Science

Quality elementary science programs are faced with the challenge of adapting and/or building upon the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) in order to provide an essential foundation for student learning and interest in science. As such, these science programs must address how the practices of science can be linked with cross-cutting concepts through meaningful learning contexts that, of necessity, evolve progressively across grades.

This session focuses on methods and results from four current NSF-funded studies (three of which are funded under DR K–12). Two studies are attempting to capture the essential features of inclusive STEM-focused high schools and are developing data-based conceptual frameworks. One of these is conducting rich case studies of eight high-functioning, inclusive STEM high schools (ISHSs), drawn from seven different states, to build a common model for designing such schools.

This session explores the role of funding programs in shaping research agendas through deliberate and targeted funding for priority areas. With the English language learner (ELL) population in U.S. schools on the rise and a growing demand for expansion and development of STEM education, intersecting research in these two fields represents an important effort to address pressing issues in U.S. schools and the STEM workforce.

Current knowledge assessment techniques, such as paper-and-pencil or performance assessments, can provide robust data about gross changes in the distribution of student knowledge over the course of instruction. However, we lack effective ways of coordinating student data collected across varied instruments, time points, and activity contexts to examine patterns of change and dynamics of growth across large numbers of students.

DR K–12 projects have been funded to conduct (1) activities and develop materials that are beneficial to the STEM education community (teachers and students) and (2) education research to ensure continuous improvement of these activities and materials.

Examples of research practices that limit the validity of research syntheses are not difficult to find. For example, Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC), and Abt Associates reported in their Compendium of STEM Instruments that psychometric reporting practices in the STEM community tend to be insufficient, and this limited what they could learn from their synthesis.

The Next Generation Science Standards present important shifts for science teaching, assessment, and curriculum materials—focusing on core explanatory ideas, a central role for science and engineering practices, and coherence across time and science disciplines. These challenges for practice require new theoretical advances.