No abstract

No abstract

To create the Hands-On Optics program and its associated instructional materials, we needed to understand a number of basic optics misconceptions held by children (and adults) and how to address them through a proper educational approach. The activities have been built with an understanding of the naïve concepts many people have about light, color, and optical phenomena in general. Our own experience is that the concepts that children and adults have of light are often not that different from each other. This paper explores the most common misconceptions about light and color, according to educational research, and describes how they can be addressed in optics education programs. This understanding of misconceptions was useful as well in the professional development component of the program where educators were trained on the Hands-On Optics modules. The professional development work for the optics industry volunteers who worked with the educators was also based on research on how an optics professional can work more effectively in multi-cultural settings-an area with great applicability to industry volunteers working in the very different culture of science centers or after-school programs.

The approach of integrating art with STEM, also known as STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math), has gained tremendous popularity over the last several years, in large part due its potential to enhance science learning and broaden participation in science (Vossoughi & Bevan, 2014). However, the field is still nascent with respect to a guiding set of best practices. Unless close attention is paid to using meaningful STEAM practices, including those that support identity development and equity, STEAM is unlikely to fulfill its promise. In this essay, we present a new model for thinking about STEAM, including proposing a set of core STEAM practices that draw on disciplinary practices of art and science. We then provide two examples of STEAM practices in action with respect to activities that integrate biology and chemistry with art. Finally, we offer a set of design recommendations to those wishing to develop impactful STEAM activities. These principles are broadly applicable to science learning in diverse contexts and settings, both in and out of school.

This paper examines how optics is treated in instructional materials developed for the Great Explorations in Math and Science (GEMS) Program at the Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California, Berkeley. The GEMS program is a prominent resource for teachers in the United States and in many other countries. It represents a widely acknowledged, innovative approach to science and mathematics education. GEMS teacher's guides and handbooks offer a wide range of supplementary learning experiences for preschool through 8th grade (about age 13). Two guides already developed (Color Analyzers and More than Magnifiers) and one under development (working title: Invisible Universe) have a strong emphasis on fundamentals of optics. The organization and approaches of the guides will be described, with particular emphasis on the pedagogical approach represented. GEMS activities engage students in direct experience and experimentation to order to introduce essential, standards-based principles and concepts. Overwhelming educational evidence that students learn best by doing is the basis for the GEMS approach.