DRK-12 Community Voices Blog

Our blog features voices from our community of STEM education researchers and developers.

           Learning Trajectories and Equity: Making a Strong Link Stronger - November 15, 2023
Blog | In this blog, Jere Confrey and Alan Maloney discuss the elements of learning trajectory research that are critical to supporting equity. ...
           Connecting Climate & Community: Enhancing Understanding and Use of Scientific Models Through Community Engagement - September 23, 2023
Blog | In this blog post, Leigh Peake reflects on a decade of work on climate-focused education and the critical importance of scientific models in understanding and responding to climate change within a local community. ...
           Place Matters: Preparing STEM Teachers for Rural Schools - April 21, 2023
Blog | In this blog post, Devon Brenner offers suggestions for how teacher education programs can work to understand the places their students come from and the schools and districts where graduates teach. ...
           Argument in Science Education - March 21, 2023
Blog | In this blog post, Jonathan Osborne makes the case why argumentation is a powerful tool for student learning in science classrooms.   ...
           Tips for Designing and Implementing Exploratory DRK-12 Projects - July 21, 2022
Blog | CADRE shares tips for those considering submitting an Exploratory project, including how it is different from Early-Concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER). ...
           Synthesizing Findings from Education Research Conducted During the Pandemic: Emerging Lessons From COVID-19 - June 30, 2022
Blog | Vanessa Peters shares early selected findings from a review and synthesis of research outcomes on the unanticipated effects of the pandemic on STEM teaching and learning. ...
           Affordances and Challenges of 360 Video in Teacher Education - May 26, 2022
Blog | Karl Kosko describes 360 video and approaches to using the immersive video technology in teacher education. ...
           Using Simulations to Support STEM Teacher Learning: Exploring Possibilities, Challenges, and Future Directions - March 30, 2022
Blog | Jamie Mikeska discusses simulations in teacher education and opportunities for researchers to advance this field. ...
           An Astronomy Frontier Where Boundaries Dissolve - October 25, 2021
Blog | Roy Gould discusses the increasingly blurry boundaries between disciplines on the frontiers of astronomy. ...
           Tips for Planning a Conference Session - July 26, 2021
Blog | CADRE shares examples of how one lead session designer prepared for and organized their DRK-12 PI Meeting panel discussion....
           What is Environmental Literacy? - April 19, 2021
Blog | Karen Hollweg describes her work to develop a framework to assess environmental literacy. ...
           Thinking About the Facilitators when Scaling and Sustaining Professional Learning Programs - March 29, 2021
Blog | Johannah Nikula discusses two areas of learning from her work to scale and sustain professional learning programs: written supports for facilitators and local co-facilitation models ...
           Building Flexible Modality Layers to Support Inclusive Educational Technologies - February 17, 2021
Blog | Brianna Tomlinson (2017-18 CADRE Fellow) describes how PhetSims adapted an existing learning tool to make it more accessibly to the visually impaired but also augment the experience for all users. ...
           STEM STARS: Producing an Effective Science and Mathematics Teacher Workforce for High-Needs Schools - February 10, 2021
Blog | William McHenry and Barbara McHenry describe the STEM Stars project, a partnership among three HBCUs, which recruits and prepares prospective science and mathematics teachers and places them in high-needs school districts. ...
           Connecting Informal and Formal STEM Learning - January 25, 2021
Video | Hear two experts, Dr. Rabiah Mayas and Dennis Schatz, discuss the challenges and opportunities of connecting informal & formal STEM learning....
           Interdisciplinary Challenges in Making Statistical Model-Based Inferences - November 18, 2020
Blog | Ryan Seth Jones discusses how the events of 2020 have underscored the importance of supporting cross-curricular coherence around ideas and practices such as modeling, inference, and uncertainty. ...
           What Is The Most Important Thing To Teach Toddlers About Mathematics and How Can This Best Be Achieved? - October 26, 2020
Blog | Arthur Baroody reflects on approaches to helping 2- to 3-year olds construct an understanding of small numbers. ...
           Practical Approaches to Advance K-12 Data Literacy - September 22, 2020
Blog | Susan Meabh Kelly outlines research priorities and opportunities to advance data literacy in ways that respond teachers' needs and experiences as well as leverage their expertise...
           Conceptual Replications in STEM Education Research - July 27, 2020
Blog | Jinfa Cai argues that conceptual replications are more appropriate for STEM education research than exact replications. ...
