Evaluating sub-lethal effects of orchard-applied pyrethroids using video-tracking software to quantify honey bee behaviors" (2015). Faculty Publications: Department of Entomology. 377.

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Social-emotional learning (SEL) is known to improve student outcomes but is rarely combined with STEM. In this paper we present an action research study to examine the impact of a STEM + SEL curriculum intervention to address a real-world school conflict. One hundred sixth–eighth graders and four teachers participated in an in-person facilitation of a SEL Arthropod curriculum, DIFFERENT. After the intervention, students completed open-ended couplet statements about arthropod behavior, tarantulas, and humans designed to measure sentiment change. Answers were manually coded using inductive coding on a scale of negative (1) to positive (5). Statement sentiments significantly shifted from negative to neutral and negative to positive for all three questions. Neutral to positive shifts were only significant for the couplet statements about arthropod behavior. This study reports the first confirmed instance of successful use of arthropods for SEL within a curriculum that integrates students’ social-emotional skills within a science classroom.

To improve students’ understanding and appreciation of insects, entomology education efforts have supported insect incorporation in formal education settings. While several studies have explored student ideas about insects and the incorporation of insects in elementary and middle school classrooms, the topic of how and why insects are incorporated in secondary science classrooms remains relatively unexplored. Using survey research methods, this study addresses the gap in the literature by (1) describing in-service secondary science teachers’ incorporation of insects in science classrooms; (2) identifying factors that support or deter insect incorporation and (3) identifying teachers’ preferred resources to support future entomology education efforts. Findings indicate that our sample of U.S. secondary science teachers commonly incorporate various insects in their classrooms, but that incorporation is infrequent throughout the academic year. Insect-related lesson plans are commonly used and often self-created to meet teachers’ need for standards-aligned curriculum materials. Obstacles to insect incorporation include a perceived lack of alignment of insect education materials to state or national science standards and a lack of time and professional training to teach about insects. Recommendations are provided for entomology and science education organizations to support teachers in overcoming these obstacles.

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