Science

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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Developing a Modeling Orientation to Science: Teaching and Learning Variability and Change in Ecosystems (Collaborative Research: Lehrer, Miller, and Peake)

Principal Investigator:

We are investigating the development of middle-schoolers' understandings and practices of modeling in the context of investigations of variability and change in ecosystems. We are studying how and to what extent students' participation in distinct forms of modeling informs their classroom-based citizen science investigations.

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Developing a Modeling Orientation to Science: Teaching and Learning Variability and Change in Ecosystems (Collaborative Research: Lehrer, Miller, and Peake)

Principal Investigator:

We are investigating the development of middle-schoolers' understandings and practices of modeling in the context of investigations of variability and change in ecosystems. We are studying how and to what extent students' participation in distinct forms of modeling informs their classroom-based citizen science investigations.

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Developing a Modeling Orientation to Science: Teaching and Learning Variability and Change in Ecosystems (Collaborative Research: Lehrer, Miller, and Peake)

Principal Investigator:

We are investigating the development of middle-schoolers' understandings and practices of modeling in the context of investigations of variability and change in ecosystems. We are studying how and to what extent students' participation in distinct forms of modeling informs their classroom-based citizen science investigations.

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Science Communities of Practice Partnership

Principal Investigator:

Despite widespread agreement about the importance of teacher professional development (PD), translating what is learned in PD to classroom practice remains challenging. Guided by Self Determination Theory, this study examines how PD facilitators, including pedagogical coaches and university faculty, support the three basic needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness for teachers' intrinsic motivation as learners in PD focused on reform-based science instruction. Study findings include high-leverage practices that facilitators can use to support teacher motivation.

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Supporting Science Learning and Teaching in Middle School Classrooms through Automated Analysis of Students' Writing (Collaborative Research: Passonneau and Puntambekar)

Principal Investigator:
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

Principal Investigator:
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. Find out how we made it happen during the pandemic, and what we have learned so far!
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Professional Development Supports for Teaching Bioinformatics through Mobile Learning

Principal Investigator:
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

Principal Investigator:
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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PBS News Hour Student Reporting Labs StoryMaker: STEM-Integrated Student Journalism

Principal Investigator:
Sneak peek at StoryMaker, a video storytelling platform /educator co-learning community supporting students to produce videos about STEM projects.
PI: Leah Clapman, PBS NewsHour
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