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Examining Elementary School Science Achievement Gaps Using an Organizational and Leadership Perspective
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There is the tendency to explain away successful urban schools as indicative of the heroic efforts by a tireless individual, effectively blaming schools that underperform for a lack of grit and dedication. This study…
Professional development aligned with AP Chemistry curriculum: Promoting science practices and facilitating enduring conceptual understanding
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The recent revisions to the advanced placement (AP) chemistry curriculum promote deep conceptual understanding of chemistry content over more rote memorization of facts and algorithmic problem solving.…
Science for All: A new breed of schools is closing achievement gaps among students and may hold the key to a revitalized 21st-century workforce
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Lynch, S.J. (2015, Aug. 1). Science for All: A new breed of schools is closing achievement gaps among students and may hold the key to a revitalized 21st-century workforce. Scientific American.…
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The Innovative Technology in Science Inquiry (ITSI) project is a learning portal with hundreds of free, customizable science, math, and engineering activities funded by the National Science Foundation…
To customize or not to customize? Exploring science teacher customization in an online lesson portal
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New technologies are increasingly giving science teachers the ability to access and customize science lessons. However, there is substantial debate in the literature about whether and under what…
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To examine the value of the electronic teacher guide (eTG) as a curriculum planning and teaching tool,
it was important to study it in the contexts of teachers’ actual planning, teaching, and reflecting.
This paper…
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An effective curriculum helps you support students' science learning, understanding, and achievement. But what does "effective" mean? This video gives you the inside scoop on what makes a curriculum effective and flags…
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"Content coherence"--ideas presented in a connected, sequential way--plays a big role in effective science instruction. Watch this video to find out how it works and how students benefit!…
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No one curriculum can meet the needs of all students and teachers. This video describes why a teacher might want to modify a curriculum and how he or she would go about it.
No one curriculum can meet…
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This brief gives an overview—and by no means a comprehensive one—of several NGSS-aligned projects in the areas of curriculum, instruction, assessment, and professional development.
This brief gives an…
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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-…
I Want to be the Inquiry Guy! How Research Experiences for Teachers Change Beliefs, Attitudes, and Values About Teaching Science as Inquiry
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This qualitative study examined how and why research experiences for teachers (RETs) influenced middle and high school science teachers’ beliefs, attitudes, and values about teaching science as inquiry. Changes teachers…
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Though addressing sources of uncertainty is an important part of doing science, it has largely been neglected in assessing students' scientific argumentation. In this study, we initially defined a scientific argumentation…
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Pallant, A., & Pryputniewicz, S. J. (2015). Great Questions Make For Great Science Education. @Concord 19(1) 4-6.
Climate Change
Earth Science
Science…
Invaluable values: an expectancy-value theory analysis of youths’ academic motivations and intentions
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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…
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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,…
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The logic underlying inclusive STEM high schools (ISHSs) posits that requiring all students to take advanced college preparatory STEM courses while providing student-centered, reform-oriented instruction, ample student…
Threatened by Stereotype: An investigation of the effect of stereotype threat on female and minority students’ STEM learning in the context of a computer intervention
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To contribute to the growing field of STEM education, we examined the presence of stereotype threat for
female and African American students during a large-scale computing intervention. Namely, this paper
examines whether…
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This brief explores factors that contribute to opportunity gaps in STEM education based on race, ethnicity, gender, ability, and socioeconomic status. It showcases the work of several DR K-12 projects and describes…
Partnership Building as a Broadening-Participation Strategy: Helping Researchers and Developers Bridge the Gaps in STEM Education
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This brief examines the continued underrepresentation of African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, and women of all racial and ethnic backgrounds in STEM fields; explains the benefits of collaboration around broadening…
Constructing Assessment Tasks that Blend Disciplinary Core Ideas, Crosscutting Concepts, and Science Practices for Classroom Formative Applications
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How do we measure knowledge in use? In this paper we describe how we use principles of evidence-centered design to develop classroom-based science assessments that integrate three dimensions of science proficiency—…
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How can research-based findings and advances help society to re-envision STEM learning and education? This report captures key takeaways, strategies, and challenges identified during the November 2015 workshop, including:…
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This paper traces the research-design-develop-test cycle of a haptically-enhanced science simulation designed to teach upper-elementary students core ideas about matter, phase change, and the role of intermolecular forces…
An exploration of teacher learning from an educative reform-oriented curriculum: Case studies of teacher curriculum use
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This study raises questions and makes suggestions for future educative curriculum development and teacher preparation.
Educative curriculum materials provide teachers with authentic opportunities to…
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In this study, we surveyed 42 middle school science teachers and conducted follow-up interviews with 25 to investigate the factors that teachers believe impact their argumentation instruction.
Science…
Learning in a community of practice: Factors impacting English-learning students’ engagement in scientific argumentation
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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…
Pedagogical content knowledge of argumentation: Using classroom contexts to assess high quality PCK rather than pseudoargumentation
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In this paper, we present lessons learned from a development process to conceptualize, design, and pilot a measure of teachers' PCK of argumentation.
Despite the recent emphasis on science practices,…
Scientific argumentation for all? Comparing teacher beliefs about argumentation in high, mid and low SES schools
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In this study we explored the scientific argumentation beliefs of teachers in low, mid, and high SES schools.
Ensuring all students have opportunities to engage in scientific argumentation is a key goal…
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This study investigates the models of elementary content specialization (ECS) in elementary mathematics and science and the affordances and constraints related to ECS—both generally and in relation to specific models…
STEM starts early: Grounding science, technology, engineering, and math education in early childhood
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This report summarizes the latest research findings on the importance and impact of early STEM across the child's ecological systems, as well as the critical importance of framing communications about early STEM in an…
Using students' conceptions of air to evaluate a guided-inquiry activity classifying matter using particulate models
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This paper describes a guided-inquiry activity designed for the first week of a first-year high school chemistry course.
This paper describes a guided-inquiry activity designed for the first week of a…
Tool Trouble: Challenges with using self-report data to evaluate long-term chemistry teacher professional development
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The purpose of this study was to compare the ability of different instruments, independently developed and traditionally used for measuring science teachers’ beliefs in short-term interventions, to longitudinally measure…
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Kinematics is a topic students are unknowingly aware of well before entering the physics classroom. Students observe motion on a daily basis. They are constantly interpreting and making sense of their observations,…
No teacher is an island: Bridging the gap between teacher’s professional practice and research findings
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This paper outlines some key considerations for developing productive teacher collaborations and provides examples of teacher PD programs that have successfully brought chemistry education research faculty and high school…
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When asked what plants need for photosynthesis, many students can correctly recall the reaction equation and state that plants require CO2, H2O, and light. Many students, however, do not understand that these reactants are…
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This report describes how particulate diagrams were incorporated in a high school chemistry course, provides a rubric developed for assessing students’ particulate drawings, and summarizes the impact of particulate-level…
Tool trouble: Challenges with Using Self-Report Data to Evaluate Long-Term Chemistry Teacher Professional Development
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The purpose of this study was to compare the ability of different instruments, independently developed and traditionally used for measuring science teachers’ beliefs in short-term interventions, to longitudinally measure…
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No longer only for the elite, a new generation of science high schools could help low-income and minority students get better jobs.
No longer only for the elite, a new generation of science high schools…
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This Sprout Pro in a classroom handbook is designed to give you a starting point for integrating Sprout Pro into your learning environment and igniting your students’ creativity.
