Technology

Teacher portfolios have long been used to support professional reflection and learning. We developed a new type of e-portfolio tool enabling teachers to efficiently capture, annotate, and share multimedia evidence of student learning and instruction (documents, pictures, video) in mobile devices. This tool supported vertical professional learning communities with teachers in multiple grades, reflecting the spiraling structure of the Next Generation Science Standards, where concepts are covered multiple times in increasing depth and sophistication.

This project studies and develops science and engineering education technology and pedagogy that supports project‐based learning of science, engineering, and computation concepts and skills underlying the strategically important "green" and "smart" aspects of the infrastructure, which is a national priority.

Professional Development Supports for Teaching Bioinformatics through Mobile Learning

Illinois Physics and Secondary Schools (IPaSS) is a partnership between the University of Illinois Physics Department and 40 high school physics teachers representing 38 schools across Illinois. The holistic goal of the program is to develop a physics teaching Community of Practice that supports high school physics teachers from diverse school contexts in the design and implementation of high-quality, university-aligned instructional materials, such that their students experience fewer barriers in transitions to post-secondary STEM programs.

This project uses design-based research to develop, pilot, and refine a set of complementary online activities for preservice teachers to engage in approximations of practice to develop their ability to facilitate argumentation-focused discussions in mathematics and science. The effort has produced an integrated online practice suite (OPS) containing a coordinated and scaffolded collection of approximation of practice activities using game-based practice spaces, simulations, and virtual reality coupled with targeted feedback and support from teacher educators.

This project is developing the first Internet of Things based pedagogical ecosystem for 9-12 CS and STEM classes. This project has focused on identifying critical elements for effective instructional design for CS and SE education by understanding student and teacher motivation. A key innovation of this effort has been the low-cost, IoT-hardware kits for project-based learning to create a hands-on experience in the classroom.

The rock cycle is rarely taught in conjunction with plate tectonics. The method of studying images of rock outcrops is not enough to explain how rocks are formed and transformed over time. This project has developed a simulation for students to investigate the formation and evolution of rock sequences created under specific tectonic conditions. By bridging the tectonic system and the rock genesis system, students engage in scientific practices that are authentic to how geoscientists’ work.

Computational thinking (CT) is critical in all STEM fields, but it is typically not integrated in STEM courses beyond computer science. To address this gap, our project team is developing a month-long CT-intensive biology unit, where students learn to program a robotic gripper to respond to changes in their electrical muscle activity. This provides a novel, interdisciplinary, and real-world context for students to develop their CT.

EPK-2 is designing and testing a model of PreK-2nd grade teacher professional learning to address computational thinking. The focus is teachers’ generative development in CT as informed by collaborative, inquiry-based learning. The goal is to help teachers and schools build computational thinking pathways beginning with students’ earliest years. Research questions explore factors mediating PreK-2nd grade teachers’ learning and implementation of computational thinking in their classrooms.

“Dimensions of Success: Transforming Quality Assessment in Middle School Science and Engineering” aims to update and expand the Dimensions of Success (DoS) quality observation tool (created for informal science learning settings under NSF Award #1008591) to middle school science and engineering classrooms. This project will create a sustainable and scalable system of support for teachers as they 1) implement current science and engineering standards, and 2) create classroom cultures that are equitable and inclusive.