DRK-12 Research and Products
Presentation | This presentation, Engineering in Action: Hands-On Strategies for Students with MSD, was given at the Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) 2025 Diverse Learners Institute in Louisville, KY on July 15, 2025.
Presentation | This presentation, Developing Inclusive Engineering Education Opportunities, was given at the 2025 American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Annual Conference and Exposition in Montreal, Canada on June 23, 2025.
Publication | This study aimed to explore the development of teachers’ knowledge of dialogue and argument through three specific knowledge bases: declarative, procedural, and epistemic. Additionally, the study sought to understand the implications of this…
Publication | Despite significant interest in Career and Technical Education (CTE), little is known about CTE teachers. Using ten years of Maryland administrative data, we find that almost one-fifth of CTE teachers enter the profession with a high school…
Publication | In our elementary science methods courses, we aim to shift our preservice teachers’ view of science instruction beyond teacher-directed, hands-on “touching and telling,” toward a student-centered approach that emphasizes scientific sensemaking.…
Publication | This study applies natural language processing and qualitative classroom video analyses to examine classroom discourse. Guided by hybridity theory, which emphasizes the benefits of blending everyday with academic language practices for expanding…
Publication | This study captures the experiences of rural teachers with a large-scale online professional learning (PL) program for teaching science and engineering in their contexts and suggests guidelines for designing effective online PL in STEM for rural…
Publication | Gutiérrez’s equity framework, derived from mathematics education research, defines equity in terms of four dimensions: access, achievement, identity, and power. Access and achievement yield outcomes that reify the status quo while identity and…
Publication | This study examines an expansive shift in the priorities of professional learning within a collective of high school science teachers, scientists, community organizers, youth, and educational researchers who were working together on classroom…
Publication | Innovative science curricula aim to transform classroom instruction by emphasizing socio-scientific issues (SSI), student-centered inquiry, and culturally relevant pedagogy. Engaging with new and innovative curricula has the potential to stretch…
Publication | Answering questions and solving problems are critical skills that affect the quality of life for all people. The content areas of science and engineering traditionally and most directly address the processes of inquiry and problem-solving. While…
Presentation | Historically, children with moderate to severe intellectual disabilities (ID) and extensive support needs (ESN; individuals who require ongoing, intensive assistance in many areas of life) have been largely excluded from meaningful…
Presentation, Product for Educators | Project Bees is a NSF DRK-12 three-year project with the goal of focusing on teachers' development of engineering practices, including how teachers support their students' development of engineering-focused behaviors and…
Publication | Since the release of A Framework for K-12 Science Education and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), there has been an urgent need for teacher professional development (PD) programs that support the implementation of NGSS-…
Publication | Engineering design has been widely implemented in K-12 curricula to cultivate future workforce. In this study, seventh-grade students participated in the Solarizing Your School curriculum, an action-oriented program where they engaged…
Publication | Teacher preparation programs need to consider how to support elementary science teachers in developing their knowledge related to environmental and climate justice. Working with children to determine steps they can take together with their…
Publication | Over the last decade, reform in science education has placed an emphasis on the science practices as a way to engage students in the process of science and improve scientific literacy. A critical component of developing scientific literacy is…
Publication | This article explores how multicultural children’s literature for elementary classrooms can be leveraged to develop students’ mathematical understanding and foster positive math identities, particularly for multilingual learners. By integrating…
Publication | The significance of children’s mathematical competence during the early years is well established; however, the methods for developing such competencies remain less understood. Specifically, there is a need to identify what constitutes high-…
Publication | This paper argues for addressing histories of scientific institutions and their entanglements with Euro-American imperialism, racial capitalism, and environmental injustice in secondary science education. Our argument is grounded in the history…
Publication | This study investigates the shifts in high school mathematics teachers’ instructional practices when working with emergent bilinguals (EBs) after participating in a collaborative situated professional development (CSPD) program alongside…
Publication | This article describes a middle school energy literacy unit that uses green building science to uncover the important ways in which energy flows between natural and built environments. The place-based unit employs the student’s own school…
Publication | Professional noticing is a critical skill for teachers, enabling them to interpret and respond to significant moments in the classroom to support student learning. While recent theoretical papers have broadened the conceptualization of noticing…
Publication | This paper explores the tensions—or discontinuities—that arise when designing for educational improvement at scale through research-practice partnerships (RPPs). Focusing on a statewide mathematics education initiative, the authors examine the…
Publication | Enacting reform-oriented, phenomenon-based instruction provides us an opportunity to more equitably teach science. Particularly, our teaching can be stronger when we elicit, notice and then use all students’ ideas and questions to inform how…