ERIC Number: EJ789573
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2002-Oct
Pages: 5
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0047-231X
EISSN: N/A
The Influence of Research-Based High School Science Programs on Undergraduate Students: Do High School Programs Prepare Students for Undergraduate Assignments?
Field, Patrick R.
Journal of College Science Teaching, v32 n2 p109-113 Oct 2002
Educational data indicate that the ability to write effectively is vital to the success of a scientist and is a skill that most science educators try to foster. Within the Grants-In-Aid (GIA) program, sponsored by the New Jersey Academy of Science (NJAS), 65 to 70 high school students are given guidelines on how to write a formal scientific proposal (describing an originally designed experiment), and then have their proposal critiqued by professionals to produce a better product. While participating in actual research gives students an indispensable perspective on how science is conducted, it is vital for students to experience how other scientists work and communicate their findings. The NJAS Science Fair provides high school students with a forum to orally present the results of an originally designed experiment to an audience of peers and professionals. Academic, research, and industry professionals critique the GIA proposals. Participation in these programs familiarizes students with expectations for future oral presentations and with the process of writing proposals, but are these programs helpful for undergraduate assignments? A survey is one way to determine what kind of effect the NJAS programs have had on past participants. This article describes the results of a survey of past participants in the GIA program and the NJAS science fair which indicated that 73.5 percent pursued an undergraduate major related to the subject of NJAS research, and early experiences with scientific proposal writing and oral presentations were helpful for subsequent assignments. (Contains 5 figures.)
Descriptors: Undergraduate Students, Assignments, High Schools, Proposal Writing, Science Activities, Science Programs, Science Fairs, High School Students
National Science Teachers Association. 1840 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22201-3000. Tel: 800-722-6782; Fax: 703-243-3924; e-mail: membership@nsta.org; Web site: http://www.nsta.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A