Curriculum

Expressive STEM Storymaking: Art, Literacy, and Creative Computing

This chapter features intersections of art, literacy, and creative computing. As a component of STEAM, creative computing augments story creation, or storymaking (Buganza et al., 2023; Compton & Thompson, 2018), prompting learners to explore expressive meaning making as collective interactions with texts. To signify a way of teaching that supports such learning activities, we propose expressive STEM as a design principle, illustrated here with examples from an elementary school and a preservice art education program in Texas, USA.

Author/Presenter

Sean Justice

Lori Czop Assaf

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2025
Short Description

This chapter features intersections of art, literacy, and creative computing. As a component of STEAM, creative computing augments story creation, or storymaking (Buganza et al., 2023; Compton & Thompson, 2018), prompting learners to explore expressive meaning making as collective interactions with texts. To signify a way of teaching that supports such learning activities, we propose expressive STEM as a design principle, illustrated here with examples from an elementary school and a preservice art education program in Texas, USA.

Fostering Mathematics Engagement Through Citizen Science

Teach mathematics and science using materials for the weather-focused Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, & Snow Network project.

Author/Presenter

Danielle R. Scharen

Erin McInerney

Lindsey H. Sachs

Meredith L. Hayes

P. Sean Smith

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2025
Short Description

Teach mathematics and science using materials for the weather-focused Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, & Snow Network project.

Citizen Science in the Elementary Classroom: Going Beyond Data Collection

This article portrays how citizen science (CS) projects can be integrated into elementary classrooms to enhance students’ sensemaking skills and connect to real-world science problems. For the last several years, we have been involved in a study, Teacher Learning for Effective School-Based Citizen Science (TL4CS), that developed materials for elementary school teachers to engage their students in data collection, analysis, and interpretation for two existing CS projects: Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) and the Lost Ladybug Project (LLP).

Author/Presenter

Jill K. McGowan

Lindsey Sachs

Anna Bruce

Danielle R. Scharen

Meredith Hayes

P. Sean Smith

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2025
Short Description

This article portrays how citizen science (CS) projects can be integrated into elementary classrooms to enhance students’ sensemaking skills and connect to real-world science problems.

Seeing Our World Through Data: Sixth Graders Integrating Data Investigations in Collaborative Knowledge Building

Data science, as a multidisciplinary field, has gained considerable interest in K-12 education. Prior research has explored innovative ways to introduce data science to young learners, emphasizing not only the development of data skills but also the connection of data science to students’ authentic inquiries and critical actions.

Author/Presenter

Bodong Chen

Leanne Ma

Vivian Yu Leung

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2025
Short Description

Prior research has explored innovative ways to introduce data science to young learners, emphasizing not only the development of data skills but also the connection of data science to students’ authentic inquiries and critical actions. Building on this foundation, this study aims to achieve two complementary goals: integrating Knowledge Building, a well-established pedagogical approach, into K-12 data science education, and enhancing students’ epistemic agency through data practices in knowledge building.

More Than a Sprinkle: Elevating Multiple Perspectives in a Unit Exploring Coasts and Coastal Change in Hawai‘i

The Exploring Coasts and Coastal Change in Hawai‘i unit supports middle school haumana (students) in developing multi-perspective understanding and personal stances about coastal change in their community. The unit was collaboratively developed by a partnership among educators bringing together Indigenous and Western ways of knowing and learning.

Author/Presenter

Ho‘oululĀHui Erika Akaka

Beth A. Covitt

Koh Ming Wei

Kiana Davis

Noelani Puniwai

Jennifer Johansen

Blade Shepherd-Jones

Christina Mcwhorter

Nicollette Frank

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2025
Short Description

The Exploring Coasts and Coastal Change in Hawai‘i unit supports middle school haumana (students) in developing multi-perspective understanding and personal stances about coastal change in their community. The unit was collaboratively developed by a partnership among educators bringing together Indigenous and Western ways of knowing and learning. Through lessons that take place over three weeks, haumana (students) undertake a place-based learning experience addressing physical, biological, and social facets of their changing coasts and engage the perspectives of ‘ohana (family), community members, and scientists.

Engaging Students in Sensemaking via the Science and Engineering Practices

As educators, we recognize that commercially prepared curricula advertised as “NGSS aligned” do not necessarily emphasize student sensemaking. In this article, we describe our process of modifying such curricula by reflecting on previous instruction and planning for future instruction that centers student sensemaking in a middle school unit on chemical reactions. We highlight the ways that a set of publicly available pedagogical tools (known as the ASET SEP Tools) focused our discourse on a shared vision of sensemaking that is appropriate to expect of middle school students.