           Reporting Findings to Decision-Makers and Project Participants - July 27, 2020
Blog | Chris Wilson discusses effectively communicating to practitioners and others about the evidence DRK-12 projects are building....
           Liberating Our Young, Gifted & Black: The Role of STEM Education in Addressing the Existential Threat of Racism, White Supremacy, and Systemic Violence - July 27, 2020
Blog | Roxanne Moore reflects on (re)humanizing mathematics education and moving beyond affirmative statements to concrete action that addresses racism and white supremacy in STEM education....
           Removing the Shield - July 27, 2020
Blog | Ti’Era Worsley reflects on removing her shield and facing racism head-on as an emerging STEM education researcher and what this pivotal moment means for socially just and critical educators....
           Becoming a Critical Thinker in the Time of Epidemics and Pandemics - April 27, 2020
Blog | Jacqueline Miller discusses the importance of critical thinking skills in the context of the COVID-19 crisis, past and future pandemics and epidemics, as well as other science topics of social importance (e.g., climate change). ...
           Subject Matter Knowledge is Important! - March 23, 2020
Blog | Julie Luft reflects on the various ways that teachers' subject-matter knowledge can be strained as teachers navigate the STEM education landscape and their careers as well as key questions that can guide innovation in content knowledge supports for teacher educators and teachers ...
           Innovative Approaches to Teaching and Assessing English Language Learners - February 24, 2020
Blog | Guillermo Solano-Flores shares lessons learned from his NSF-funded work around the effective teaching and assessment of English language learners. ...
           Equitable Implementation of Computer Science Education - January 28, 2020
Blog | Aankit Patel, director of STEM Education Programs at the City University of New York reflects on how in-service teacher professional development can be used to expand computing⁠—computer science and computational thinking⁠—instruction to all students. ...
           Positioning Students’ Perspectives at the Center in Developing and Teaching with Science Curriculum Materials - November 26, 2019
Blog | Brian Reiser discusses how recent reforms in science education underscore the importance of curricular coherence from the student's perspective, describing and illustrating how this type of coherence might differ from disciplinary coherence. ...
           Coherence Across the Mathematics Curriculum - November 25, 2019
Blog | Corey Drake, Jill Newton, Amy Olson, and Marcy Wood unpack the term coherence, describing its importance along different dimensions in mathematics education. ...
           Critically Examining Whiteness in Culturally Responsive Education - October 22, 2019
Blog | Former CADRE Fellow Christa Haverly discussed culturally responsive teaching and how it is responsive to students’ lived experiences, cultural repertoires of practice, linguistic resources, and other ways of knowing and being in this world. In this blog, she specifically focuses on race, recognizing that this is just one part of the culturally responsive story. ...
           The Frontline of Workforce Development: PreK-12 Education - September 25, 2019
Blog | Jeff Weld, Executive Director of the Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council and former Senior Policy Advisor for the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy, reflects on the importance and power of teaching towards workforce development, laying out key approaches from a new Federal strategic plan ...
           Citizen Science Opportunities, Partnerships, and Challenges - August 19, 2019
Blog | PI and former CADRE Fellow Camillia Matuk and team members Suzanne Dikker and Ido Davidesco share insights on collaboration opportunities, key features of successful partnerships, and strategies to address some of the typical challenges of citizen science projects. ...
           Rural and Ready: Embracing the Assets and Needs of Rural Schools and Districts - July 30, 2019
Blog | Pam Buffington reflects on the unique STEM education assets, challenges, and opportunities in rural communities....
           Algebra in the Early Grades: Setting the Stage for Future Studies and a Math Mindset - June 23, 2019
Blog | Colleen Henry reflects on how STEM professional development changed her thinking about mathematics education and her role as an early math educator. ...
           External Review of DRK–12 Projects - June 18, 2019
Blog | When and how do you use one entity versus another to inform decision-making during a research project? CADRE contacted several DRK–12 evaluators to get their perspectives on this question....
           Key Features of Successful Partnerships: Reflections from the TRU-Lesson Study Team - May 28, 2019
Blog | Suzanne Donovan and Alan Schoenfeld reflect on the lessons they've learned from their work at the district level, sharing features of and strategies for successful partnerships. ...
           Mixed Methods Research - May 28, 2019
Blog | CADRE shares resources on mixed methods research, including links to working groups convened to explore the topic....
           Learning about Complex Systems Using Modeling and Scientific Argumentation - May 01, 2019
Blog | In this Teaching Channel blog, CADRE highlights resources and examples from NSF DRK-12 projects about modeling and scientific argumentation in the classroom and how these practices can help students understand complex systems...
