Teacher Practice

Schoolyard SITES: School-Community Partnership to Learn About Teaching Locally-Relevant Citizen Science

Author/Presenter

Lara Gengarelly

Sameer Honwad

Megan Glenn

Erik Froburg

Malin Clyde

Haley Andreozzi

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2023
Short Description

Our research study examines the community-based partnership PD model and its impact on school teachers’ self-efficacy and their success in engaging students in the NGSS science practices through citizen science projects.

“That is Still STEM”: Appropriating the Engineering Design Process to Challenge Dominant Narratives of Engineering and STEM

Author/Presenter

Jessica Watkins

Year
2023
Short Description

Teachers can play critical roles in challenging or reinscribing dominant narratives about what counts as STEM, who is seen within STEM disciplines, and how these disciplines should be taught. However, teachers have often experienced STEM in limited ways in their own education and are thereby provided with few resources for re-imagining these disciplines.

Examining Interactions Between Dominant Discourses and Engineering Educational Concepts in Teachers' Pedagogical Reasoning

Background
Engineering's introduction into K–12 classrooms has been purported to support meaningful and inclusive learning environments. However, teachers must contend with dominant discourses embedded in US schooling that justify inequitable distributions of resources.

Author/Presenter

Natalie De Lucca

Jessica Watkins

Rebecca D. Swanson

Merredith Portsmore

Year
2023
Short Description

Drawing on Gee's notion of discourses, we examine how teachers incorporate language legitimizing socially and culturally constructed values and beliefs. In particular, we focus on the discourse of ability hierarchy—reflecting dominant values of sorting and ranking students based on perceived academic abilities—and the discourse of individual blame—reflecting dominant framings of educational problems as solely the responsibility of individual students or families.

Integrando STEAM: A Guide for Elementary Bilingual and Dual Language Programs

This book is a guide for K-12 school leaders and educators who are planning to implement new bilingual and dual language (BDL) elementary programs for multilingual learners in the United States, focusing on the integration of subject matter knowledge of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) with biliteracy development goals, both in English and a partner language other than English (LOTE). With this book, we advocate for an integrated STEAM and literacy development approach in BDL Education.
Author/Presenter

Marialuisa Di Stefano

Alberto Esquinca

Idalis Villanueva Alarcón

Year
2023
Short Description

This book is a guide for K-12 school leaders and educators who are planning to implement new bilingual and dual language (BDL) elementary programs for multilingual learners in the United States, focusing on the integration of subject matter knowledge of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) with biliteracy development goals, both in English and a partner language other than English (LOTE).

Online Practice Suite Databrary

Repository of project simulation tasks and data.

Author/Presenter

Online Practice Suite Team

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2023
Short Description

Repository of project simulation tasks and data.

Applying the VisChem Approach in High School Classrooms: Chemical Learning Outcomes and Limitations

Most chemistry instruction and assessment lie in the symbolic domain of Johnstone’s representational levels, despite years of chemistry education researchers calling for increased emphasis to be placed on the molecular or particulate level of chemistry. Without a deep understanding of the particulate nature of matter and molecular-level interactions, meaningful chemistry understanding is nearly impossible. Understanding how molecules and other particles interact provides the necessary explanatory elements for predicting how chemical reactions will occur.

Author/Presenter

KatieMarie Q. Magnone

Ellen J. Yezierski

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2024
Short Description

In this study, we examine the results of high school teacher implementation of the VisChem Approach in four classrooms following an intensive professional development program.

Thinking Critically, Coding Creatively: Elevating Social Studies Through Inquiry-based Learning and Computer Science Integration

Weaving computer science into the fabric of social studies, rather than teaching it as an isolated skill, makes both subjects more relevant, engaging, and beneficial to students.

Berson, M. J., Berson, I. R., Franklin, K. L., Fawley, V. N., Shank, P. S., Dovi, R. E., Gasca, S., Hochberg, E. D., Berstein, D. (2024). Thinking critically, coding creatively: Elevating social studies through inquiry-based learning and computer science integration. Social Education, 98-103.

Author/Presenter

Michael J. Berson

Ilene R. Berson

Kristen L. Franklin

Valerie N. Fawley

Perry S. Shank

Rebecca E. Dovi

Santiago Gasca

Eric D. Hochberg

Debra Bernstein

Year
2024
Short Description

Weaving computer science into the fabric of social studies, rather than teaching it as an isolated skill, makes both subjects more relevant, engaging, and beneficial to students.

Centering Educators’ Voices in the Development of Professional Learning for Data-Rich, Place-Based Science Instruction

This self-reflective case study describes our project team’s efforts to promote equity in science professional learning (PL) by centering the voices of educators in the PL design process and within the course itself. We believe that educators’ experiences, priorities, and expertise are essential to developing professional learning that meets the needs of teachers and their students. We have a particular interest in amplifying the voices of those in historically underrepresented communities.

Author/Presenter

Nicole Wong

Rasha Elsayed

Katy Nilsen

Leticia R. Perez

Kirsten R. Daehler

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2024
Short Description

This self-reflective case study describes our project team’s efforts to promote equity in science professional learning (PL) by centering the voices of educators in the PL design process and within the course itself. In this case study, we share and critique the practices and tools that we have employed to center educator voices, rather than those of the PL designers and researchers.

Unpacking Teachers’ Orientations Toward a Knowledge Generation Approach: Do We Need to Go Beyond Epistemology?

This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a professional development program rooted in knowledge generation theory. Specifically, it sought to examine the changes in teachers' three orientations following the completion of the first-year workshop, and how these changes impacted their classroom implementation. This investigation takes the form of a multiple-case study of twelve K-5 teachers. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and classroom observations.

Author/Presenter

Ercin Sahin

Jee Kyung Suh

Brian Hand

Gavin Fulmer

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2023
Short Description

This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a professional development program rooted in knowledge generation theory. Specifically, it sought to examine the changes in teachers' three orientations following the completion of the first-year workshop, and how these changes impacted their classroom implementation.

Examining Teacher Transition Pathways Towards Knowledge Generation Environments

National standards that centre on the underpinning epistemic practices of the discipline has emphasised the need for teachers to focus much more on knowledge generation approaches to learning. Adopting a complexity perspective, we attempt to understand how teachers shift over time by examining their epistemic orientation to knowledge generation and their understanding of the nature of the epistemic tools of language, dialogue and argument that underpin these environments.

Author/Presenter

Brian Hand

Gavin Fulmer

Jee Kyung Suh

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2023
Short Description

Adopting a complexity perspective, we attempt to understand how teachers shift over time by examining their epistemic orientation to knowledge generation and their understanding of the nature of the epistemic tools of language, dialogue and argument that underpin these environments.