Elementary

Effective Strategies for Learning and Teaching in Times of Science Denial and Disinformation

The modern information landscape offers an abundance of options to learn about science topics, but it is also ripe for the spread of mis- and disinformation and science denial. Science education can play a pivotal role in mitigating harm from untruthful information, strengthening trust in science, and fostering a more informed and critically engaged public. Across the articles in this special issue, 10 pedagogical strategies to address mis- and disinformation in the classroom were synthesized.

Author/Presenter

K. C. Busch

Doug Lombardi

Year
2025
Short Description

The modern information landscape offers an abundance of options to learn about science topics, but it is also ripe for the spread of mis- and disinformation and science denial. Science education can play a pivotal role in mitigating harm from untruthful information, strengthening trust in science, and fostering a more informed and critically engaged public.

An Emerging Theory of School-based Participatory Science

Participatory science conducted in formal K–12 settings has many benefits, including the potential to engage teachers and students authentically in the scientific enterprise and to make learning more meaningful. Despite these benefits and others, school-based participatory science (SBPS) is not widespread. In this essay, we put forth a theory of SBPS that is emerging from a four-year study of efforts to integrate participatory science in elementary classrooms.

Author/Presenter

P. Sean Smith

Christine L. Goforth

Sarah J. Carrier

Meredith L. Hayes

Sarah E. Safley

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2025
Short Description

Participatory science conducted in formal K–12 settings has many benefits, including the potential to engage teachers and students authentically in the scientific enterprise and to make learning more meaningful. Despite these benefits and others, school-based participatory science (SBPS) is not widespread. In this essay, we put forth a theory of SBPS that is emerging from a four-year study of efforts to integrate participatory science in elementary classrooms.

Getting Unstuck Together: Creating Personally Authentic Programming Projects in a 4th Grade Classroom

Background and Context
Learning to create self-directed and personally authentic programming projects involves encountering challenges and learning to get unstuck.

Author/Presenter

Paulina Haduong

Karen Brennan

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2024
Short Description

Teachers play a central role in designing structures which encourage the development of students’ individual creative capacity and the classroom’s sense of community. We offer considerations for designing engaging and collaborative experiences in elementary and intermediate computing education.

Facilitating Collaborative Inquiry into Practice Around Artifacts of Mathematics Teaching

Although there has been increasing attention to the importance of teacher agency in professional development, there has been little attention to what it takes to facilitate collaborative work that both centers teachers’ assets and expertise and leads to productive learning. This paper presents a framework for focused and responsive facilitation of productive discourse around instructional practice in teacher learning communities.

Author/Presenter

Caroline B. Ebby

Brittany Hess

Lizzy Pecora

Jennifer Valerio

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2024
Short Description

Although there has been increasing attention to the importance of teacher agency in professional development, there has been little attention to what it takes to facilitate collaborative work that both centers teachers’ assets and expertise and leads to productive learning. This paper presents a framework for focused and responsive facilitation of productive discourse around instructional practice in teacher learning communities.

Development of a Questionnaire on Teachers' Beliefs, Preparedness, and Instructional Practices for Teaching NGSS Science with Multilingual Learners

The limited availability of research instruments that reflect the vision of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) restricts the field's understanding of whether and how teachers are making instructional shifts called for by the standards. The need for such instruments is particularly urgent with teachers of multilingual learners (MLs), who are called on to make shifts in how they think about and enact instruction related to both science and language.

Author/Presenter

Scott E. Grapin

Courtney Plumley

Eric Banilower

Alycia J. Sterenberg Mahon

Laura Craven

Kristen Malzahn

Joan Pasley

Abigail Schwenger

Alison Haas

Okhee Lee

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2024
Short Description

The limited availability of research instruments that reflect the vision of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) restricts the field's understanding of whether and how teachers are making instructional shifts called for by the standards. The need for such instruments is particularly urgent with teachers of multilingual learners (MLs), who are called on to make shifts in how they think about and enact instruction related to both science and language. The purpose of this study was to develop and gather validity evidence for a questionnaire that measures elementary teachers' beliefs, preparedness, and instructional practices for teaching NGSS science with MLs.