Sprout Pro was…
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The authors evaluated the effects of P-SELL, a science curricular and professional development intervention for fifth-grade students with a focus on English language learners (ELLs). Using a randomized controlled trial…
Elementary teachers’ science knowledge and instructional practices: Impact of an intervention focused on English language learners
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As part of a three-year curricular and professional development intervention focused on English language learners (ELLs), this study examined the intervention's effect on teachers' science knowledge and instructional…
School Resources in Teaching Science to Diverse Student Groups: An Intervention’s Effect on Elementary Teachers’ Perceptions
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Elementary school teachers’ perceptions of school resources (i.e., material, human, and social) for teaching science to diverse student groups were examined across three school districts from one state. As part of a 3-year…
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In this exploratory study, we present typologies that represent two primary challenges teachers faced in developing coherent conceptual storylines in their lesson design, and examine the extent to which professional…
Practice What You Teach: A Video-Based Practicum Model of Professional Development for Elementary Science Teachers
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This study examines an innovative professional development program that provides teachers with an opportunity to practice pedagogical strategies in a low stakes classroom context.
This study examines an…
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This article describes a new open-source systems modeling tool called SageModeler and a curricular approach designed to support students and teachers in engaging in systems modeling.
Systems are a…
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This study tests that logic model by comparing the high school experiences and achievement of students in ISHSs and comparison schools in North Carolina.
The logic underlying inclusive STEM high schools…
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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…
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There is an urgent need to develop appropriate instruments to measure student engagement in math and science for the fields of research and practice. The present study developed and validated student- and teacher-report…
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In this study, we conducted in-depth interviews with 106 students from sixth to twelfth grade and 34 middle and high school teachers about how they conceptualized math and science engagement and disengagement…
Gender Gap in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM): Current Knowledge, Implications for Practice, Policy, and Future Directions
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Although the gender gap in math course-taking and performance has narrowed in recent decades, females continue to be underrepresented in math-intensive fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).…
Motivational pathways to STEM career choices: Using expectancy-value perspective to understand individual and gender differences in STEM fields
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In this article, we conduct a literature review of the current knowledge surrounding individual and gender differences in STEM educational and career choices, using expectancy–value theory as a guiding framework…
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In this article, we review knowledge about student engagement and look ahead to the future of study in this area.
In this article, we review knowledge about student engagement and look ahead to the…
Who Chooses STEM Careers? Using a Relative Cognitive Strength and Interest Model to Predict Careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
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While past research has mainly focused on absolute cognitive ability levels in math and verbal domains, the current study tested whether relative cognitive strengths and interests in math, science, and verbal domains in…
Examining the sustainability of teacher learning following a year-long science professional development programme for inservice primary school teachers
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The study examined patterns of change in primary school teachers’ inquiry practices, inquiry beliefs and physical science content knowledge during both years as well as the effects of school-level and individual-level…
A Primer for Developing Measures of Science Content Knowledge for Small-Scale Research and Instructional Use
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This essay, intended for faculty involved in small-scale projects, courses, or educational research, provides a step-by-step guide to the process of developing, scoring, and validating high-quality content knowledge…
Beyond the controversy: Instructional scaffolds to promote critical evaluation and understanding of Earth science
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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…
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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…
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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…
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The two models presented in the Fracking MEL allow students to engage in scientific discussions just as researchers also examine relations between fracking and earthquakes.
The Fracking Model-Evidence…
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In the Model- Evidence Link (MEL) diagram activities, students engage with Earth science content knowledge and evaluate the connections between evidence and alternative explanations. We have developed a rubric for…
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This framework offers a clear picture of what exactly inclusive STEM schools are and common language for both researchers and practitioners.
Background Inclusive STEM (traditionally known to stand for “…
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This study investigates student interactions with simulations, and teacher support of those interactions, within naturalistic high school classroom settings.
This study investigates student interactions…
Identifying multiple levels of discussion-based teaching strategies for constructing scientific models
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This study sought to identify specific types of discussion-based strategies that two successful high school physics teachers using a model-based approach utilized in attempting to foster students’ construction of…
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This brief article provides an overview of how to use the SageModeler systems modeling tool with an ocean acidification model as an example.
This brief article provides an overview of how to use the…
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Supporting Secondary Students in Building External Models is a collaborative project with Michigan State University and the Concord Consortium, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to examine how to support…
Family-School Partnerships in a Context of Urgent Engagement: Rethinking Models, Measurement, and Meaningfulness
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This commentary highlights key themes across the five chapters of this volume, as well as offers specific recommendations concerning future directions for inquiry on the issue of family–school connections…
Secondary Science Teaching for English Learners: Developing Supportive and Responsive Learning Contexts for Sense-Making and Language Development
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This book focuses on the preparation of secondary science teachers to teach science to English Learners (EL) and is based on the SSTELLA (Secondary Science Education with English Language and Literacy Acquisition) project…
Effectiveness of Inquiry-Based Lessons Using Particulate Level Models To Develop High School Students’ Understanding of Conceptual Stoichiometry
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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…
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This paper describes model construction practices used by scientifically trained experts.
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Large Scale Scientific Modeling Practices that Can Influence Science Instruction at the Unit and Lesson Levels
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In this study we articulate a multi-level scientific Modeling Practices Framework derived from expert studies on model based teaching strategies in classrooms and examine its usefulness in an actual classroom context…
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This study investigates strategies teachers use to support mental imagery during model-based science class discussions.
This study investigates strategies teachers use to support mental imagery during…
Co-Constructing Models in High School Physics: Comparing Degrees of Teacher and Student Participation in Whole Class Discussions
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In this study, we analyzed the participation of teachers and students during their co-construction of explanatory models for concepts in circuit electricity in two high school physics classes.
In this…
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Explore disciplinary core ideas with the help of computer simulations that can be projected to promote engagement.
Price, N., & Clement, J. J. (2014). Generating, evaluating, and modifying…
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We conduct qualitative analyses of one of the lesson sequences, in which a popular simulation was used in eight high school physics class sections, half in whole class discussion and half in small groups…
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Helping Students Make Sense of the World Using Next Generation Science and Engineering Practices was developed for K–12 science teachers, curriculum developers, teacher educators, and administrators. These authors and many…
MoDeLS: Would you drink the liquid that came from this dirty water? A 5th grade unit on evaporation and condensation investigating the phenomenon of a solar still
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A curriculum unit developed through a collaboration between Michigan State University, Northwestern University, the University of Michigan, Wright State University and 5th grade teachers from Kinawa 5th-6th public school…
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Three middle school science curricular units on the topics of genetics, ocean biodiversity & discourse, and solar ovens & design critiques.
Three middle school science curricular units on the…
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The Practicum Academy to Improve Science Education (PRACTISE) is a professional learning program to support scientific argumentation in grades 3-5. This handbook provides detailed information on how to conduct a series of…
Emerging Design Principles for Online and Blended Teacher Professional Development in K-12 STEM Education
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Following the launch of Spotlight on Online & Blended Professional Development (PD), CADRE convened awardees representing 11 DRK-12 projects in a series of activities designed to elicit and form consensus around…
Early Childhood Educators’ Self-Efficacy in Science, Math, and Literacy Instruction and Science Practice in the Classroom
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Quality early science education is important for addressing the low science achievement, compared to international peers, of elementary students in the United States. Teachers’ beliefs about their skills in a content area…
High School Students’ Evaluations, Plausibility (Re) Appraisals, and Knowledge about Topics in Earth Science
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Evaluation is an important aspect of science and is receiving increasing attention in science education. The present study investigated (1) changes to plausibility judgments and knowledge as a result of a series of…
Examining the Impact of Lesson-Analysis Based Teacher Education and Professional Development across Methods Courses, Student Teaching, and Induction
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Presentation on ViSTA at the 2017 NARST conference in San Antonio, Texas. The ViSTA Plus project is a multi-year preservice teacher education program for elementary teachers that spans the methods course, student teaching…
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This tool is designed to help teachers reflect on a lesson they observed and guide effective, learning-focused mentoring conversations.
