Science Learning through Embodied Performances in Elementary and Middle School
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Tuesday
A Practice-Based Online Learning Environment for Scientific Inquiry with Digitized Museum Collections in Middle School Classrooms
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EPIC Bioscience engages middle school students in authentic scientific practices via NGSS-aligned investigations of museum specimens. Students complete interactive activities to build prior knowledge and context, then use digitized specimens to collect and analyze relevant data. Findings are applied to pressing global issues such as biodiversity loss, geographic range changes in populations, and diminishing resources. Key challenges in the development of online, specimen-based science investigations are addressed using example interactions and analyses from EPIC investigations.
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Design and Development of Transmedia Narrative-based Curricula to Engage Children in Scientific Thinking and Engineering Design (Collaborative Research: Ellis and McGinnis-Cavanaugh)
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Transforming Engineering Education in Middle Schools (TEEMS) is an NGSS-aligned middle school curriculum that utilizes heroic stories to engage students in learning engineering and science concepts.
Our curriculum consists of multiweek units covering Principles of Engineering Design and Materials, Tools, and Manufacturing, as well as six shorter integrated engineering/science lessons.
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Design and Development of Transmedia Narrative-based Curricula to Engage Children in Scientific Thinking and Engineering Design (Collaborative Research: Ellis and McGinnis-Cavanaugh)
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Transforming Engineering Education in Middle Schools (TEEMS) is an NGSS-aligned middle school curriculum that utilizes heroic stories to engage students in learning engineering and science concepts.
Our curriculum consists of multiweek units covering Principles of Engineering Design and Materials, Tools, and Manufacturing, as well as six shorter integrated engineering/science lessons.
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STEM Sea, Air, and Land Remotely Operated Vehicle Design Challenges for Rural, Middle School Youth
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STEM SEALs builds collaborative partnerships between North Florida College and local middle schools to bolster STEM pathways for students in this region. It involves the development of inexpensive, rigorous, and versatile design challenges to expose rural middle school students to high quality STEM experiences. Researchers study the feasibility and efficacy of these experiences to promote greater awareness of STEM pathways, increase readiness for STEM study; and generate student identity as STEM-able, STEM-skilled, and STEM-belonging.
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Supporting Science Learning and Teaching in Middle School Classrooms through Automated Analysis of Students' Writing (Collaborative Research: Passonneau and Puntambekar)
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This project will design a sociotechnical system to automatically assess students written scientific explanations during science problem solving. The project will use two complementary mechanisms to provide feedback: automated assessment and feedback to students’ science explanations using using NLP techniques, and feedback to teachers provided through aggregated data about students’ writing generated by the system.
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Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Teaching in Rural Areas Using Cultural Knowledge Systems
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Science, Engineering, Engineering & Mathematics Teaching in Rural Areas using Cultural Knowledge Systems (STEM TRACKS) engages Iñupiaq people in northern Alaska in all aspects of curricular development and tests the Cultural Connections Process Model for community engagement. Our advisors in Kotzebue, Alaska selected the theme topic (snow), told us what is important about the topic, and provided content to support curriculum development. Pilot testing recently concluded.
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Reasoning Language for Teaching Secondary Algebra
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Reasoning Language for Teaching Secondary Algebra (ReLaTe-SA) is working in partnership with the San Antonio Independent School District to investigate the algebraic reasoning and discourse tools that secondary mathematics teachers use to make algebra concepts accessible for students and orchestrate and respond to student work on mathematics tasks. We are investigating teachers' algebraic discourse through written surveys, interviews, and a year-long professional development program focused on enhancing students' opportunities for algebraic reasoning in the classroom.
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Professional Development Supports for Teaching Bioinformatics through Mobile Learning
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Bioinformatics is an emerging area of research that develops new knowledge through computational analysis of vast biological data. This project investigates the professional development (PD) supports needed for teaching bioinformatics at the high school. Building from a robust literature in PD design research, project team worked with science teachers to co-design instructional modules to engage students with core bioinformatics concepts and data literacies, by focusing on local community health issues supported through mobile learning activities.
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Professional Development for K-12 Science Teachers in Linguistically Diverse Classrooms
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A sustained professional development program designed to support teachers who teach linguistically diverse group of English learners (ELs). It targets science teachers who teach Grade 9-12 courses in an urban high school that enrolls immigrants and former refugees. Roughly 45% of the student population are classified as ELs and collectively speak more than 40 different languages. Our team engages science teachers in this school in online PD workshops and lesson study throughout a school year.
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