Supporting Science Learning and Teaching in Middle School Classrooms through Automated Analysis of Students' Writing (Collaborative Research: Passonneau and Puntambekar)

Principal Investigator:
Sadhana Puntambekar
This project will design a sociotechnical system to automatically assess students written scientific explanations during science problem solving. The project will use two complementary mechanisms to provide feedback: automated assessment and feedback to students’ science explanations using using NLP techniques, and feedback to teachers provided through aggregated data about students’ writing generated by the system.
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Discipline/Topic:
Science
Technology
Educational Technology
Target Audience:
Middle School

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Teaching in Rural Areas Using Cultural Knowledge Systems

Principal Investigator:
Lynda McGilvary
Science, Engineering, Engineering & Mathematics Teaching in Rural Areas using Cultural Knowledge Systems (STEM TRACKS) engages Iñupiaq people in northern Alaska in all aspects of curricular development and tests the Cultural Connections Process Model for community engagement. Our advisors in Kotzebue, Alaska selected the theme topic (snow), told us what is important about the topic, and provided content to support curriculum development. Pilot testing recently concluded. Find out how we made it happen during the pandemic, and what we have learned so far!
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Discipline/Topic:
Science
Professional Development
Target Audience:
High School

Reasoning Language for Teaching Secondary Algebra

Principal Investigator:
Cody Patterson

Reasoning Language for Teaching Secondary Algebra (ReLaTe-SA) is working in partnership with the San Antonio Independent School District to investigate the algebraic reasoning and discourse tools that secondary mathematics teachers use to make algebra concepts accessible for students and orchestrate and respond to student work on mathematics tasks. We are investigating teachers' algebraic discourse through written surveys, interviews, and a year-long professional development program focused on enhancing students' opportunities for algebraic reasoning in the classroom.

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Discipline/Topic:
Mathematics
Assessment
Classroom Practice
Curriculum
Disciplinary Content Knowledge
Professional Development
Target Audience:
Middle School
High School

Professional Development Supports for Teaching Bioinformatics through Mobile Learning

Principal Investigator:
Susan Yoon
Bioinformatics is an emerging area of research that develops new knowledge through computational analysis of vast biological data. This project investigates the professional development (PD) supports needed for teaching bioinformatics at the high school. Building from a robust literature in PD design research, project team worked with science teachers to co-design instructional modules to engage students with core bioinformatics concepts and data literacies, by focusing on local community health issues supported through mobile learning activities.
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Discipline/Topic:
Mathematics
Science
Technology
Classroom Practice
Curriculum
Disciplinary Content Knowledge
Educational Technology
Professional Development
Target Audience:
High School

Professional Development for K-12 Science Teachers in Linguistically Diverse Classrooms

Principal Investigator:
Minjung Ryu
A sustained professional development program designed to support teachers who teach linguistically diverse group of English learners (ELs). It targets science teachers who teach Grade 9-12 courses in an urban high school that enrolls immigrants and former refugees. Roughly 45% of the student population are classified as ELs and collectively speak more than 40 different languages. Our team engages science teachers in this school in online PD workshops and lesson study throughout a school year.
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Discipline/Topic:
Science
Broadening Participation
Professional Development
Target Audience:
High School

PBS News Hour Student Reporting Labs StoryMaker: STEM-Integrated Student Journalism

Principal Investigator:
Leah Clapman
Sneak peek at StoryMaker, a video storytelling platform /educator co-learning community supporting students to produce videos about STEM projects.
PI: Leah Clapman, PBS NewsHour
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Discipline/Topic:
Science
Technology
Broadening Participation
Classroom Practice
Curriculum
Educational Technology
Pedagogical Content Knowledge
Target Audience:
Middle School
High School

Misconceptions Oriented Standards-Based Assessment Resource for Teachers of High School Physical Sciences (MOSART HSPS)

Principal Investigator:
Philip Sadler

MOSART HS PS developed assessment tools based on both NRC Standards and NGSS for high school chemistry and physics. The 500 new test items were combined into instruments and validated by content experts. Comprehensive data from a nationally representative sample of 12,000 high school students and their teachers measures the content knowledge of both groups and allows the estimation of item characteristics. Pre- and post-tests associate yearly knowledge gains with teacher characteristics and pedagogies used.

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Discipline/Topic:
Science
Assessment
Target Audience:
High School

Learning Trajectories as a Complete Early Mathematics Intervention: Achieving Efficacies of Economies at Scale

Principal Investigator:
Douglas Clements
The ULTIMATE (Understanding Learning Trajectories In Math: Advancing Teacher Education) project will evaluate Learning Trajectories as a complete early mathematics intervention by supporting teachers in deepening their understanding of how children learn mathematics and how to incorporate this understanding. Drs. Clements and Sarama have built a professional development tool, called Learning and Teaching with Learning Trajectories, or [LT]2. The team will investigate the positive impacts both in supporting teachers and on students' learning of mathematics.
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Discipline/Topic:
Mathematics
Broadening Participation
Classroom Practice
Cognitive Science
Curriculum
Educational Technology
Pedagogical Content Knowledge
Professional Development
Target Audience:
Pre-Kindergarten

Investigating Productive Use of High-Leverage Student Mathematical Thinking (Collaborative Research: Peterson and Stockero)

Principal Investigator:
Keith Leatham

The Building on MOSTs project focuses on improving the teaching of secondary school mathematics by exploring the teaching practice of building on MOSTs (Mathematical Opportunities in Student Thinking). We cyclically work with teachers to enact the practice, analyze those enactments, and refine our understanding of the practice. Building consists of four elements: (1) Establish, (2) Grapple Toss, (3) Conduct, and (4) Make Explicit.
PI: Keith Leatham, Brigham Young University

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Discipline/Topic:
Mathematics
Target Audience:
Middle School
High School

Improving Grades 6-8 Students' Mathematics Achievement in Modeling and Problem Solving through Effective Sequencing of Instructional Practices

Principal Investigator:
Joe Champion

With operating title Researching Order of Teaching (ROOT), this project brings together 100 middle grades mathematics teachers in a teacher-researcher alliance to articulate effective instructional practices for promoting modeling and problem-solving achievement. Strategies center around Explicit Attention to Concepts and Student Opportunities to Struggle, culminating in a randomized cluster crossover trial. The poster includes results from the first two years, featuring professional development materials, a video observation tool, and findings from classroom studies.

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Discipline/Topic:
Mathematics
Classroom Practice
Professional Development
Target Audience:
Middle School
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