Speak Up 2007 Report Release: K-12 Science Education

Inspiring the Next Generation of Innovators:
Students, Parents and Educators Speak Up about Science Education

Students Speak Up about their favorite science lessons

"My favorite project we did this year is inventions. I liked it because we got to use more of our imagination in doing something that will help or community, ourselves or someone else."

-- 5th grade girl, Pasteur Elementary School, City of Chicago School Dist 299, IL

"I like[the] airplane experiment in science because you can see what you did wrong if the airplane doesn't go far enough, and you can hang out with all of your friends. It's a really fun experiment to do in science."

-- 5th grade girl, Harbor View Elementary, Newport-Mesa Unified, CA

"Stomp Rocket Lab. It was a fun way of physically understanding physics and put the idea into concrete terms. It was different because it was hands on, outdoors, and something different."

-- 11th grade, girl, Eau Gallie High School, Brevard County School District, FL

"This year, we used a USB microscope called the Proscope that let us look closely at objects in science. This is different because we were able to explore on our own rather than be forced to stay within certain boundaries for experiment."

-- 7th grade, boy, Robert C. Fisler, Fullerton Elementary, CA

"My freshman year of high school my teacher gave us a project in which we had to develop our own solar powered car. It was my favorite project because we were able to break the common classroom atmosphere and spend time developing something that was our own."

-- 11th grade boy, Melbourne Senior High School, Brevard County School District, FL

"My favorite activity was in my science class when we were able to use probes that were hooked up to a computer enabling us as students to measure the acidity of certain chemical."

-- 12th grade, girl, Miami Central Senior High School, Dade County School District, FL

"I took Biology last year and one of the things that I remembered very well where we had to grow our own bacteria and fungus and then examine them under a microscope, and I thought it was really cool because learning became truly interactive."

-- 9th grade girl, Florida Virtual High School, Florida Virtual School, FL

"My favorite science lesson when we were working on living creatures. These projects make me feel more interested in the world, what is happening in the world and about all kinds of germs."

-- 5th grade girl, Reilly Elementary School, City of Chicago School Dist 299, IL

"My favorite project from last year was about batteries because it was cool seeing it light up in my hands."

-- 5th grade boy, Haines Elementary School, City of Chicago School Dist 299, IL

"This year we built roller coasters. It was a hands-on project, it was fun, and it was a mixture of math and science. We need more hands on activities because you do learn from them and they make learning much more fun."

-- 6th grade girl, Columbia Elementary School, Brevard County School District, FL

"My favorite science lesson is when we used a microscope to see a plant cell...I [had] never done before but I realized how cool it was!"

-- 5th grade boy, Armstrong G Elementary Int`l Studies, City of Chicago School Dist 299, IL

The report highlights the Speak Up 2007 science education findings and discusses students' experiences with science education and how it might be improved so that students will be successful in the 21st century.

Selected findings:

What do students want in their ultimate science classroom?
Having a teacher excited about science is the #1 response from parents and students. Additional features include:
Do kids think that science is important to their future?
One-half of middle and high school students say that learning science is important for success in high school and college. 40% say that it helps develop problem solving and critical thinking skills. 46% acknowledge that they may want a job someday in science and learning science is important to achieve that goal.
Are they interested in science careers?
On average 1 in 5 students (3rd-12th grade) report they are very interested in a job in science, math, technology or engineering. More importantly, an additional 34% of students (3rd-12th grade) say they may be interested in a career in a STEM field if they knew more about those jobs.
Should improving science education be a top national priority?
2 out of 3 parents, teachers and school and district administrators agree that improving science education should be a top national priority.

Speak Up is a national research project conducted 100% online with surveys available for your K-12 students, teachers, parents, administrators and board members.We share the aggregated national data with federal and state policy leaders - participating schools (and districts) get free, online access to their own aggregated data with national benchmarks.

Inspiring the Next Generation of Innovators: Students, Parents and Educators Speak Up about Science Education

Inspiring the Next Generation of Innovators:
Students, Parents and Educators Speak Up about Science Education