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Lakin JM, Ewald ML, Hardy EE, et al. Getting Everyone to the Fair: Supporting Teachers in Broadening Participation in Science and Engineering Fairs. J Sci Educ Technol. 2021;1-20doi: 10.1007/s10956-021-09910-7.
Lakin, J. M., Ewald, M. L., Hardy, E. E., Cobine, P. A., Marino, J. G., Landers, A. L., & Davis, V. A. (2021). Getting Everyone to the Fair: Supporting Teachers in Broadening Participation in Science and Engineering Fairs. Journal of science education and technology, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-021-09910-7
Lakin, Joni M, et al. "Getting Everyone to the Fair: Supporting Teachers in Broadening Participation in Science and Engineering Fairs." Journal of science education and technology vol. (2021): 1-20. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-021-09910-7
Lakin JM, Ewald ML, Hardy EE, Cobine PA, Marino JG, Landers AL, Davis VA. Getting Everyone to the Fair: Supporting Teachers in Broadening Participation in Science and Engineering Fairs. J Sci Educ Technol. 2021 Mar 12;1-20. doi: 10.1007/s10956-021-09910-7. Epub 2021 Mar 12. PMID: 33758488; PMCID: PMC7970784.
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J Sci Educ Technol. 2021 Mar 12;1-20. doi: 10.1007/s10956-021-09910-7. Epub 2021 Mar 12.

Getting Everyone to the Fair: Supporting Teachers in Broadening Participation in Science and Engineering Fairs.

Journal of science education and technology

Joni M Lakin, Mary Lou Ewald, Emily E Hardy, Paul A Cobine, Janie G Marino, Allen L Landers, Virginia A Davis

Affiliations

  1. Department of Educational Studies, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487 USA.
  2. Office of Outreach, College of Sciences and Mathematics, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849 USA.
  3. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Old Dominion University, 5115 Hampton Blvd, Norfolk, VA 23529 USA.
  4. Department of Biological Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849 USA.
  5. Department of Physics, Leach Science Center, Auburn University, AL 36832 Auburn, USA.
  6. Department of Chemical Engineering, Auburn University, 212 N Ross St, Auburn, AL 36830 USA.

PMID: 33758488 PMCID: PMC7970784 DOI: 10.1007/s10956-021-09910-7

Abstract

Science and Engineering (S&E) fairs are a valuable educational activity and are believed to increase students' engagement and learning in science and engineering. However, due to differences in resources, many schools do not implement fairs to achieve these benefits for their students. This study reports the findings of a program intended to increase the participation of students from low-achieving and under-resourced schools in a regional fair program that feeds into the international fair competition. We found that the number of schools and projects participating in our regional fair increased dramatically since the start of the program. Teachers had mostly positive expectations for the project and expressed buy-in for the effort the project would take. They recruited a diverse pool of students to participate in the school fairs. Quasi-experimental methods allowed us to explore the impact of completing S&E fairs on student gains on science self-efficacy, interest and value perceptions. Controlling for pre-existing differences in these attitudes, we found that students not completing projects showed declines in their science attitudes during the year. Students who completed projects maintained similar attitudes, while those whose projects advanced to the regional fair had substantial gains on all three variables. It is unknown whether this gain can be attributed to the experience of engaging with a quality project, from being the kind of student who completes a quality project, or some other factor. Future research with greater experimental control could address these questions.

© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V. 2021.

Keywords: Program evaluation; Science fairs; Scientific inquiry

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of InterestThe authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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