Science
Professional Development…
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This article summarizes how a group of undergraduate regional university faculty built a program for rigorous and research-based science teacher preparation at the elementary level—namely, the “Model of Research-Based…
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A Pleasure to Measure will enable you to select activities quickly, easily, and confidently to target the content that your students are ready to learn. You’ll find everything that you need in the six E’s that the authors…
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This article describes a four-step strategy used in our professional development program to help elementary science teachers recognize and create lesson plans with coherent conceptual storylines.
We…
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In this article, students use data and models to make a difference in their own school yard.
Marcum-Dietrich, N., Kerlin, S., Staudt, C., & Daniels, M. (2018). Our watershed. The Science Teacher, 85…
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Ambitious Science Teaching outlines a powerful framework for science teaching to ensure that instruction is rigorous and equitable for students from all backgrounds. The practices presented in the book are being used in…
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This column provides ideas and techniques to enhance your science teaching.
This column provides ideas and techniques to enhance your science teaching. This month’s issue discusses using the 5E learning…
Teachers’ Noticing of Students’ Thinking in Science Through Classroom Artifacts: In What Ways Are Science and Engineering Practices Evident?
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Building on the work of teacher noticing, this study investigated teachers’ noticing of students’ thinking evident in artifacts from their science teaching context.
Building on the work of teacher…
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In this article, authors introduce the design of a science teaching video club and present a study of its implementation.
Science education stakeholders worldwide are engaged in efforts to support…
Science as Experience, Exploration, and Experiments: Elementary Teachers’ Notions of ‘Doing Science’
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This study begins to reframe the deficit approach to research in science teaching by privileging the experiences elementary teachers have had with science – both in and out of schools – throughout their lives. This work…
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This blog post includes the link to 4 videos of teachers using the project's middle school ecosystems unit.
Kastel, D. (2017, August 25). Classroom videos from disruptions in ecosystems unit [Blog post…
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Disruptions in Ecosystems is a middle school curriculum unit with supporting teacher materials. The unit includes five chapters, each focused on a specific phenomenon related to ecosystem disruption, including questions…
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This resource provides access to a classroom video of a lesson from the project's middle school ecosystems unit, and the related student scaffold and scoring rubric.
American Museum of Natural History…
Science in the LearningGardens: A study of motivation, achievement, and science identity in low-income middle schools
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This study reports results from 113 students and three science teachers from two low-income urban middle schools participating in SciLG. It highlights the role of students’ views of themselves as competent, related, and…
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This brief draws on research supported by the National Science Foundation to highlight important considerations for educators and others who design and provide STEM educational experiences for young children…
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This study explores how technology can support idea exchanges in ways that value individuals’ prior ideas, and allow students to use these ideas to benefit their own and their peers’ learning.
Science…
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This column describes creating a classroom culture for engineering.
This column describes creating a classroom culture for engineering. Noting the importance of infiltration in the water cycle and in…
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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…
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A guide for how to use Histories of Place in planning and instruction.
This resource serves as a guide for how to use Histories of Place in planning and instruction.
Biology…
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This graphic is designed to support students, teachers, and families in thinking across timescales to understand socio-ecological relationships to place across time.
This graphic is designed to support…
The Impact of Engineering Curriculum Design Principles on Elementary Students’ Engineering and Science Learning
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This article reports an efficacy study of an elementary engineering curriculum, Engineering is Elementary, that includes a set of hypothesized critical components designed to encourage student engagement in practices,…
The Effect of Automated Feedback on Revision Behavior and Learning Gains in Formative Assessment of Scientific Argument Writing
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This study investigates a formative feedback system integrated into an online science curriculum module teaching climate change.
Application of new automated scoring technologies, such as natural…
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In this article, authors explore a variety of types of responsive teaching and elaborate a specific type of responsive teaching—epistemologically responsive science teaching.
Meaningfully engaging…
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This conversion mixed method study analyzed student work samples and teacher lesson plans from seven exemplary inclusive STEM high schools to better understand at what level teachers at these schools are engaging and…
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This manuscript focuses on longitudinal research with four primary inservice teachers’ learning and engagement in model-based teaching about water over three years, investigating teachers conceptualizations and practice…
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In this study, authors examined middle-school students’ naturally occurring design conversations in small design teams and their learning of science as a result of engaging in an engineering and science unit…
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From 2012–2015, Advanced Placement (AP) science courses underwent a large-scale curricular reform to include more scientific inquiry and reasoning, reduce emphasis on broad content coverage, and focus on depth of…
Fostering Video Sharing and Discourse Among STEM Educational Researchers in a Multimodal Environment
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This article looks at the 2017 STEM for All Video Showcase, a multimodal environment, that enabled educational researchers to share and discuss short videos depicting their federally-funded work to improve STEM education.…
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In this article, authors use meta-analysis to analyze 42 design and comparison studies involving data from 7699 students spanning over 35 years.
Graph technologies are now widely available in K-12…
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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…
Investigating Classroom-related Factors that Influence Student Perceptions of LEGO Robots as Educational Tools in Middle Schools
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This paper investigates classroom-related factors such as pedagogical strategies and management of robotics-based educational content that contribute to the formation of student perceptions in robotics-enhanced classes…
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This paper will describe the process and result of developing a LEGO robotics, NGSS, and 5E aligned middle school curriculum during a three-week summer PD program for teachers who teach urban students-of-color…
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This paper describes a program to engage teachers to learn about mechatronics, robotics, and Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) through hands-on activities and collaborative research.
Rapid…
Analyzing Successful Teaching Practices in Middle School Science and Math Classrooms when using Robotics
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This paper analyzes teaching practices that successfully integrate robotics in middle school science and math classrooms.
A robotics-based curriculum offers numerous opportunities to enrich science,…
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This paper describes how the design canvas of Kline et al. was adopted and implemented in our workshop and investigates its benefits.
Advances in science and technology are shaping every aspect of our…
Designing Robotics-based Science Lessons Aligned with the Three Dimensions of NGSS-plus-5E Model: A Content Analysis
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In this study, analyzing lesson plans using the rubrics provided opportunities for suggestions and feedback for improvement to developers and it informs the development of new lessons by the project team…
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A workshop to be presented at the Association of Science Teacher Educators International Conference.
Hapgood, S., Wilson, G., Heuring, J. & Czerniak, C. M. (Accepted for January 2020). 3DLA: Three…
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A poster to be presented at the Association of Science Teacher Educators International Conference.
Hapgood, S., Heuring, J. & Wilson, G., Czerniak, C. (Accepted for January 2020). Early Childhood…
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Paper presented at the European Science Education Research Association.
Czerniak, C. M., Kaderavek, J., Paprzycki, P., Hapgood, S., Mentzer, G., Molitor, S., & Mendenhall, R. (2019). Longitudinal…
Longitudinal Impact of Early Childhood Science Instruction on Middle Grades Literacy and Mathematics
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Paper presented at the Global Conference on Education and Research.
Czerniak, C. M., Paprzycki, P., Hapgood, S., & Kaderavek, J. (2019). Longitudinal Impact of Early Childhood Science Instruction on…
Scientific Inquiry for Young Children: Linking Teacher Professional Development and Family Engagement to Improve Student Achievement
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Paper presented at the Society for Research on Child Development Conference.
Hapgood, S., Paprzycki, P., Czerniak, C.M. (2019). Scientific Inquiry for Young Children: Linking Teacher Professional…
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22 Common Core State Standards-aligned middle school lessons for teaching STEM with robotics.
22 Common Core State Standards-aligned middle school lessons for teaching STEM with robotics…
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10 NGSS-Plus-5E middle school lessons for teaching STEM with robotics.
