The Effectiveness of a Project Day to Introduce Sixth Grade Students to Science Competitions

Autor/inn/en	Blankenburg, Janet S.; Höffler, Tim N.; Peters, Heide; Parchmann, Ilka
Titel	The Effectiveness of a Project Day to Introduce Sixth Grade Students to Science Competitions
Quelle	In: Research in Science & Technological Education, 34 (2016) 3, S.342-358 (17 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0263-5143
DOI	10.1080/02635143.2016.1222361
Schlagwörter	Science Fairs; Competition; Grade 6; Self Determination; Foreign Countries; Pretests Posttests; Intervention; Control Groups; Experimental Groups; Student Interests; Program Effectiveness; Student Attitudes; Predictor Variables; Questionnaires; Teaching Methods; Regression (Statistics); Likert Scales; Germany + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Wettkampf; School year 06; 6. Schuljahr; Schuljahr 06; Selbstbestimmung; Ausland; Studieninteresse; Schülerverhalten; Prädiktor; Fragebogen; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode; Regression; Regressionsanalyse; Likert-Skala; Deutschland
Abstract	Background: Science Olympiads and science fairs are effective instruments to foster interested and talented students. However, at most schools competitions are not systematically integrated into the school mission statement so that students are unaware of these opportunities. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a newly designed competition day in terms of willingness to participate in a science competition and to learn more about students' reasons for a prospective participation. Programme description: A project day (called "competition day") for students in sixth grade was designed to encourage and motivate more students to participate in science competitions. The theoretical foundations for the design are self-determination theory and an adapted version of Holland's RIASEC-model. Sample: The sample consisted of 474 German sixth grade students from six secondary schools. Design and methods: A pre-post-follow up-study was conducted with two intervention groups; both groups participated in the competition day and either entered a fictive competition or worked on the same tasks in school lessons. One control group not participating in the competition day was also investigated. Results: The results provide information regarding students' interests, as well as reasons for and against participating in competitions. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the competition day is shown. Conclusions: The competition day is an effective way to introduce students to competitions and raise their willingness to participate in science contests. Combining the competition day with science competitions showed even better results. This supports the call for continuous fostering strategies. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01