DRK-12 Research and Products
Publication | This case study uses the conceptual framework of communities of practice to investigate the relationship between English-learning students' argumentation and their middle school sheltered English immersion (SEI) science classroom community.…
Publication | While Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields have increased in importance over the past decade, minorities have remained traditionally underrepresented in these fields. In this study we seek to better understand some of the…
Publication | The study, an action research project carried out by a teacher enrolled in a long-term professional development program, has implications for the value of rigorous materials design and evaluation framed by the chemistry education research…
Tool | Whether engaging students in place-based learning, designing/implementing more inclusive curricula or pedagogy, or helping teachers develop their capacity to teach increasingly diverse groups of learners, many DR K-12 projects seek to broaden…
Publication | We examine a pair of students who share a central objective of designing an optimal solution for their fictional client, and who persist in achieving their objective. We argue that the students’ stable framing of the activity involves their…
Publication | Providing opportunities for learning through professional development requires the examination of facilitation of sessions with teachers. This study investigates facilitation of professional development to promote teacher learning when using…
To customize or not to customize? Exploring science teacher customization in an online lesson portal
Publication | The main goal of this project is to empirically estimate whether and which classroom factors contribute to mathematics gains of English Language Learners in Texas schools.
Publication | This study presents a theoretically grounded set of codes to systematically document the various aspects of teacher learning and change (knowledge and beliefs, professional learning community, resources) in lesson study across contexts.
Product for Educators | This site provides an engaging and scientifically accurate set of instructional materials and resources aimed at deepening high school students’ understanding of infectious diseases (including Ebola and COVID-19) and enhancing students…
Publication | Many teachers use online professional development websites, but little is known about what teachers actually learn from them. This study explored teacher use of an online video-based learning website with over 37,000 members.
Publication | An electronic teacher guide (eTG) was developed to determine whether a digital guide could better support teachers in implementing an inquiry-based curriculum and in enhancing their practice. Developed as a proof-of-concept exemplar, features of…
Publication | Our project team has been developing and testing four MELs about socio-scientific issues (climate change, wetlands and land use, fracking and earthquakes) and abstract ideas (formation of Earth’s Moon) for use in high school classrooms.
Product for Educators | The Journey to El Yunque curriculum introduces students to disturbance ecology, with a focus on both ecosystem resilience and ecosystem change. Each page is beautifully illustrated by Puerto Rican artist Robert Casilla to connect…
Publication | In this study, we analyze log data to examine the granularity of students’ interactions with automated scores and feedback and investigate the association between various students’ behaviors and their science performance
Publication | This article presents an instructional strategy called Mathematical Bet Lines that was designed to promote classroom discourse and sense-making for all students, in particular English Language Learners.
Presentation | In this November 29th webinar, NSF Program Officer David Campbell introduced DR K-12 awardees to the ins and outs of NSF DR K-12 project management.
Publication | By evaluating alternative models, students can improve upon their scientific literacy and understanding of scientific practices. Suggestions from classroom use of the Moon MEL will help teachers use this activity in a productive manner.
Publication | In this study we explored the scientific argumentation beliefs of teachers in low, mid, and high SES schools.
Publication | The importance of valuing student ideas in science education stands on firm empirical, theoretical, and moral grounds. However, the reasons for which one might value student ideas are often not explicitly distinguished, even if implicit…
Publication | Current intervention research in special education focuses on children's responsiveness to teacher modeled strategies and not conceptual development within children's thinking. As a result, there is a need for research that provides a…
Publication | No longer only for the elite, a new generation of science high schools could help low-income and minority students get better jobs.
Publication | This paper describes a model for differentiating professional development to address teachers’ varied knowledge, experiences, and interests.
Publication | The state of Florida has taken an unprecedented approach to teacher professional development in its Race to the Top
(RTTT) Program application by proposing to promote an international innovation that originates in Japan, “lesson study,” as
a…
Publication | This article describes how a Model-Evidence Link (MEL) lesson can effectively be used to assist learners in weighing the plausibility of different viewpoints of the uses of wetlands, a socio-scientific issue.