10 NGSS-Plus-5E middle school lessons for teaching STEM with robotics.
Engineering…
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Using findings from a 4‐year research and development effort, we propose an updated model of sheltered instruction for science classrooms that leverages the opportunities provided by the Next Generation Science Standards (…
Thinking Beyond the Score: Multidimensional Analysis of Student Performance to Inform the Next Generation of Science Assessments
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Informed by Systemic Functional Linguistics and Latent Dirichlet Allocation analyses, this study utilizes an innovative bilingual (Spanish–English) constructed response assessment of science and language practices for…
Teacher Agency and Professional Learning: Rethinking Fidelity of Implementation as Multiplicities of Enactment
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In this paper we use practice theory, with its focus on the interplay of structure and agency, to theorize about teacher engagement in professional learning and teacher enactment of pedagogical practices as an alternative…
The Impact of High School Life Science Teachers’ Subject Matter Knowledge and Knowledge of Student Misconceptions on Students’ Learning
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This article investigates whether teachers’ subject matter knowledge (SMK) and knowledge of students’ misconceptions (KOSM) in high school life science are associated with students’ posttest performance on multiple-choice…
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In this article, authors propose a framework that centers the investigation as a key locus for constructing alignments among phenomena, data, and explanatory models and makes visible the work that scientists engage in as…
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Use the Ocean Tracks interactive map, curricular modules, and data analysis tools to explore and quantify patterns in the migratory tracks of marine animals in the northern Pacific Ocean and relate these behaviors to…
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Collection of 158 free interactive math and science simulations from University of Colorado Boulder. Engage students in math and science practices, and virtual labs, during remote learning. Find over 2,000 sim-based…
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Data Nuggets are free classroom activities, co-designed by scientists and teachers, designed to bring contemporary research and authentic data into the classroom. Students are guided through the entire process of science,…
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Explore six early science learning apps and dozens of hands-on activities. Use the digital Teacher's Guide to implement the technology-based science curriculum into preschool classrooms.
Explore six…
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EcoXPT is an immersive simulation in which students use inquiry to learn how ecosystems work.
EcoXPT is an immersive simulation in which students use inquiry to learn how ecosystems work…
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High-Adventure Science brings several of the big unanswered questions in Earth and space science to middle and high school science classrooms: What is the future of Earth's climate? Will there be enough fresh…
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Model My Watershed is a watershed-modeling web app that enables citizens, conservation practitioners, municipal decision-makers, educators, and students to analyze real land use and soil data in their neighborhoods and…
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The SageModeler systems modeling tool facilitates student exploration and understanding of phenomena through the development of their own computational models. Students can validate their models by comparing model output…
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Explore the pattern of earthquakes on Earth, including magnitude, depth, location, and frequency.
Explore the pattern of earthquakes on Earth, including magnitude, depth, location, and frequency…
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Choose from a series of videos that demonstrate ambitious teaching.
Explore resources that demonstrate ambitious teaching.
Science
Product…
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Each short video provides ideas for family science activities for preschool-grade 3 students that reinforce NGSS 3D learning.
Each short video provides ideas for family science activities for preschool-…
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This is a free resource to educate the public about Ebola. The website includes an interactive model that allows teachers, students, and community members to actively explore the factors that influence a disease’s spread…
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A free middle school science program that supports teachers in the effective instruction of an NGSS-aligned, EQuIP-reviewed body systems curriculum unit. Includes the complete middle school science curriculum…
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Research Quest is a series of science investigations designed to improve students’ critical thinking skills. Registration and use is free! Parents can also sign up free for Research Quest Live, hosted…
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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…
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Seasons is a free and innovative 8-day unit that provides interactive videos, hands-on activities, lesson plans, and student worksheets to explore the causes behind Earth’s seasons.
Seasons is a free…
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Moon Phases & Eclipses is a free and innovative 3-day unit that provides interactive videos, hands-on activities, lesson plans, and student worksheets to explore why the Moon's phase changes.
Moon…
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The Plate Tectonics module "What will Earth look like in 500 million years?" helps students build a systems view of plate tectonics through focused case studies and interactions with the Seismic Explorer (A…
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Students will use the Hurricane Explorer model to explain and predict how the path and strength of a hurricane can change, investigate real-world case studies on the risk and impact of hurricanes, and explore the effect of…
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Free, standards-aligned, and research-based inquiry curricula that address NGSS 3D proficiency. Includes Interactive scientific models plus hands-on activities, personalized guidance, and rich embedded…
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The context for this study was an intervention that provided professional development (PD) for preschool (pre-K) and kindergarten (K) teachers and science engagement activities for families. The research sought to…
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This chapter describes curricula that use WorldWide Telescope in teaching key topics in Astro 101 and K–12 science, including parallax, Hubble’s Law and large-scale structure in the universe, seasons, Moon phases and…
Students’ Plausibility Shifts & Knowledge Gains When Evaluating Competing Models about Freshwater Resource Availability
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Critique and evaluation are considered essential to deeper science learning. Furthermore, critical evaluation may influence plausibility judgments about explanations through re-appraisal. We developed the YIS-activity (…
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Strategies and strategic processing within science education are designed to help students learn not only what scientists have come to understand about the world but also how they learn it. Although many domain-general…
From Science Student to Conceptual Agent: Examining the Individual Shifts in Engagement During Scaffolded Instruction
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In this paper we describe a qualitative study in which we examine individual student engagement during implementation of an instructional scaffold for critical evaluation of scientific models during Earth and space science…
Knowledge in Use: Examining Elementary Teachers’ Content Knowledge for Teaching (CKT) about Matter using Scenario-Based Assessment
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This study explores how teachers across the United States answer and reason on “teacher assessment tasks” designed to elicit content knowledge for teaching (CKT) about matter and its interactions. It leverages a think…
Elementary Pre-service Teachers' Perceptions of Assessment Tasks to Measure Content Knowledge for Teaching about Matter
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This study explores how 79 elementary pre-service teachers evaluate the importance and pertinence of assessment tasks, designed to elicit information about content knowledge for teaching (CKT) about matter—a foundational…
Designing Educative Curriculum Materials for Teacher Educators: Supporting Elementary Teachers' Content Knowledge for Teaching about Matter
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Building on the work of Ball and Cohen and that of Davis and Krajcik, as well as more recent research related to K12 teacher learning from and about curriculum materials, we seek to answer the question, How can educative…
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This column provides ideas and techniques to enhance your science teaching.
This column provides ideas and techniques to enhance your science teaching. This issue describes a framework for designing and…
Designing ‘Productive Uncertainty’ into Investigations to Support Meaningful Engagement in Science Practices
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This teaching tool focused on an alternative approach to science investigation that emphasizes productive uncertainty.
We want students to engage from the earliest ages in science and engineering…
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This resource contains advice from CAREER awardees in the DRK-12 portfolio about how to develop a competitive proposal and successfully manage a CAREER project based on their experience.
This resource…
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SOLID Start (Science Oral Language and Literacy Development from the Start of School) curricula are guided by a driving question and puzzling phenomena that engage young students and elicit their natural curiosities. The…
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In this study, authors examine the consequences of within-school churn for the pedagogical content knowledge of elementary teacher participants in an NSF-funded science PD program.
There is growing…
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This study explores the pathways to K–12 Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics instruction among Black/African American males in the Discovery Research Education for African American Men in STEM to Teach (DREAMS…
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This article describes the 4‐Dimensional Ecology Education (4DEE) framework. Developed by a task force of ESA members who solicited input from a variety of groups, the framework takes a fresh and innovative approach toward…
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This article describes opportunities for primary and secondary ecology education in formal and informal settings.
Esposito, R. M. M, Harris, C., Berkowitz, A. R., & Pregnal, M. (2019). The joys of…
Making Critical Thinking Visible for Student Analysis and Reflection: Using Structured Documentation to Enhance Effective Reasoning and Communication
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This Science Scope article discusses how to foster critical-thinking skills in middle school science.
