english.hi.is/events/nfsun_2024

Conference

ConferenceThe Nordic conference on Science Education Research, NFSUN 2024,
LocationUniversity of Iceland, Reykjavik
Country/TerritoryIceland
CityReykjavik
Period05/06/202407/06/2024
Internet address

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