Middle

Creating Inclusive PreK–12 STEM Learning Environments

Brief CoverBroadening participation in PreK–12 STEM provides ALL students with STEM learning experiences that can prepare them for civic life and the workforce.

Author/Presenter

Malcom Butler

Cory Buxton

Odis Johnson Jr.

Leanne Ketterlin-Geller

Catherine McCulloch

Natalie Nielsen

Arthur Powell

Year
2018
Short Description

This brief offers insights from National Science Foundation-supported research for education leaders and policymakers who are broadening participation in science, technology, engineering, and/or mathematics (STEM). Many of these insights confirm knowledge that has been reported in research literature; however, some offer a different perspective on familiar challenges.

Uncovering Middle School CS Students’ Understanding of Variables and Control Structures: A Cognitive Think-Aloud Approach

This poster presents findings on middle school students’ understanding of core computer science (CS) concepts, such as variables and control structures, using cognitive think-aloud interviews with eight students. Each student worked on 16-22 formative assessment tasks designed to assess understanding on the ‘Algorithms and Programming’ middle school CS standards. Our study describes students’ interpretations of the CS concepts and discusses potential factors influencing student interpretations. Significance and next steps are described.

Author/Presenter

Hui Yang

Satabdi Basu

Daisy Rutstein

Arif Rachmatullah

Carol Tate

Christopher Ortiz

Eliese Rulifson

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2023
Short Description

This poster presents findings on middle school students’ understanding of core computer science (CS) concepts, such as variables and control structures, using cognitive think-aloud interviews with eight students.

Exploring Middle School Students’ Understanding of Algorithms Using Standards-aligned Formative Assessments: Teacher and Researcher Perspectives

‘Algorithms’ is a core CS concept included in the K-12 CS standards, yet student challenges with understanding different aspects of algorithms are still not well documented, especially for younger students. This paper describes an approach to decompose the broad middle-school ‘algorithms’ standard into finer grained learning targets, develop formative assessment tasks aligned with the learning targets, and use the tasks to explore student understanding of, and challenges with, the various aspects of the standard.

Author/Presenter

Satabdi Basu

Daisy Rutstein

Carol Tate

Arif Rachmatullah

Hui Yang

Christopher Ortiz

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2023
Short Description

‘Algorithms’ is a core CS concept included in the K-12 CS standards, yet student challenges with understanding different aspects of algorithms are still not well documented, especially for younger students. This paper describes an approach to decompose the broad middle-school ‘algorithms’ standard into finer grained learning targets, develop formative assessment tasks aligned with the learning targets, and use the tasks to explore student understanding of, and challenges with, the various aspects of the standard.

Designing Standards-aligned Formative Assessments to Explore Middle School Students’ Understanding of Algorithms

'Algorithms’ is a core CS concept included in the K-12 CS learning standards, yet student challenges with understanding and using algorithms are still not well documented. This paper describes an approach to decompose the broad middle-school ‘algorithms’ standard into finer grained learning targets, develop formative assessment tasks aligned with the fine-grained learning targets, and use the tasks to explore student understanding of and challenges with the various concepts underlying the standard.

Author/Presenter

Satabdi Basu

Daisy Wise Rutstein

Arif Rachmatullah

Carol Tate

Hui Yang

Christopher Ortiz

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2023
Short Description

'Algorithms’ is a core CS concept included in the K-12 CS learning standards, yet student challenges with understanding and using algorithms are still not well documented. This paper describes an approach to decompose the broad middle-school ‘algorithms’ standard into finer grained learning targets, develop formative assessment tasks aligned with the fine-grained learning targets, and use the tasks to explore student understanding of and challenges with the various concepts underlying the standard.

Technology-based Innovative Assessment

This section presents an overview of critical developments in technology-driven, classroom-based innovative assessment practices. It uses a framework organized around cognitive constructs, assessment functionality, and automaticity to review the technological developments of innovative assessments and identify how they have been advanced to meet researcher and practitioner needs.