Butcher, K. R., Runburg-Larson, M., & Lane, M. (2019). Making critical thinking visible for…
“You are Never too Little to Understand Your Culture”: Strengthening Early Childhood Teachers through the Diné Institute for Navajo Nation Educators
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This article describes one effort to strengthen early childhood teaching in schools on the Navajo Nation that centers the work of two teachers within a program attempting to support teachers in the development of…
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This Research in Science Education article focuses on characterizing classroom discourse in science.
Sandoval, W. A., Kawasaki, J., & Clark, H. F. (2020). Characterizing science classroom discourse…
Encouraging Collaboration and Building Community in Online Asynchronous Professional Development: Designing for Social Capital
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This study explores how a design combining social capital mechanisms with essential teacher learning and PD characteristics supported teachers’ abilities to participate in the online course and collaboratively build…
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The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a self‐assessment using critical components of successful inclusive STEM high schools for school personnel and educational researchers who wish to better understand…
Machine Learning-Enabled Automated Feedback: Supporting Students’ Revision of Scientific Arguments Based on Data Drawn from Simulation
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This paper focuses on three simulation-based scientific argumentation tasks called Trap, Aquifer, and Supply. These tasks were part of an online science curriculum module addressing groundwater systems for secondary school…
Impacts of Attending an Inclusive STEM High School: Meta-analytImpacts of Attending an Inclusive STEM High School: Meta-analytic Estimates from Five Studiesic Estimates from Five Studies
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This study uses a meta-analytic approach to investigate the relationship between attending an inclusive STEM high school and a set of high school outcomes known to predict college entry and declaration of a STEM college…
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This resource presents a curricular module for high school biology classes related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The module is made up of 8 lessons that will likely take about 10-15 hours of instructional time. Major themes of…
What You Find Depends on How You See: Examining Asset and Deficit Perspectives of Preservice Science Teachers’ Knowledge and Learning
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This article explores how scholars have framed studies of preservice science teacher (PST) knowledge and learning over the past twelve years.
This article explores how scholars have framed studies of…
Building Argumentation Skills in the Biology Classroom: An Evolution Unit that Develops Students’ Capacity to Construct Arguments from Evidence
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Describes a scaffolded claims-evidence-reasoning (CER) argumentation framework that is embedded within a new eight-week, freely available curriculum unit developed by the Genetic Science Learning Center – Evolution: DNA…
Development and Pilot Testing of a Three-Dimensional, Phenomenon-based Unit that Integrates Evolution and Heredity
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Describes development and pilot testing of a 3-dimensional, phenomenon-based unit that integrates evolution and heredity. The 8-week unit is designed for introductory-level high school biology courses. Results from a…
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This paper explores the theoretical connection between STEM and emergent technologies, with a focus on learner behaviors and the potential of technology-mediated experiences with computational participation (CP) in shaping…
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Providing science instruction is an ongoing priority and challenge in elementary grades, especially in high-need rural schools. Nonetheless, few studies have investigated the factors that facilitate or limit teachers’…
Justice in Science Education: How to Honor Student Epistemologies While Supporting 3-Dimensional Science Teaching
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Conference proceedings from the 2019 Science Education at the Crossroads Conference.
Hayes, K. (2019). Justice in Science Education: How to Honor Student Epistemologies While Supporting 3-Dimensional…
Profiles of Middle School Science Teachers: Accounting for Cognitive and Motivational Characteristics
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This study takes a person‐centered approach by applying latent profile analysis to examine how cognitive (pedagogical content knowledge) and motivational (instructional goal orientations, self‐efficacy beliefs, and reform…
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This qualitative study examines the processes by which science faculty reshape their pedagogical practices through facilitating professional development for K–12 teachers, and how individual characteristics, social…
Developing Transmedia Engineering Curricula Using Cognitive Tools to Impact Learning and the Development of STEM Identity
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This paper examines the use of Imaginative Education (IE) to create an NGSS-aligned middle school engineering curriculum that supports transfer and the development of STEM identity.
This paper examines…
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The ASET Toolkit is a Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) planning toolkit designed to help science educators plan lessons and units that integrate the 3 dimensions outlined in the Framework (NRC, 2012…
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The ASET Science and Engineering Practice (SEP) Tools are designed to guide you to critically analyze how students are meaningfully engaged in the specific components of the SEP that you have selected to focus on for your…
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"Evolution: DNA and the Unity of Life" is an eight-week, comprehensive curriculum unit that sharply illuminates the underlying role of genetics in evolution by maintaining a conceptual connection to DNA and heredity…
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What kinds of questions should guide investigations of matter? The Questions to Investigate task is intended to elicit preservice teachers’ content knowledge for teaching (CKT) related to asking questions to frame…
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How can we align activities with instructional goals to support student understanding of matter and materials? The Building a Tower Task is intended to elicit preservice teachers’ CKT about descriptions and appropriate…
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What investigations can help students best understand conservation of matter? The Investigating Matter tasks are intended to elicit preservice teachers’ CKT related to the conservation of matter.
What…
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What is a scientific explanation and how can we support students in explaining changes in matter? The Fizzy Antacid task is intended to elicit and develop preservice teachers’ CKT related to students’ scientific…
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What does it mean to help students develop a small particle model of matter? The Mystery Bubble task is intended to elicit preservice teachers’ CKT related to students’ ideas about the small particle model (SPM) for matter…
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What ideas do students have about small particles of matter? The Two Cups of Liquid task is intended to elicit preservice teachers’ CKT related to students’ ideas about the small particle model (SPM) for matter…
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Includes eight separate lesson plans to help integrate the primary literature into the classroom.
Includes eight separate lesson plans to help integrate the primary literature into the classroom…
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Echoing calls to expand environmental education research through design, this study explores the role of design in garden-based education and illustrate its contributions towards practical impact and theoretical insight…
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In this article, it is argued that processes of co-production can support teachers and students in organizing resources for justice through science learning. Drawing upon a critical justice conceptual framework, critical…
How Science Teachers DiALoG Classrooms: Towards a Practical and Responsive Formative Assessment of Oral Argumentation
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This article presents lessons learned from an ongoing attempt to conceptualize, develop, and refine a way for teachers to gather formative assessment evidence about classroom argumentation as it happens…
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This study explores design strategies used by experienced designers in Energy3D, a computer-aided design (CAD) simulation environment designed for learning settings, to provide insight into supporting students' use of CAD…
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Argumentation enables students to engage in real world scientific practices by rationalizing claims grounded in supporting evidence. Student engagement in scientific argumentation activates the negotiation process by which…
The Development of ePCK of Newly Hired In-field and Out-of-field Teachers during their First Three Years of Teaching
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This study explored the potential impact of teaching outside of one’s field of expertise. This longitudinal cross-case study examined the development of enacted pedagogical content knowledge (ePCK) among a group of in-…
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This exploratory study aimed to (1) identify the barriers to moving STEM enrichment programming in a rural environment from in-person to virtual activities during the COVID-19 pandemic, (2) describe key decisions…
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Special issue of the Journal of Science Teacher Education focused on out-of-field teaching in science.
