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ERIC Number: EJ894856
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2008-Jul
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1306-3065
EISSN: N/A
A Science Summer Camp as an Effective Way to Recruit High School Students to Major in the Physical Sciences and Science Education
Bischoff, Paul J.; Castendyk, Devin; Gallagher, Hugh; Schaumloffel, John; Labroo, Sunil
International Journal of Environmental and Science Education, v3 n3 p131-141 Jul 2008
Now in its fifth year, PR[superscript 2]EPS is a National Science Foundation funded initiative designed to recruit high school students to attend college majoring in the physical sciences, including engineering and secondary science education, and to help ensure their retention within these programs until graduation. A central feature of the recruitment effort is a free, one-week residential summer science camp for high school students. This report describes the rationale for using a camp as a recruitment tool as well as the camp structure. Two focus questions are addressed: 1) How successful is the camp at providing a learning environment where participants can share their enthusiasm for science and brainstorm and apply solutions to challenging scientific tasks with their peers? 2) How successful is the camp at recruiting students into the physical sciences at this college? Quantitative data from pre- and post-camp and longitudinal surveys showing that campers are pursuing degrees in the sciences are substantiated in a framework of qualitative data collected during the summer of 2007 by a non-participant observer. Faculty similarly concerned with motivating high school students to major in the physical sciences and science education should find the report useful as several indicators show that most campers continue on their trajectory towards degrees in the sciences. (Contains 4 figures.)
International Consortium for the Advancement of Academic Publication. Abant Izzet Baysal University, Faculty of Education, 14280 Golkoy-Bolu, Turkey. e-mail: editorijese@gmail.com; Web site: http://www.ijese.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: High Schools; Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A