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This column provides how-to strategies and practical advice for the science teacher.
This column provides how-to strategies and practical advice for the science teacher. A resource for integrating…
Improving the Preparation of Novice Secondary Science Teachers for English Learners: A Proof of Concept Study
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This proof of concept study investigated a secondary science teacher preparation intervention in six university programs across Arizona, California, and Texas. Researchers and science method instructors (SMIs)…
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In this study we examined 5th-grade teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) for 1 particular core idea: the small particle model (SPM) of matter. We assessed teachers’ initial PCK through a lesson plan task, the…
Reframing Inclusive Science Instruction to Support Teachers in Promoting Equitable Three-Dimensional Science Classrooms
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In this conceptual article, we reframe inclusive science instruction by examining the literature in science and multicultural education and describe five elements to support teachers in realizing inclusive science…
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This study proposes and investigates the effects of a three‐dimensional thinking graph (3DTG) that allows learners to combine in a single image, problem information, subject knowledge (key concepts and their relationships…
Promoting Linguistically Diverse Students’ Short-Term and Long-Term Understanding of Chemical Phenomena Using Visualizations
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In this study, we examine the short-term and long-term effects of interactive visualizations in improving linguistically diverse eighth-grade students’ understanding of properties of matter and chemical reactions during…
An Examination of Credit Recovery Students’ Use of Computer-Based Scaffolding in a Problem-Based, Scientific Inquiry Unit
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In this study, we investigated how high school credit recovery students worked in small groups and used computer-based scaffolds to conduct scientific inquiry in a problem-based learning unit centered on water quality…
Developing a Three-Dimensional View of Science Teaching: A Tool to Support Preservice Teacher Discourse
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This study utilized the methodology of Improvement Science “Plan, Do Study, Act” cycles in order to design a Three-Dimensional Mapping Tool (3D Map) as a visual scaffold for use in science teaching methods courses to…
Teachers' framing of argumentation goals: Working together to develop individual versus communal understanding
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This study explores how teachers describe, or frame, expectations for classroom discussions pertaining to the science practice of argumentation. Authors use the theoretical lens of a participation framework to examine how…
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The MEL project has developed a set of teaching resources to support the teaching of controversial and/or complex Earth and space science topics.
The MEL project has developed a set of teaching…
Scaffolding Scientific Thinking: Students’ Evaluations and Judgments During Earth Science Knowledge Construction
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The present paper documents a quasi-experimental study where high school Earth science students completed these instructional scaffolds, including an explanation task scored for evaluative levels (erroneous, descriptive,…
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Shifting people’s judgments toward the scientific involves teaching them to purposefully evaluate connections between evidence and alternative explanations.
Shifting people’s judgments toward the…
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Authors discuss insights from research on K-16 climate education.
Bhattacharya, D., Carroll-Steward, K., Sutter, A., Chandler, M., & Forbes, C.T. (2018). Climate literacy: Insights from research on…
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Features approaches for leveraging PCK research in STEM learning across formal and informal settings.
Smith, P. S., Plumley, C. L., Hayes, M. L., & Esch, R. K. (2018). Personal and Canonical PCK: A…
Opportunities to Participate (OtP) in Science: Examining Differences Longitudinally and Across Socioeconomically Diverse Schools
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The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a survey of opportunities to participate (OtP) in science that will allow educators and researchers to closely approximate the types of learning opportunities students…
Integrating STEM into Preschool Education: Designing a Professional Development Model in Diverse Settings
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In this article, the authors outline the main components and the iterative design process we undertook to ensure that the professional supports are relevant and effective for teachers and children.
High…
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In this study, authors use Phenomenological Variant Ecological Systems Theory as a strengths‐based approach to investigate 10 undergraduate Black women’s perceptions of race and gender on their STEM identity development…
What Does It Mean to Notice My Students’ Ideas in Science Today?: An Investigation of Elementary Teachers’ Practice of Noticing Their Students’ Thinking in Science
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An investigation of elementary teachers’ noticing of students’ ideas and their thinking surrounding their noticing practice.
Efforts toward improving K-12 science education emphasize teachers noticing…
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Preschoolers investigate force and motion with a digital journal.
Presser, A. L. Dominguez, X., Goldstein, M., Vidiksis, R., and Kamdar, D. (2019). Ramp It Up! Science & Children…
Integrating Geospatial Technologies in Fifth-Grade Curriculum: Impact on Spatial Ability and Map-Analysis Skills
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This study explores the effects of geographic information systems (GIS) curriculum on fifth-grade students' spatial ability and map-analysis skills.
This study explores the effects of geographic…
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Authors present a suite of activities in which students apply basic physics concepts to their investigations of exoplanets. The activities were developed and successfully tested with physics and earth science teachers in…
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Lessons from the search for alien worlds.
Gould, R. R., S. Sunbury, & Dussault, M. (2014). In praise of messy data: Lessons from the search for alien worlds. The Science Teacher, 31…
Beyond Classroom Academics: A School-Wide and Multi-Contextual Perspective on Student Engagement in School
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A school-wide and multi-contextual perspective on student engagement in school.
School engagement researchers have historically focused on academic engagement or academic-related activities. Although…
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This study uses a mixed-method sequential exploratory design to examine influences on urban adolescents’ engagement and disengagement in school.