Special issue of the Journal of Science Teacher Education focused on out-of-field teaching in…
In the Classrooms of Newly Hired Secondary Science Teachers: The Consequences of Teaching In-field or Out-of-field
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Science teachers must sometimes teach outside of their expertise, and this type of teaching assignment is referred to as being out-of-field. Among newly hired teachers, this type of assignment may have a detrimental impact…
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This web-based portal offers free, technology-enhanced science assessment tasks for Grades 3-5. Designed for use by educators, researchers, and the public, the tasks are aligned to the NGSS performance expectations and…
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Nine units for high school-level Marine Science classes: (1) Ocean Exploration, (2) Marine Geology, (3) Marine Chemistry, (4) Estuaries, (5) Marine Physics, (6) Populations: Producers, (7) Populations: Invertebrates, (8)…
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Connected Biology provides a sequence of lessons for high school biology that fosters integrated learning of genetics and evolution. This novel curriculum is aligned with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)…
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A set of NGSS-aligned investigations for each discipline (physics, chemistry, biology) designed to introduce and scaffold engagement in science practices and build an understanding of the interplay between experimental…
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Sensing Science has created several free educational apps for iPads to build conceptual understanding of matter and its changes in kindergarten students. Related resources and support materials are available…
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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…
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School, home, and neighborhoods make large amounts of garbage every day. In answering the driving question of the unit, “What happens to our garbage?”, students investigate a series of subquestions (e.g., “What is that…
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Three short (4-5 session) curriculum units and an engineering design challenge include firsthand, guided explorations of energy in everyday phenomena. Beginning with easily observable phenomena, such as ball collisions,…
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Third-grade students’ use model-based reasoning about geospheric components of the hydrologic cycle (i.e., groundwater) and how elementary teachers scaffold students’ model-based reasoning. Instructional resources…
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The Deep Structure Modeling (DSM) project addresses the pressing need to more effectively organize science teaching and learning around “big ideas” that run through disciplines. Big ideas are important tools for learning…
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EzGCM is a climate modeling toolkit that allows students to examine climate change using the same tools and following the same scientific processes as climate scientists.
EzGCM is a climate modeling…
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This NGSS aligned curriculum is designed to support high school physical science students in developing an understanding of the forces and energy involved in atomic and molecular interactions. The year-long Interactions…
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Instructional modules that bring sustainability topics into classrooms in a way that emphasizes the methods and tools of mathematics and computing and illustrates their role in planning for sustainability. Through the…
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The CKT packets contain tasks, suggested lesson plans, readings, and resources to support teacher educators’ efforts to help elementary teachers develop CKT– specialized knowledge at the intersection of specific content…
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Support materials for teaching about the particle model of matter and interdependent relationships in ecosystems at the upper elementary level.
Support materials for teaching about the particle model of…
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DiALoG stands for Diagnosing the Argumentation Levels of Groups. It is designed for teachers to formatively assess the quality of evidence-based arguments and to guide the selection of instructional responses designed to…
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The Argumentation Toolkit is a collection of resources, including classroom videos, strategy guides and professional learning modules, designed to help teachers understand and teach scientific argumentation…
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Assessment tasks intended to support teaching and learning in classrooms that are enacting NGSS-aligned instruction, and to gain insights into grades 3-8 students’ progress in building proficiency with NGSS performance…
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This online collection of transformative geoscience resources includes Earth system models, data visualization tools, and curriculum modules. Each module is designed for middle and high school students and is…
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The Wildfire Module asks students to consider the question, "How will wildfire risks and impacts change over the next 100 years?" This five-activity module helps students build an understanding of the variables that…
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Use a fictional Earth-like planet to explore plate tectonics as a system of interacting plates.
Use a fictional Earth-like planet to explore plate tectonics as a system of interacting plates…
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This high school curriculum offers over 61 data-intensive Earth Science investigations, all set in real-world contexts and includes a variety of other activities, including topical fiction and non-fiction readings and…
The Quest for Sustainable Futures: Designing Transformative Learning Spaces with Multilingual Black, Brown, and Latinx Young People Through Critical Response-ability
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In this paper we argue for the need to design and develop transformative learning ecologies that explicitly position the diverse voices of youth from nondominant communities as central to re-defining and re-envisioning…
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In this article, the authors present evidence from teachers' reflections that this stability was supported by the teachers' intellectual and emotional experiences as learners. Specifically, they argue that engaging in…
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Estimating and monitoring the construct-irrelevant variance (CIV) is of significant importance to validity, especially for constructed response assessments with rich contextualized information. To examine CIV in…
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This comprehensive volume advances a vision of teacher preparation programs focused on core practices supporting ambitious science instruction. The book advocates for collaborative learning and building a community of…
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This paper puts forth a detailed conceptual framework for K-12 integrated STEM education that can be used by researchers, educators, and curriculum developers as a common vision
Given the large…
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Urban Title I schools need teachers who recognize and can help address challenges with broadening participation in science and inequities in access to quality science instruction found in elementary schools. The paper…
Bridging Science Teaching and Learning in Title 1 Schools Poster (2021 NARST Annual International Conference)
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This poster describes the work of the Bridging Science Teaching and Learning in Title 1 Schools project. Historically, the public education community has struggled with providing all children withequitable access to…
Articulating a Transformative Approach for Designing Tasks that Measure Young Learners’ Developing Proficiencies in Integrated Science and Literacy
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This paper introduces an approach for designing NGSS-aligned assessments that measure young learners’ science progress while also attending to the scientific language and literacy practices that are integral parts of the…
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Socially relevant and controversial topics, such as the climate crisis, are subject to differences in the explanations that scientists and the public find plausible. Scaffolds can help students be evaluative of the…
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Science involves changing the scale of objects—particularly scales of size, time, and intensity—from what is experienced in the world. Similar to investigations conducted in science laboratories, classroom investigations…
“Science Theatre Makes You Good at Science”: Affordances of Embodied Performances in Urban Elementary Science Classrooms
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School science continues to alienate students identifying with nondominant, non-western cultures, and learners of color, and considers science as an enterprise where success necessitates divorcing the self and corporeal…
Mathematical and Scientific Argumentation in PreK-12: A Cross-Disciplinary Synthesis of Recent DRK-12 Projects
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This review synthesizes insights from 23 NSF-funded projects, totaling $40 million, that studied mathematical and scientific argumentation in STEM education from prekindergarten (PreK) to Grade 12. The projects reported on…
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This review synthesizes findings from 18 NSF-funded projects, totaling nearly $22 million, that studied scientific modeling in science education from prekindergarten to Grade 12. The projects typically used descriptive…
Teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge in Mathematics and Science A Cross-Disciplinary Synthesis of Recent DRK-12 Projects
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This review synthesized insights from 27 NSF-funded projects, totaling $62 million, that studied pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in STEM education from prekindergarten (PreK) to Grade 12, split roughly equally across…
Climate Education in Secondary Science: Comparison of Model-based and Non-Model-based Investigations of Earth’s Climate
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In this mixed method study, we analyse the effectiveness of two pedagogical approaches – one model-based and another non-model-based – for developing secondary students’ understanding of the phenomenon of increase in Earth…
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Recent implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) has intensified the focus on teaching and learning of the Earth’s climate and GCC in formal learning environments. Concurrently, the empirical research…
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This article focuses on investigating the phenomenon of increasing surface air temperatures using a global climate modeling approach.
Bhattacharya, D., Chandler, M., Carroll-Steward, K., & Forbes, C…
Museum Leadership for Engaging, Equitable Education: The Transformative Potential of Digitized Collections for Authentic Learning Experiences
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Museums are local-to-global organizations operating in a digitized, distributed, and diverse 21st century world. Museums leaders face significant challenges in achieving broader relevance, meaningful engagement, and…
Informal Learning with Extended Reality Environments: Current Trends in Museums, Heritage, and Tourism
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This chapter discusses the capabilities of extended reality technology in informal learning environments, such as museums and cultural heritage sites. The chapter critically appraises several affordances of extended…
Rethinking Online Science Learning: Creating Virtual Research Experiences using Digitized Museum Specimens
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This article focused on creating virtual research experiences using digitized museum specimens.
