Science
GeniVille: Exploring the Intersection of School and Social Media
Evolution Readiness: A Modeling Approach
Engaging Middle School Students in Student-directed Inquiry through Virtual Environments for Learning
Articulating the Components of Inclusive STEM High Schools
A PPT presentation on Articulating the Components of Inclusive STEM High Schools. Presented at STEMx Conference.
A PPT presentation on Articulating the Components of Inclusive STEM High Schools. Presented at STEMx Conference.
Publications for STEM Educators, Policymakers, and Researchers
This list contains STEM education-related publications that may be of interest to DRK-12 grantees for the purposes of (1) disseminating knowledge and products and (2) developing partnerships with stakeholders and end-users. These publications were chosen because they provide researchers and developers with an opportunity to present their work to individuals that could use, promote, or improve the work.
STEM education-related publications that may be of interest to DRK-12 grantees.
SE Regional Noyce Conference
To learn more, visit https://sites.google.com/site/senoyce/.
DR K-12 Presenter:
- Cynthia Trawick, Morehouse College (Project: Morehouse College DR K-12 Preservice STEM Teacher Initiative)
The Noyce Foundation
Electronic Science Notebooks and Argumentation: Analysis of Student Writing
Inquiry-based learning is a part of modern science education at all levels. The new science education standards framework has both emphasized the central role of inquiry and further defined the core competencies, such as making a claim and supporting it with evidence (NRC, 2011). This emphasis on argumentation arises not only out of its importance in science practice but also because students tend tostruggle with mastering it (McNeill, 2011), especially at the elementary level.
Strategic Scaffolding for Scientific Inquiry
Though many national and international science organizations stress the importance of integrating scientific inquiry into classroom instruction, this is often difficult for teachers. Moreover, assessing and scaffolding inquiry skills for students can be even more of a challenge. This paper investigated the student performances in an inquiry-based, situated virtual environment assessment and their descriptions of the experience in a strategically scaffolded conversation that followed it.
Though many national and international science organizations stress the importance of integrating scientific inquiry into classroom instruction, this is often difficult for teachers. Moreover, assessing and scaffolding inquiry skills for students can be even more of a challenge. This paper investigated the student performances in an inquiry-based, situated virtual environment assessment and their descriptions of the experience in a strategically scaffolded conversation that followed it. In the strategic scaffold, or “wraparound,” teachers elicited student’s inquiry pathways and problem solving abilities through a series of scripted and improvised questions. These wraparounds were transcribed and coded to determine students’ inquiry vocabulary usage. Students most frequently discussed using tools to gather data within the world. When coded results from wraparounds were compared with scores, paradoxically the only significant relationship was a negative one between the number of times students talked about using tools and the overall class performance on multiple-choice questions. Student vocabulary usage and the cause of the negative correlation are explored within this paper.