This study uses a mixed-method sequential exploratory…
Automated text scoring and real‐time adjustable feedback: Supporting revision of scientific arguments involving uncertainty
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This paper describes HASbot, an automated text scoring and real‐time feedback system designed to support student revision of scientific arguments.
This paper describes HASbot, an automated text scoring…
Impact of Model‐based Science Curriculum and Instruction on Elementary Students' Explanations for the Hydrosphere
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Scientific modeling affords opportunities for students to develop representations, make their ideas visible, and generate model‐based explanations for complex natural systems like the water cycle. This study describes a…
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This article describes the process of developing and validating a Science Instructional Practices survey instrument that is appropriate for NGSS and other related science standards.
Ambitious efforts…
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The purpose of this mixed methodology study was to operationalize distinct types of teacher leadership into an organized typology, based on case studies of teacher leaders in a science education project…
A Coding Tool for Examining the Substance of Teacher Professional Learning and Change with Example Cases from Middle School Science Lesson Study
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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…
Mentoring the Mentors: Hybridizing Professional Development to Support Cooperating Teachers’ Mentoring Practice in Science
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This article describes key features of a hybrid professional development (PD) program that was designed to prepare elementary classroom teachers to mentor preservice teachers for effective science instruction…
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This article focuses on the impacts of a program designed to prepare elementary classroom teachers to mentor preservice teachers for effective science instruction.
This article focuses on the impacts of…
The Role of Simulation-Enabled Design Learning Experiences on Middle School Students’ Self-generated Inherence Heuristics
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This article describes the effect of simulation-enabled Learning by Design learning experiences on student-generated heuristics that can lead to solutions to problems.
In science and engineering…
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The purpose of this study is to investigate students’ experimentation strategies while they work on a design challenge.
Experimentation is one of the important strategies used in engineering design to…
Characterizing the Interplay of Cognitive and Metacognitive Knowledge in Computational Modeling and Simulation Practices
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Authors discuss student dimensions of expertise when engaged in modeling and simulation practices and describe how students used their cognitive and metacognitive knowledge to approach a computational challenge…
Integrating a Space for Teacher Interaction into an Educative Curriculum: Design Principles and Teachers' Use of the iPlan Tool
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Authors describe the design principles of iPlan, a web-based tool provides access to educative curriculum materials in an online interactive learning platform, and discuss implications for designing educative and online…
The Impact of Multimedia Educative Curriculum Materials (MECMs) on Teachers' Beliefs about Scientific Argumentation
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Authors discuss how teachers used MECMs and whether that use impacted their beliefs about the practice of scientific argumentation.
Recent reform efforts in science education include a focus on science…
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In recent years, prominent organizations have released large-scale policy reports on the state of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in the United States, with particular emphasis on…
Framing, Adapting, and Applying: Learning to Contextualize Science Activity in Multilingual Science Classrooms
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This article looks at context-based approaches to science instruction. Authors studied the effects of changes to a set of secondary science teacher education programs, all of which were redesigned with attention to the…
How to support secondary school students’ consideration of uncertainty in scientific argument writing: A case study of a High-Adventure Science curriculum module
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In this article, authors discuss an online Earth science curriculum module called, “Will there be enough fresh water?” designed to engage students in thinking about uncertainty as part of writing scientific arguments…
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Authors investigate ways to support students in integrating their understanding of density concepts through a graph that is linked to a simulation depicting the relationship between mass, volume, and density…
Validating a Model for Assessing Science Teacher’s Adaptive Expertise with Computer-Supported Complex Systems Curricula and Its Relationship to Student Learning Outcomes
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In this study, the authors propose and validate a model of adaptive expertise needed for teachers to successfully deliver NGSS-informed computer-supported complex systems curricula in high school science classrooms…
Understanding Science and Language Connections: New Approaches to Assessment with Bilingual Learners
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Authors report on the use of bilingual constructed response science assessments in the context of a research and development partnership with secondary school science teachers.
We report on the use of…
Qualitative graphing in an authentic inquiry context: How construction and critique help middle school students to reason about cancer
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This study offers a critical exploration of how to design instruction that simultaneously supports students' science and graph understanding within complex inquiry contexts.
Inquiry instruction often…
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These slides were presented at the 2019 Annual International Conference of NARST in Baltimore, MD.
Morales-Doyle, D., Frausto, A., Chappell, M.J., Childress-Price, T.L., Collins, D.A., Levingston, A.,…
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These slides were presented at the 2019 Annual Conference of the National Science Teachers Association, St. Louis, Missouri.
Morales-Doyle, D., Frausto, A., Childress Price, T., Chappell, M., &…
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These slides were presented at the 2019 Annual International Conference of NARST in Baltimore, MD.
Frausto, A., Morales-Doyle, D., Fitch, A., Hatch, S., & Nagy, K. (2019, April). Toward Youth…
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This article discusses supporting inquiry in an online learning environment.
Jaber, L. Z., Hufnagel, E., & Radoff, J. (2019). “This is Really Frying My Brain!”: How Affect Supports Inquiry in an…
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In this Journal of Science Teacher Education article, Jarod Kawasaki and William Sandoval report on one teachers’ efforts to re-design an entire instructional unit as a coherent storyline about forces and motion as a part…
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This lesson plan template centers the importance of including Elders and Environment in Indigenous STEM teaching and learning, and is a way for teachers to weave Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and Western Science…
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This resource focuses on engaging learners and their families in field-based science that connects family knowledge and place-based, student-led investigations.
This tool, Rhizome, contains three…