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

60多年来，一年一度的科学博览会和工程竞赛在全国各地的学校和社区举行，吸引了大量中学生，并在国内和国际活动中达到高潮。科学博览会处于学校正式学习和其他环境中的非正式科学学习的交汇点，包括科学中心、课后项目和俱乐部。然而，尽管它们的实施范围很广，历史也很长，但很少有实证研究考察学生参加这些博览会与他们对科学的学习和兴趣之间的关系。此外，还没有研究了解这些项目相对于学生利益的真实成本。这个教育研究项目将填补理解上的空白。它将系统地记录和描述科学博览会模型；衡量它们对学习的影响；并提供关于各种模型的成本和相关收益的证据。这项研究的结果将让广泛的利益相关者(包括教师、科学博览会领导人、志愿者、家长和企业)了解这些模式以及它们如何影响学生对科学和工程实践的掌握。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征；第二阶段将利用这些理解在20所学校进行案例研究。交付内容包括面向教师和科学博览会社区的手册、期刊上总结研究成果的文章、科学与工程实践和兴趣清单，以及一套用于对类比进行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)中学科学博览会的基本模式是什么？(2)参与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)哪些学生-教师和学校层面的因素有助于或抑制学生的掌握？(4)需要哪些人力和财力资源来有效地实施中学科学博览会？以及(5)科博会体验中最具成本效益的方面是什么，以及科博会领导人和教师如何应用或改编它们来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进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；它们将通过出版物、会议报告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.