Science
Professional Development for K-12 Science Teachers in Linguistically Diverse Classrooms
PBS News Hour Student Reporting Labs StoryMaker: STEM-Integrated Student Journalism
PI: Leah Clapman, PBS NewsHour
Online Practice Suite: Practice Spaces, Simulations and Virtual Reality Environments for Preservice Teachers to Learn to Facilitate Argumentation Discussions in Math and Science
This poster provides an overview of our three-year project where researchers are using a design-based research approach to develop, pilot, and refine a set of coordinated and complementary practice-based activities that teacher education programs can deploy to provide practice-based learning opportunities for preservice teachers. The goal is to help the preservice teachers to engage in authentic, purposeful, and scaffolded approximations of practice as they develop their ability to facilitate argumentation-focused discussions in mathematics and science.
Misconceptions Oriented Standards-Based Assessment Resource for Teachers of High School Physical Sciences (MOSART HSPS)
MOSART HS PS developed assessment tools based on both NRC Standards and NGSS for high school chemistry and physics. The 500 new test items were combined into instruments and validated by content experts. Comprehensive data from a nationally representative sample of 12,000 high school students and their teachers measures the content knowledge of both groups and allows the estimation of item characteristics. Pre- and post-tests associate yearly knowledge gains with teacher characteristics and pedagogies used.
From Access to Sustainability: Investigating Ways to Foster Sustainable Use of Computational Modeling in K-12 Science Classrooms
Our vision is to make computational modeling a sustained practice in middle school science classrooms. We are working closely with teachers to design a tool and curricula that integrate computational modeling with data practices and enables students to move towards unpacking models and their underlying assumptions. Our research questions involve investigating 1. students modeling trajectories in this environment; 2. how classrooms norms develop over time; and, 3. the interplay between computational modeling and data practices.
Developing an Online Game to Teach Middle School Students Science Research Practices in the Life Sciences (Collaborative Research: Gagnon, Baker, and Metcalf)
Aqualab is an online video game to teach scientific practices in the context of life sciences for middle school. Students use science practices of experimentation, modeling, and argumentation to investigate questions related to aquatic ecosystems. The project is developing and scaffolding layers of science practices within the gameplay, and exploring how learning progressions can be empirically derived from game data. The findings will be used to create personalized interventions to improve student learning outcomes.
Developing an Online Game to Teach Middle School Students Science Research Practices in the Life Sciences (Collaborative Research: Gagnon, Baker, and Metcalf)
Aqualab is an online video game to teach scientific practices in the context of life sciences for middle school. Students use science practices of experimentation, modeling, and argumentation to investigate questions related to aquatic ecosystems. The project is developing and scaffolding layers of science practices within the gameplay, and exploring how learning progressions can be empirically derived from game data. The findings will be used to create personalized interventions to improve student learning outcomes.
Developing an Online Game to Teach Middle School Students Science Research Practices in the Life Sciences (Collaborative Research: Gagnon, Baker, and Metcalf)
Aqualab is an online video game to teach scientific practices in the context of life sciences for middle school. Students use science practices of experimentation, modeling, and argumentation to investigate questions related to aquatic ecosystems. The project is developing and scaffolding layers of science practices within the gameplay, and exploring how learning progressions can be empirically derived from game data. The findings will be used to create personalized interventions to improve student learning outcomes.