Developing and Evaluating Assessments of Problem Solving (Collaborative Research: Bostic and Sondergeld)

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Through DEAP, we have created three Problem-Solving Measures (PSMs) that address the Common Core State Math Content for grades 3, 4, 5, and 6 and built a robust validity argument for their use and score interpretations. We have also used vertical equating to link the PSMs with the already functioning middle-school PSMs (grades 6, 7, and 8). We are constructing a DEAP reporting system and investigating how the reporting system formatively informs teachers instructional decisions.

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Developing an Online Game to Teach Middle School Students Science Research Practices in the Life Sciences (Collaborative Research: Gagnon, Baker, and Metcalf)

Principal Investigator:

Aqualab is an online video game to teach scientific practices in the context of life sciences for middle school. Students use science practices of experimentation, modeling, and argumentation to investigate questions related to aquatic ecosystems. The project is developing and scaffolding layers of science practices within the gameplay, and exploring how learning progressions can be empirically derived from game data. The findings will be used to create personalized interventions to improve student learning outcomes.

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Target Audience:

Developing an Online Game to Teach Middle School Students Science Research Practices in the Life Sciences (Collaborative Research: Gagnon, Baker, and Metcalf)

Principal Investigator:

Aqualab is an online video game to teach scientific practices in the context of life sciences for middle school. Students use science practices of experimentation, modeling, and argumentation to investigate questions related to aquatic ecosystems. The project is developing and scaffolding layers of science practices within the gameplay, and exploring how learning progressions can be empirically derived from game data. The findings will be used to create personalized interventions to improve student learning outcomes.

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Target Audience:

Developing an Online Game to Teach Middle School Students Science Research Practices in the Life Sciences (Collaborative Research: Gagnon, Baker, and Metcalf)

Principal Investigator:

Aqualab is an online video game to teach scientific practices in the context of life sciences for middle school. Students use science practices of experimentation, modeling, and argumentation to investigate questions related to aquatic ecosystems. The project is developing and scaffolding layers of science practices within the gameplay, and exploring how learning progressions can be empirically derived from game data. The findings will be used to create personalized interventions to improve student learning outcomes.

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Target Audience:

Design Research on the Teaching and Learning of Conceptual Understanding in High School Chemistry Though the Use of Dynamic Visualizations of Physical and Chemical Changes

Principal Investigator:
To move from an emphasis on description of phenomena to deep understanding consistent with the NGSS, this project develops new teaching and research scholars with expertise in building conceptual understanding through the effective use of visualization to help their students build accurate molecular-level mental models to explain phenomena. VisChem Institutes employ carefully produced animations with teaching strategies informed by a cognitive learning model. Research thus far has explored early teacher chemistry and pedagogical learning.
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CAREER: Fraction Activities and Assessments for Conceptual Teaching (FAACT) for Students with Learning Disabilities

Principal Investigator:

This poster describes the outcomes, dissemination, and scaling of project work from "Fraction Activities and Assessment for Conceptual Teaching (FAACT)." We describe the results of a pilot study for FAACT, free curriculum materials, and how the work has been translated to a new game based project, Model Mathematics Education (ModelME). A link to an intro video for ModelMe's game based curriculum will be shared.

Co-PI(s): Matthew Marino and Michelle Taub, University of Central Florida

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CAREER: Designing and Enacting Mathematically Captivating Learning Experiences for High School Mathematics

Principal Investigator:

This project explores how secondary mathematics teachers can design mathematically captivating learning experiences using the mathematical story framework to improve aesthetic opportunities with complex mathematical content. This study has developed and tested 28 MCLEs. By comparing captivating lessons with those that students describe as dull or boring, we have identified multiple characteristics of captivating mathematics lessons. Also, in addition to raising student interest, MCLEs positively impact teacher and student questioning.

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Assessing College-Ready Computational Thinking (Collaborative Research: Brown and Wilson)

Principal Investigator:

This project seeks to develop and validate learning progressions and items with dynamic features to generate machine-scorable student responses for assessing computational thinking, in a test of college-ready critical reasoning skills, and to integrate these items into an existing online assessment system, the Berkeley Assessment System Software (BASS). This assessment is intended to be useful for formative and summative purposes in high-school and introductory college-level STEM classes, including mathematics and computer science courses.

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Anchoring High School Students in Real-Life Issues that Integrate STEM Content and Literacy

Principal Investigator:

Through the integration of STEM content and literacy, this project studies the ways teachers implement literacy practices in the STEM classroom. Teachers will facilitate instruction using scenarios that present students with STEM-related issues, presented as scenarios. After reading and engaging with math and science content, students write a source-based argument in which they state a claim, support the claim with evidence from the texts, and explain the multiple perspectives on the issue.

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An Efficacy Study of a Comprehensive Middle School Science Curriculum that Integrates Disciplinary Core Ideas, Science and Engineering Practices, and Crosscutting Concepts

Principal Investigator:

This poster presents results from a randomized controlled trial that examined the efficacy of the Amplify Science Middle School curriculum for improving seventh grade students learning in relation to NGSS performance expectations in physical science. Though the analysis is ongoing, initial findings from the 2019-20 school year demonstrate evidence of promise of the NGSS-designed curriculum materials for supporting three-dimensional teaching and learning. This poster showcases the results and considers implications for research, policy, and practice.

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