Butcher, K. R., Larson, M., Lane, M., & Power, M. (2022). Rethinking Online Science Learning: Creating…
Elementary Preservice Teachers’ Perceptions of Assessment Tasks that Measure Content Knowledge for Teaching about Matter
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This study explores how 79 elementary preservice teachers perceive the relevance and importance of assessment task scenarios designed to elicit information about content knowledge for teaching (CKT) about matter and its…
Participating in the Scientific Publication Process: Exploring How Pre-college Students Perceive Publication within the Scientific Enterprise
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Scientists spend a substantial amount of their time engaging with the primary literature: reading, constructing, reviewing and revising it. Yet, the role of primary literature is generally absent from the development of…
No Science Fair? No Problem. Engaging Students in Science Communication through Peer Review and Publication in a Remote World
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This article describes resources that are freely available to help teachers navigate the peer review and publication processes and guide their students through the successful completion of submission and publication of…
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The process of modeling a complex phenomenon often requires working across representational systems of differing scales, modalities, and purposes. When put into contact, entities across multiple representational systems…
Beyond Assessing Knowledge about Models and Modeling: Moving toward Expansive, Meaningful, and Equitable Modeling Practice
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This article focused on expansive, meaningful, and equitable modeling practice.
Schwarz, C., Ki, L., Salgado, M., & Manz, E. (2022). Beyond assessing knowledge about models and modeling: Moving…
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The construct of active learning permeates undergraduate education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), but despite its prevalence, the construct means different things to different people, groups,…
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This report describes initial findings from a study of middle school science curriculum materials that were designed to promote learning as called for by the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).…
Examining the Responding Component of Teacher Noticing: A Case of One Teacher’s Pedagogical Responses to Students’ Thinking in Classroom Artifacts
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In this study, we investigated how an experienced fourth-grade teacher responded to her students’ thinking as part of her teacher noticing practice in a formative assessment context. Our primary purpose in doing this work…
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Drawing from published literature, as well as the experiences of a co-design team of motivation and science education researchers and middle school science teachers, we address the landscape of decision points for…
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We explored the COVID-19 pandemic as a context for learning about the role of science in a global health crisis. In spring 2020, at the beginning of the first pandemic-related lockdown, we worked with a high school teacher…
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School-based science inquiry tends to focus on already answered questions. We describe how we used the COVID-19 pandemic in a high school citizen science unit for students to witness and engage in real-time science. High…
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We describe an online citizen science platform for human brain and behavior research that uses a participatory science learning approach to engage learners in the full spectrum of scientific inquiry.
We…
Using Online Simulations to Promote Elementary Preservice Teachers’ Facilitation of Argumentation-Focused Discussions in Mathematics and Science
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In this study, our team developed and is studying the use of an Online Practice Suite (OPS) composed of a coordinated and scaffolded collection of three practice-based online simulations designed to support the development…
Pushing the Boundaries: Exploring the Potential of an Online Practice Suite to Support Elementary ScieTeachers in Learning How to Engage Students in Argumentation
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Slides from a pre-conference workshop at the 2021 National Association for Research in Science Teaching Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL.
Slides from a pre-conference workshop at the 2021 National…
PST Learning to Facilitate Argumentation Via Simulation: Exploring the Role of Understanding and Emotion
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The present study focuses on examining transitions in elementary pre-service teachers (PSTs)’ understanding of, and skills in, leading argumentation-focused discussions in mathematics during participation in a sequence of…
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This article describes a free online plate tectonics curriculum module (PT module), which offers a unique approach with two innovative tools that allow students to make connections between real-world data and plate…
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The goal of our National Science Foundation-funded Geological Models for Exploration of Dynamic Earth (GEODE) project is to help students use plate tectonics as an explanation for the landforms and geological phenomena…
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This article introduces a new online curriculum module called “What will Earth look like in 500 million years?” Using two web-based tools, middle and high school students develop understandings of (1) how collective…
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Climate change, and the rise of the natural hazards that climate change brings, has been at the top of news feeds every week over the past year. Extreme events such as floods, droughts, and wildfires are expected to…
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Today’s students are exposed to news about wildfires on an all-too-regular basis. An increasingly larger portion of those students live in areas where wildfire risks are high or where smoke has reduced the air quality. The…
Beyond Content: The Role of STEM Disciplines, Real-World Problems, 21st Century Skills, and STEM Careers within Science Teachers’ Conceptions of Integrated STEM Education
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This study used an exploratory case study design to investigate conceptions of 19 K-12 science teachers after participating in an integrated STEM-focused professional development and implementing integrated STEM lessons…
Eliciting and Refining Conceptions of STEM Education: A Series of Activities for Professional Development
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Integrated STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education is becoming increasingly common in K–12 classrooms. However, various definitions of STEM education exist that make it challenging for teachers…
Improving Integrated STEM Education: The Design and Development of a K-12 STEM Observation Protocol (STEM-OP) (RTP)
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The work presented here describes in detail the development of an integrated STEM observation instrument - the STEM Observation Protocol (STEM-OP) - that can be used for both research and practice. Over a period of…
Classroom Orchestration of Computer Simulations for Science and Engineering Learning: A Multiple-Case Study Approach
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This multiple case study focused on the implementation of a computer-aided design (CAD) simulation to help students engage in engineering design to learn science concepts. Our findings describe three case studies that…
Examining Temporal Dynamics of Self-Regulated Learning Behaviors in STEM Learning: A Network Approach
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From a network perspective, self-regulated learning (SRL) can be conceptualized as networks of mutually interacting self-regulatory learning behaviors. Nevertheless, the research on how SRL behaviors dynamically interact…
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It is vital to develop an understanding of students' self-regulatory processes in the domains of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) for the quality delivery of STEM education. However, most studies…
Training a New Generation of Problem Solvers: How Can Education Programs Develop the Problem-Solving Skills of Today's Schoolchildren and Tomorrow's STEM Workforce?
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This article addresses the need and potential for students to develop problem-solving skills as part of STEM learning.
Songer, N.B. (2022 April) Training a new generation of problem solvers: How can…
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Humankind faces unprecedented environmental, social, and economic challenges. There is a critical need for STEM education to foster both science learning and the application of learning to problem solving. At the…
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This study explored how engaging in critical inquiry through Project-Based Inquiry (PBI) Global fostered social action with high school students. Drawing on theoretical perspectives from critical inquiry and social action…
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This week is Global Goals week — an annual week of action, awareness, and accountability for the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, which are aimed at addressing global challenges like poverty and hunger. In…
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In a project designed to help create the next generation of problem-solvers, North Carolina State University researchers challenged a group of 11th graders to investigate and find solutions to a global problem: that…
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Globally relevant, action-oriented learning, like Project-Based Inquiry (PBI) Global, is a powerful tool to increase classroom engagement and help students understand the world in which they live. Today, Person Early…
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Achieving data literacy is challenging when schools narrowly focus on statistical reasoning rather than on meaning- and inference-making. Without attention to the social contexts of data, learners can fail to develop a…
Building Teacher Leadership for Equitably Accessible Distance Science Learning in a School District During COVID-19
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AERA symposium presentation on accessible distance learning in science during COVID.
Delhaye, C., Borko, H., Wilsey, M., Reigh, E., & Osborne, J. (2021). Building teacher leadership for equitably…
Changes in Elementary Teachers' Perceptions and Facilitation of Argumentation Throughout Year-Long Participation in Professional Learning
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AERA presentation on elementary teachers’ perceptions and facilitation of argumentation in the context of professional learning.
Wilsey, M., Delhaye, C., Collins, M., Allan, S., Reigh, E., Borko, H.,…
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NARST presentation on instructional decision making to improve argumentation in science.
Osborne, J. & Reigh, E. (2021). Towards improving science discussions: A framework to guide instructional…
What's In a Wave? Using Modeling and Computational Thinking to Enhance Students' Understanding of Waves
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Teaching about wave structure and function is a critical element of any physical science curriculum and supported by Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) PS4: Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for…
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We explored how preservice teachers in a middle school science methods course learned and applied computational thinking (CT) concepts and activities during a month-long
intervention.