           New Directions for Engineering Education Research—Building the K-12 Agenda - April 17, 2019
Blog | Christine Cunningham reflects on the state of engineering education and discusses opportunities to shape the direction of the field in its infancy. "Two decades ago when I started thinking about doing engineering with K–12 students, it was a new idea and there was paucity of research in this area. Conducting a literature review related to preK–12 engineering yielded almost no articles." ...
           What Black Women Are Trying to Teach Us: Transforming Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Work in K-12 STEM Education Research, Practice, and Policy - March 20, 2019
Blog | Terrell Morton, 2017-18 CADRE postdoc, shares ways to incite true change based on the voices, needs, and experiences of Black women in STEM fields. "On October 16th, 2018, I had the opportunity to attend a presentation at the University of Missouri by Dr. Ashley Woodson" ...
           3 Ways Intersectionality Can Help You Predict the Future (Or, at least provide you job security) - March 20, 2019
Blog | Courtney Benjamin, 2018-19 CADRE Fellow, discusses intersectionality theory as a critical to the future of STEM education research. "Knowledge, power, identity. What do these words mean to STEM? As a STEM education researcher, I’d say a lot. More so, as a Black woman, a mother, and a feminist who studies critical STEM education, I’d say they mean everything." ...
           Learning Technologies in the Classroom - March 19, 2019
Video | Doug Clark, Jodi Asbell-Clarke, and Kathy Perkins reflect on how technology can support and transform student learning and assessment. "Engaging in the practices of science is no longer something that we can just hand kids a worksheet. Technology can provide the scaffolds to support kids in engaging in modeling."...
           New Measurement Paradigms and the Future of Technology-Enhanced Assessment - March 19, 2019
Blog | James Lester discusses recent advancements in technology-enhanced assessment, specifically in artificial intelligence, and their implications for the next generation of assessments. "Research on assessment has experienced a sea change since CADRE published the New Measurement Paradigms report in 2012." ...
           Aligning New Educational Strategies to Evolving Workforce Needs (2018 PI Meeting Reflection) - June 22, 2018
Blog | Amy Hawkins, 2017-18 CADRE postdoc, reflects on education for a changing workforce. "On Thursday afternoon, I attended a panel discussion on 'Today’s Education for Tomorrow’s College and Career Readiness.' The presentations and dialogue facilitated by the panel echoed some of the larger pragmatic themes articulated in the plenary session earlier that morning: how do we communicate about"...
           Technological Innovations for Mathematics Teacher Preparation (2018 PI Meeting Reflection) - June 19, 2018
Blog | Vecihi Serbay Zambak, 2017-18 CADRE postdoc, reflects on technological innovations, their affordances, and their role in professional learning. "In the topical session I attended on Thursday morning, the presenters (Dr. Herbst, Dr. Grosser-Clarkson, Dr. Zahner, and Dr. Goffney) described the LessonSketch platform, providing cases and studies demonstrating the potential of LessonSketch for prospective teachers"...
           Engineering in the Classroom - October 17, 2017
Video | Christine Cunningham and Chris Rogers talk about the promise and potential power of engineering education in the K-12 classroom. "I think it's actually a very interesting time for engineering education at the K-12 level in our country. We've decided that we're going to include it in the education of children, but there's still a lot of work."...
           Using Story in STEM Education - February 19, 2016
Podcast | Roy Gould and Jackie Miller discuss their their passion for using story in education and why story can be such a powerful tool in the classroom. "R. Gould: Can I be radical here? Is that OK? J. Miller: Of course. R. Gould: I love science, and I love the concepts of science, but we put so much focus on concepts. They're holding us back from the stories that could really interest us in kids' science." ...
           Broadening Participation in STEM - October 16, 2015
Video | Odis Johnson, Leanne Ketterlin Geller, Cory Buxton, and Salvador Huitzilopochtli discuss the importance of giving underserved and underrepresented student populations opportunities in STEM and ways in which the field can make progress in this area. "In terms of broadening participation, we're trying to address the problem of underrepresentation, the fact that women, minorities"...
           The Importance of Early Mathematics Education - September 23, 2014
Video | Arthur Baroody, Jere Confrey, Julie Sarama, and Paul Goldenberg discuss the importance of giving every child the opportunity to excel in math at an early age. "Well, imagine that you wake up tomorrow morning and you don't understand anything about numbers. You don't even understand 1, 2, or 3. Suddenly, your life has become a whole lot harder."...