Author/Presenter

Amy Ricketts

Tiffany Rasmussen

Year
2025
Short Description

As educators, we recognize that commercially prepared curricula advertised as “NGSS aligned” do not necessarily emphasize student sensemaking. In this article, we describe our process of modifying such curricula by reflecting on previous instruction and planning for future instruction that centers student sensemaking in a middle school unit on chemical reactions.

Understanding and Managing the Complexities in Situated Learning in Immersive Virtual Environments

Situated learning has been widely promoted in educational practice, where students are encouraged to learn by exploring real-world problems in authentic contexts. To expand the opportunities for situated learning, immersive virtual environments have been explored by presenting problem contexts in vivid and interactive formats and enabling a variety of exploration activities. However, there are multiple challenges surrounding situated learning.

Author/Presenter

Minhong Wang

Chris Dede

Tina A. Grotzer

Juanjuan Chen

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2025
Short Description

Situated learning has been widely promoted in educational practice, where students are encouraged to learn by exploring real-world problems in authentic contexts. To expand the opportunities for situated learning, immersive virtual environments have been explored by presenting problem contexts in vivid and interactive formats and enabling a variety of exploration activities. However, there are multiple challenges surrounding situated learning. The challenges can be caused by the complexities of real-world problems, the complexities in exploring real-world problems, and the complexities in reflecting on the exploration experience. This paper presents a conceptual framework outlining three types of complexities surrounding situated learning and six strategies for coping with these complexities.

Supporting Secondary Teachers’ Interest in Adopting Climate-Related Curricular Resources

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) provide guidance for climate education and scientific epistemology in secondary schools. This includes tools like climate models and observational data to help students understand global climate patterns. Despite this, teachers often have limited access to standards-based instructional resources on Earth’s climate and global climate change (GCC).

Author/Presenter

Silvia-Jessica Mostacedo-Marasovic

Brenda Costello

Amanda A. Olsen

Cory T. Forbes

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2025
Short Description

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) provide guidance for climate education and scientific epistemology in secondary schools. This includes tools like climate models and observational data to help students understand global climate patterns. Despite this, teachers often have limited access to standards-based instructional resources on Earth’s climate and global climate change (GCC). In 2022, we implemented a one-week national professional development program (PDP) for secondary teachers introducing two NGSS-aligned climate-related curricula: i) the EzGCM global climate model for students, and ii) carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technologies. Our study explored, i) what demographic factors are associated with teachers’ assessments of these resources? and ii) what criteria do teachers consider when evaluating the potential adoption of climate-related curricula?

Supporting Secondary Teachers’ Interest in Adopting Climate-Related Curricular Resources

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) provide guidance for climate education and scientific epistemology in secondary schools. This includes tools like climate models and observational data to help students understand global climate patterns. Despite this, teachers often have limited access to standards-based instructional resources on Earth’s climate and global climate change (GCC).

Author/Presenter

Silvia-Jessica Mostacedo-Marasovic

Brenda Costello

Amanda A. Olsen

Cory T. Forbes

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2025
Short Description

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) provide guidance for climate education and scientific epistemology in secondary schools. This includes tools like climate models and observational data to help students understand global climate patterns. Despite this, teachers often have limited access to standards-based instructional resources on Earth’s climate and global climate change (GCC). In 2022, we implemented a one-week national professional development program (PDP) for secondary teachers introducing two NGSS-aligned climate-related curricula: i) the EzGCM global climate model for students, and ii) carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technologies. Our study explored, i) what demographic factors are associated with teachers’ assessments of these resources? and ii) what criteria do teachers consider when evaluating the potential adoption of climate-related curricula?

Lesson Study with Caregivers as a Resource for a Culturally Sustaining Mathematics Pedagogy for Multilingual Learners

Research has affirmed the importance of asset-based family partnerships, yet it does not often recognize the complementary roles of multilingual caregivers and teachers to enact culturally sustaining mathematics education.

Author/Presenter

Beatriz Quintos

Tarik Buli

Daniela Steflitsch

Melinda Martin-Beltrán

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2025
Short Description

Research has affirmed the importance of asset-based family partnerships, yet it does not often recognize the complementary roles of multilingual caregivers and teachers to enact culturally sustaining mathematics education. Our theoretical framework brings together the perspectives and tools of positioning theory and community solidarity through a lesson study that integrated the participation of caregivers.