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Promoting critical science agency (CSA) may be one way to promote educational justice. CSA is using science with other powerful forms of knowledge to address issues of injustice. However, the process of enacting CSA is always embedded within a sociopolitical context, which positions some students with more power than others.

In this chapter, the authors present the design rationale for and empirical results from a predominantly synchronous three-part online model for the professional development of mathematics teachers in rural contexts. They describe how the design of the components are complementary and are intended to support teachers to develop challenging instructional practices, even when the teachers are geographically remote and dispersed. The three parts include an online course, online video coaching, and online demonstration lessons.

This article describes online video coaching model used with middle-grades, rural mathematics teachers.

Carson, C., Callard, C., Gillespie, R., Choppin, J., & Amador, J. (2019). Bridging the distance: One-on-one video coaching supports rural teachers. The Learning Professional, 40(6), 66-70.

Graphs illustrating complex scientific relationships require students to integrate multiple concepts and visual features into a coherent understanding. We investigate ways to support students in integrating their understanding of density concepts through a graph that is linked to a simulation depicting the relationship between mass, volume, and density. We randomly assigned 325 8^th-grade students to 1 of 2 graphing activities.

Graph technologies are now widely available in K-12 science and mathematics classrooms. These technologies have the potential to impact the learning of science and mathematics, especially by supporting student investigations. We use meta-analysis to analyze 42 design and comparison studies involving data from 7699 students spanning over 35 years. In these studies, graphing technologies include computer software such as simulations; online tools such as graph utilities; and sensors such as temperature probes. We characterize the assessments used to measure graphing.

For five decades, JRME has sought to publish high-quality mathematics education research that advances the field’s knowledge and has a positive impact on the teaching and learning of mathematics in the classroom. The journal’s 50th anniversary represents an opportune time for the research community to take a step back, assess what progress has been made on the major problems of the field, and consider the most important problems that could orient research in the future.

Cai, J., Morris, A., Hohensee, C., Hwang, S., Robison, V., Cirillo, M., Kramer, S. L., Hiebert, J., & Bakker, A. (2020). Addressing the problem of always starting over: Identifying, valuing, and sharing professional knowledge for teaching. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 51(2).

In this paper we use practice theory, with its focus on the interplay of structure and agency, to theorize about teacher engagement in professional learning and teacher enactment of pedagogical practices as an alternative to framing implementation research in terms of program adherence and fidelity of implementation. Practice theory allowed us to reconsider assumptions about characteristics of effective teacher professional learning, and to rethink our own notions of agency.

Multimedia environments provide multiple resources for expression, collaboration, and knowledge-creation. Yet there is much to be learned about the design of such environments, the forms of collegial discourse that take place, and the benefits of participation. To this end, we study the 2017 STEM for All Video Showcase, a multimodal environment, that enabled educational researchers to share and discuss short videos depicting their federally-funded work to improve STEM education.

Recent reforms in science education have supported the inclusion of engineering in K-12 curricula. To this end, many science classrooms have incorporated engineering units that include design tasks. Design is an integral part of engineering and helps students think in creative and interdisciplinary ways. In this study, we examined middle-school students’ naturally occurring design conversations in small design teams and their learning of science as a result of engaging in an engineering and science unit.