What Can We Learn from Middle School Science Fairs about Teaching Science and Engineering Practices?

60多年来，每年的科学博览会和工程竞赛都在全国各地的学校和社区举行，吸引了大量的中学生，并在国家和国际活动中达到高潮。科学博览会是在学校的正式学习和非正式的科学学习在其他环境，包括科学中心，课后计划和俱乐部的交叉点。然而，尽管他们的广泛实施和悠久的历史，有很少的实证研究，探讨了学生参与这些博览会和他们的学习和对科学的兴趣之间的关系。此外，还没有研究来了解这些项目相对于学生福利的真实的成本。这项教育研究项目将填补这一认识上的空白。 它将系统地记录和描述科学博览会模式;衡量其对学习的影响;并提供各种模式的成本和相关效益的证据。 这项研究的结果将告知广泛的利益相关者（包括教师，科学博览会领导者，志愿者，家长和企业）关于这些模型以及它们如何影响学生掌握科学和工程实践。 这项为期四年的研究将在全国所有地区分两个阶段进行：第一阶段将对3800名中学科学教师进行调查，确定科学博览会模式的特点;第二阶段将利用这些理解在20所学校进行案例研究。 这些工具包括教师和科学博览会社区手册、期刊中总结研究结果的文章、科学与工程实践和兴趣清单，以及一套用于评分的数据收集工具，以描述科学博览会并衡量其影响。研究问题将包括：（1）中学科学展的基本模式是什么？(2)参与某一特定模式在多大程度上提高了学生对科学和工程实践的掌握和/或他们对科学的兴趣？(3)什么样的学生-教师和学校层面的因素有助于或抑制学生的掌握？(4)实施有效的中学科学博览会需要哪些人力和财力资源？以及（5）科学博览会经验中最具成本效益的方面是什么，科学博览会领导人和教师如何应用或调整这些方面，以加强学生对科学和工程实践的掌握？这项研究的结果将有可能改善目前设计和实施科学博览会的做法及其对学生学习的影响;这些结果将通过出版物、会议介绍和教育协会渠道广泛传播给各利益攸关方。

For over 60 years annual Science Fairs and Engineering competitions have been held in schools and communities throughout the country, engaging large numbers of middle school students and culminating in national and international events. Science fairs are at the intersection of formal learning in school and informal science learning in other settings including science centers, after-school programs, and clubs. However, in spite of their wide implementation and long history, there are few empirical studies that have examined the relationship between student participation in these fairs and their learning and interest in science. Additionally, there have been no studies to understand the real cost of these programs relative to the student benefits. This educational research project will fill that gap in understanding. It will systematically document and describe science fair models; measure their impact on learning; and provide evidence about the costs of various models and related benefits. The findings from this study will inform a wide range of stakeholders (including teachers, science fair leaders, volunteers, parents, and businesses) about these models and how they impact students' mastery of science and engineering practices. This four-year study in all regions of the country will be conducted in two phases: Phase 1 will be a survey of 3800 middle school science teachers will define the characteristics of science fair models; Phase 2 will use those understandings to conduct case studies in 20 schools. Deliverables include handbooks for teachers and the science fair community, articles in journals summarizing findings, the Science and Engineering Practice and Interest Inventory, and a suite of data collection instruments for scoring rubrics to describe science fairs and measure their impact. Research questions will include: (1) What are the basic models of middle school science fairs? (2) To what extent does participation in a particular model enhance students' mastery of science and engineering practices and/or their interest in science? (3) What student-teacher and school-level factors contribute to or inhibit students' mastery? (4) What resources, human and financial, are required to implement an effective middle school science fair? and (5) What are the most cost-effective aspects of the science fair experience, and how can they be applied or adapted by science fair leaders and teachers to strengthen students' mastery of science and engineering practices? Findings from this study will have the potential to improve current practices in the design and implementation of science fairs and their impact on student learning; they will be widely disseminated to the various stakeholders through publications, conference presentations, and educational association channels.