           Crossroads at the 2012 DR K-12 PI Meeting - October 23, 2012
Blog | John Settlage describes and reflects on a model for researchers to convene and collaboratively strategize around challenges that arise in doing project work. "Battling isolation is a continual challenge for science and math educators. As a novice science teacher, the closing of the classroom door effectively cut me off from all support systems."...
           Proposals, Posters, Advocacy, Curriculum, and STEM Education (2012 PI Meeting Reflection) - June 02, 2012
Blog | Jeremy Price, 2011-12 CADRE Fellow, shares his perspective on and takeaways from several sessions at the 2012 DRK-12 PI Meeting: a plenary by Joan Ferrini-Mundy, the poster hall, and the CADRE Curriculum Design SIG meeting. "As a CADRE Fellow, one of my tasks at the DRK-12 PI Meeting--in addition to making new connections and learning about the projects that are being funded by the DRK-12 program"...
           My First PI Meeting (2010 PI Meeting Reflection) - January 14, 2011
Blog | Chao Wang, 2010-11 CADRE Fellow, asks how we should characterize and treat knowledge generated by existing research, view and treat students not yet proficient in English, and interpret and address the challenge of low performing teachers and students. "I have never been so actively involved in an academic conference. I had numerous opportunities to interact with professionals of diverse research backgrounds"...
           Polish and Parents (2010 PI Meeting Reflection) - January 14, 2011
Blog | Vishakha Parvate, 2010-2011 CADRE Fellow, reflects on software products and the lack of discussion about parental responsibility for learning at the 2010 DRK-12 PI Meeting. "The two memorable revelations for me of the 2010 DR K-12 PI meeting were the exceptionally polished software products on display and the lack of discussion about parental responsibility for learning. Speaking as a software developer"...
           Access to Challenging and Engaging Mathematical Problems for Students with Mild Disabilities (2010 PI Meeting Reflection) - January 14, 2011
Blog | Casey Hord, 2010-11 CADRE Fellow, describes how the use of Universal Design principles has the potential to make science and mathematics concepts accessible. "As a researcher who studies mathematics interventions for students with mild disabilities, the principles of universal design presented in the SmartGraphs software by the Concord Consortium were encouraging to me."...
           Research Through Partnerships (2010 PI Meeting Reflection) - January 14, 2011
Blog | Jessica Tybursky, 2010-11 CADRE Fellow, describes challenges related to building and maintaining partnerships between researchers and practitioners and outlines strategies to support their success. "A primary goal of education research is to inform and benefit the everyday work of practitioners, yet often it is hard to establish and maintain partnerships between groups. What is so difficult about building relationships" ...
           Are We Throwing Out the Baby with the Bath Water? (2010 PI Meeting Reflection) - January 12, 2011
Blog | Irving Brown, 2010-11 CADRE Fellow, asks whether there is a role for traditional instructional methods in addition to more active learning strategies. "Shortly after my 10th birthday, Neil Armstrong took 'one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.' This was a short 11 years after the creation of NASA, which was just one of the political-technical reactions to the successful Soviet launch of the first Earth satellite"...
           The Water is Not So Wide, After All (2010 PI Meeting Reflection) - January 10, 2011
Blog | Jennifer Hope, 2010-11 CADRE Fellow, discusses accountability and the relationship between DRK-12 projects and those making policy and funding decisions that impact STEM education. "Accountability has certainly become a theme in educational pursuits, and so when I write that I found it to be a thread running through and connecting my experiences at the December meeting of DR K-12 project principal investigators" ...
           Beyond Standards, Curriculum, and Teaching: Attending Not Just to Supply, but to Demand - June 24, 2010
Blog | Paul Goldenberg argues that advancing education requires shifts in society's definition and expectation of mathematics. "Why does Japan do better than us in mathematics? (Well, ok, some people argue that they don’t do better than us, but I’ll start by assuming that they do.) People point to curriculum; or teaching and lesson study; or national standards. Surely these all matter, but there may be more to it than that."...
           NARST and AERA: Reflections on 2010 Conferences - May 19, 2010
Blog | Melissa Braaten, 2009-10 CADRE Fellow, reflects on her experience at 2010 national conferences. "For this year’s NARST conference in Philadelphia I had the opportunity to bring a high school teacher, Bethany Sjoberg, who has been a participant and collaborator on our research projects for the past four years. Having her attend sessions with me allowed me to see research in science education through new eyes"...