Understanding Variation in Integrated STEM Practice as Measured by the STEM Observation Protocol (STEM-OP)

To better understand integrated STEM education, this work explored scores on the STEM Observation Protocol (STEM-OP), a newly developed observation protocol for use in K-12 science and engineering classrooms. The goals of this work were to better understand how integrated STEM might look throughout an integrated STEM unit and identify limitations of the instrument when examining daily scores and full unit implementation scores. The work takes a mixed methods approach to first examine what scores may be typically seen with daily and unit implementations.

Author/Presenter

Emily A. Dare

Elizabeth A. Ring-Whalen

Year
2024
Short Description

To better understand integrated STEM education, this work explored scores on the STEM Observation Protocol (STEM-OP), a newly developed observation protocol for use in K-12 science and engineering classrooms. The goals of this work were to better understand how integrated STEM might look throughout an integrated STEM unit and identify limitations of the instrument when examining daily scores and full unit implementation scores.

Understanding Variation in Integrated STEM Practice as Measured by the STEM Observation Protocol (STEM-OP)

To better understand integrated STEM education, this work explored scores on the STEM Observation Protocol (STEM-OP), a newly developed observation protocol for use in K-12 science and engineering classrooms. The goals of this work were to better understand how integrated STEM might look throughout an integrated STEM unit and identify limitations of the instrument when examining daily scores and full unit implementation scores. The work takes a mixed methods approach to first examine what scores may be typically seen with daily and unit implementations.

Author/Presenter

Emily A. Dare

Elizabeth A. Ring-Whalen

Year
2024
Short Description

To better understand integrated STEM education, this work explored scores on the STEM Observation Protocol (STEM-OP), a newly developed observation protocol for use in K-12 science and engineering classrooms. The goals of this work were to better understand how integrated STEM might look throughout an integrated STEM unit and identify limitations of the instrument when examining daily scores and full unit implementation scores.

Novice Elementary Teachers’ Science Teaching: Instructional Planning and Discourse

Teaching science to elementary school students is complex, and teacher preparation programs must support preservice teachers’ learning to communicate science content and practices with children. Science teachers bring the experiences they have as students to their teacher preparation, and these experiences may support or conflict with what they are learning about effective teaching. In this study, we present stories of two first-year teachers who attended a STEM-focused teacher preparation program in the U.S.

Author/Presenter

Sarah J. Carrier

James Minogue

Aimee B. Fraulo

Year
2024
Short Description

Teaching science to elementary school students is complex, and teacher preparation programs must support preservice teachers’ learning to communicate science content and practices with children. Science teachers bring the experiences they have as students to their teacher preparation, and these experiences may support or conflict with what they are learning about effective teaching. In this study, we present stories of two first-year teachers who attended a STEM-focused teacher preparation program in the U.S.

Engaging Elementary Students in Science Practice: Strategies for Helping Children Plan Investigations

This article presents a tool that teachers can use to support children in planning science investigations. Using an extended example from a second-grade investigation into seed dispersal, we describe strategies for structuring conversations that anchor investigations in phenomena and provide opportunities for students to be involved in making decisions about what materials to use in an investigation, how to use materials, and what to look for or count as evidence.

Author/Presenter

Annabel Stoler

Eve Manz

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2024
Short Description

This article presents a tool that teachers can use to support children in planning science investigations. Using an extended example from a second-grade investigation into seed dispersal, we describe strategies for structuring conversations that anchor investigations in phenomena and provide opportunities for students to be involved in making decisions about what materials to use in an investigation, how to use materials, and what to look for or count as evidence.

Schoolyard SITES Curriculum Workbook & Citizen Science Guide

This curriculum workbook details a design process for engaging students in citizen science investigations that are relevant to their school district’s curriculum and school site. The citizen science guide is designed to help users critically examine potential citizen science projects to determine whether they can be easily adapted for use in a classroom curriculum and schoolyard setting.

Author/Presenter

Lara Gengarelly

Erik Froburg

Malin Clyde

Haley Andreozzi

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2023
Short Description

This curriculum workbook details a design process for engaging elementary students in citizen science investigations that are relevant to their school district’s curriculum and school site. The citizen science guide is designed to help users critically examine potential citizen science projects to determine whether they can be easily adapted for use in a classroom curriculum and schoolyard setting.