Author/Presenter

Xiaoming Zhai

Eric Wiebe

Year
2023
Short Description

This section presents an overview of critical developments in technology-driven, classroom-based innovative assessment practices. It uses a framework organized around cognitive constructs, assessment functionality, and automaticity to review the technological developments of innovative assessments and identify how they have been advanced to meet researcher and practitioner needs.

Technology-based Innovative Assessment

This section presents an overview of critical developments in technology-driven, classroom-based innovative assessment practices. It uses a framework organized around cognitive constructs, assessment functionality, and automaticity to review the technological developments of innovative assessments and identify how they have been advanced to meet researcher and practitioner needs.

Author/Presenter

Xiaoming Zhai

Eric Wiebe

Year
2023
Short Description

This section presents an overview of critical developments in technology-driven, classroom-based innovative assessment practices. It uses a framework organized around cognitive constructs, assessment functionality, and automaticity to review the technological developments of innovative assessments and identify how they have been advanced to meet researcher and practitioner needs.

Technology-based Innovative Assessment

This section presents an overview of critical developments in technology-driven, classroom-based innovative assessment practices. It uses a framework organized around cognitive constructs, assessment functionality, and automaticity to review the technological developments of innovative assessments and identify how they have been advanced to meet researcher and practitioner needs.

Author/Presenter

Xiaoming Zhai

Eric Wiebe

Year
2023
Short Description

This section presents an overview of critical developments in technology-driven, classroom-based innovative assessment practices. It uses a framework organized around cognitive constructs, assessment functionality, and automaticity to review the technological developments of innovative assessments and identify how they have been advanced to meet researcher and practitioner needs.

Technology-based Innovative Assessment

This section presents an overview of critical developments in technology-driven, classroom-based innovative assessment practices. It uses a framework organized around cognitive constructs, assessment functionality, and automaticity to review the technological developments of innovative assessments and identify how they have been advanced to meet researcher and practitioner needs.

Author/Presenter

Xiaoming Zhai

Eric Wiebe

Year
2023
Short Description

This section presents an overview of critical developments in technology-driven, classroom-based innovative assessment practices. It uses a framework organized around cognitive constructs, assessment functionality, and automaticity to review the technological developments of innovative assessments and identify how they have been advanced to meet researcher and practitioner needs.

Characterizing Mathematics Teacher Learning Patterns Through Collegial Conversation in a Community of Practice

We examined secondary (6-12) mathematics teachers’ participation in a professional development (PD) model where they collectively investigated video cases of students engaging with ambitious instructional materials. We leveraged frame analysis, frame processes, and the Teaching for Robust Understanding framework to characterize the learning of professional learning communities. We found that teacher learning was supported within collegial environments where teachers respectfully challenged or transformed ideas on how to solve problems of practice.

Author/Presenter

Joseph DiNapoli

Amy Daniel

Helene S. Leonard

Youngjun Kim

Victoria D. Bonaccorso

Eileen Murray

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2023
Short Description

We examined secondary (6-12) mathematics teachers’ participation in a professional development (PD) model where they collectively investigated video cases of students engaging with ambitious instructional materials. We leveraged frame analysis, frame processes, and the Teaching for Robust Understanding framework to characterize the learning of professional learning communities.

Energy and Your Environment (EYE): Place-based Curriculum Unit to Foster Students’ Energy Literacy

This chapter describes our middle school energy literacy project to develop, implement, and test curriculum materials for a unit titled Energy and Your Environment (EYE). EYE fosters place-based education by using the school building to enhance systems thinking about energy consumption and flow between the building and surrounding environment. Within the curriculum unit, students first consider the carbon footprint of buildings.

Author/Presenter

Suzy Otto

Laura B. Cole

Rebekah Snyder

R. Tanner Oertli

Sepideh Fallahhosseini 

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2023
Short Description

This chapter describes our middle school energy literacy project to develop, implement, and test curriculum materials for a unit titled Energy and Your Environment (EYE). EYE fosters place-based education by using the school building to enhance systems thinking about energy consumption and flow between the building and surrounding environment.