Elementary School

Project goals are 1) to map and synthesize the research literature on computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL), 2) identify topics relevant to K12 practitioners for use in practice and determine if new research is needed to create more usable knowledge, and 3) create materials with researchers and practitioners working together. In the three phases of the project, we use a diversity, equity, and inclusion lens. In this poster we discuss findings from Phase 1.

Using the nationally representative Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, we examine the correlates of elementary school science achievement gains for multilingual learners. We examine both science inputs - such as time on science, instructional materials, and topics taught - as well as language inputs - including ELL instructional model, languages spoken by educators, and multilingual resources. Our findings provide exploratory evidence on the factors related to science learning gains for multilingual learners.

The NGSA Elementary project seeks to better understand how to build and sustain the capacity of elementary science teachers to instruct and formatively assess students in NGSS-aligned ways. Our professional learning model prioritizes teacher learning in a community of practice, places instructionally supportive assessments at the forefront, and centers student discourse on disciplinary knowledge and practices to engage in sensemaking and reasoning. Teacher partners use multi-dimensional tasks in their classrooms and discuss experiences during PL sessions.

The NGSA Elementary project seeks to better understand how to build and sustain the capacity of elementary science teachers to instruct and formatively assess students in NGSS-aligned ways. Our professional learning model prioritizes teacher learning in a community of practice, places instructionally supportive assessments at the forefront, and centers student discourse on disciplinary knowledge and practices to engage in sensemaking and reasoning. Teacher partners use multi-dimensional tasks in their classrooms and discuss experiences during PL sessions.

The Advancing Coherent and Equitable Systems of Science Education (ACESSE, or “access”) project brings together partners from educational research and practice to promote equity and coherence in systems of science education. It involves a deep collaboration between the Council of State Science Supervisors (CSSS), the University of Washington, and the University of Colorado Boulder. Strategies and resources from this project are being shared around the country through networks of science education leaders. See https://stemteachingtools.org/

Improving the quality of teaching is essential to improving student outcomes. BSCS Science Learning and the University of Minnesota STEM Education Program Area adapted an effective in-person professional learning model to utilize an online approach. The adaptation of STeLLA—Science Teachers Learning from Lesson Analysis—is important because it can reach a broader audience. To further promote the reach of STeLLA, the online version prepared local leaders to lead the program.

The purpose of this project is to gather, analyze, and synthesize research studies that have investigated different approaches to supporting students in grades 6-14 in learning to analyze, interpret, and reason about data with a focus on variation and covariation. We will use Robust Variance Estimation (RVE) to examine how effect size estimates depend on intervention characteristics, study design, outcomes of interest, and demographic characteristics of participants in the studies.

This project is conducting research on the modes of interaction that effectively prepare K-2 teachers to engage in reflective inquiry about their students’ emergent use of computational thinking strategies, and embed those learnings within a CoP platform to support scalable teacher professional development.

The LaCuKnoS project promotes a justice-centered approach to broadening participation in STEM by engaging teachers, students and families across Oregon in work to support language development for science meaning making, mapping cultural and community connections to science, and building knowledge for informed decision making.

This poster will present one school's partnership work as part of our larger project. As a key lever to lead towards racially just, ambitious mathematics, the leadership team is focused on acknowledging, valuing, and incorporating students and families' funds of knowledge in mathematics into everyday classroom teaching and learning. The poster will describe the multiple pathways they are working to do this, successes, and challenges.