We explored how…
Theoretical Diversity and Inclusivity in Science and Environmental Education Research: A Way Forward
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As distinct communities of practice (COP), science education research (SER) and environmental education research (EER) have both matured a great deal in recent decades, coming to include a greater diversity of theoretical…
We Strive: Initial Explorations of STEM Teachers' Successes and Challenges in Implementing Socioscientific Issues
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This study explores two teachers participating in professional development workshops implementing SocioScientific Issues (SSI) into STEM classrooms. Two research questions were investigated: (a) To what extent did teachers…
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The tasks described in this chapter are intended to build connections between these real-world dangers of viral spread and some relevant topics from the secondary mathematics curriculum. We also explore a link between…
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In this chapter, we argue that the learning sciences and science education have coevolved, a co-evolution that began with the emergence of the learning sciences in the 1990s and that continues today.
In…
Eco-Solutioning: The Design and Evaluation of a Curricular Unit to Foster Students’ Creation of Solutions to Address Local Socio-Scientific Issues
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The global pandemic and climate change have led to unprecedented environmental, social, and economic challenges with interdisciplinary STEM foundations. Even as STEM learning has never been more important, very few pre-…
Understanding Students' Sense-Making Processes When Faced with Unexpected Data: A Case Study in High School Biology
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Examining a lesson in a high school biology unit that utilized noisy sensor data, we sought to understand the ways students engaged in active reasoning about the data and the factors that influenced this process. Video…
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The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) Development Team is working with the Northwest Arctic Borough School District to develop STEM lessons utilizing Iñupiaq knowledge systems and university research for middle school-…
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In this article, we—a team of science teachers and a university researcher—present the processes of adapting existing curricular resources to promote equitable learning experiences for diverse learners. Using a middle…
Beginning School-University Partnerships for Transformative Social Change in Science Education: Narratives From The Field
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These narratives explore what it might entail to begin school–university partnerships towards the goal of transformative social changes through the voices of two women scholars of color. Using two school–university…
Improving Prekindergarten and Elementary Science Teaching: A Synthesis of Recent DRK-12 Program Investment in This Field
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This review synthesized insights from 25 NSF DRK-12 projects that studied prekindergarten (PreK) and elementary science teaching. This review covered 25 of the 27 projects funded between 2011 and 2015. We synthesized the…
The Role of Inclusion, Discrimination, and Belonging for Adolescent Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Engagement In and Out of School
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Women and ethnic minoritized individuals are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) domains in postsecondary education and in the workforce. The aim of the current study was to examine…
Examining Preservice Elementary Teachers’ Answer Changing Behavior on a Content Knowledge for Teaching Science Assessment
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We use an online Content Knowledge for Teaching (CKT) assessment that measures PSTs’ CKT in one science area: matter and its interactions. In this study, we analyzed process data from administering the online CKT matter…
Students Do Not Always Mean What We Think They Mean: A Questioning Strategy to Elicit the Reasoning Behind Unexpected Causal Patterns in Student System Models
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An ability to engage in system thinking is necessary to understand complex problems. While many pre-college students use system modeling tools, there is limited evidence of student reasoning about causal relationships that…
Invisible Multilingual Black and Brown Girls: Raciolinguistic Narratives of Identity in Science Education
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Black and Brown girls are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. Although studies have examined the reasons for this by exploring Black and Brown girls' experiences based on culture,…
Transforming Science Learning Framework: Translating an Equity Commitment into Action through Co-Design
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In this study, we present a conceptual tool for guiding teachers’ principled pedagogical actions toward equitable instruction, referred to as the Transforming Science Learning (TSL) framework. The TSL framework was…
Legitimation Code Theory as an Analytical Framework for Integrated STEM Curriculum and Its Enactment
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In this paper, we describe Legitimation Code Theory as an analytical framework and provide an analysis of semantic patterns of an integrated STEM unit (written discourse) and a middle school teacher’s …
Direct and Transfer Effects of an Interdisciplinary Model Integrating Science and Reading in Grades 1–3: Results and Policy Implications
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Implemented was a 45-minute per day Primary Science IDEAS intervention in grades 1–2 integrating reading and writing within science instruction in a multi-year study conducted in 8 experimental and 9 control schools.…
Engagement and Science Achievement in the Context of Integrated STEM Education: A Longitudinal Study
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A growing number of studies have shown the benefits of K-12 integrated science and engineering education. With this study, we add to the literature by documenting the relationship between STEM learning and engagement, and…
Strengthening Teaching in “Rural,” Indigenous-Serving Schools: Lessons from the Diné Institute for Navajo Nation Educators
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This article reports on the first three years of a teacher-led professional development program on the Navajo Nation. We draw on both quantitative and qualitative data from our end-of-year surveys to highlight some of the…
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Science teacher leaders have been identified as an important lever for the implementation of science education reform. However, science reform implementation is locally controlled and not uniform across districts;…
Increasing Student Confidence in Writing: Integrating Authentic Manuscript Writing into an Online 8-Week Research Program
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In various formats, students at the secondary and postsecondary levels participate in multiweek authentic science research projects. There have been many papers explaining the operations of such programs, but few have…
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The Socioscientific Issues Teaching and Learning (SSI-TL) framework is a guide for developing an instructional approach to learning experiences focused on socioscientific issues (SSI). Despite the potential benefits of SSI…
Innovate to Mitigate: Microgenesis of Student Design and Rationale in a Crowdsourcing Competition to Mitigate Global Warming
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The Innovate to Mitigate project adapts crowdsourcing to support project-based STEM education, posing design challenges for secondary-school students. Students are charged with designing feasible innovative strategies to…
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To address the lack of a classroom observation protocol aligned with integrated STEM, the author team developed one to measure the degree of integrated STEM instruction implemented in K-12 science and engineering…
Investigating the Presence of Mathematics and the Levels of Cognitively Demanding Mathematical Tasks in Integrated STEM Units
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Effective K-12 integrated STEM education should reflect an intentional effort to adequately represent and facilitate each of its component disciplines in a meaningful way. However, most research in this space has been…
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Review of the recent literature on integrated STEM curriculum development and implementation. Included are frameworks for integrated STEM curriculum development and research assessments to evaluate curriculum quality.…
Engaging Young Scholars in Science Through Publication: A Survey Analysis of Published Middle and High School Authors
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Young researchers are often excluded from the scholarly processes of peer-review and publication, which are cornerstones of scholarly work. The Journal of Emerging Investigators is an open access journal dedicated to…
The Untapped Potential of Early Career Researchers in Academic Publishing: Lessons Learned from the Journal of Emerging Investigators Model
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The lack of formal training in peer review can be detrimental to the publishing activities of early career researchers, including graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Lack of recognition of the work of early career…
Secondary Chemistry Teacher Learning: Precursors for and Mechanisms of Pedagogical Conceptual Change
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Despite years of research and practice inspired by chemistry education research, a recent report shows that US secondary instruction is not aligned with current national reform-based efforts. One means to mitigate this…
Investigating the Mangle of Teaching Oxidation–Reduction with the VisChem Approach: Problematising Symbolic Traditions that Undermine Chemistry Concept Development
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Specific to the topic of oxidation–reduction (redox), teachers are obligated by the discipline to prioritise symbolic traditions such as writing equations, documenting oxidation states, and describing changes (e.g., what…
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In this article we describe an Informal Science Institution (ISI)-based professional learning program for science teacher leaders (STLs) developed within the context of a research-practice partnership (RPP…
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Concord Consortium’s new Earth Rocks Map displays a generalized representation of Earth’s geology, focused primarily on the distribution of the three major rock types (igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary). What makes…
Professional Development for STEM Integration Analyzing Bioinformatics Teaching by Examining Teachers' Qualities of Adaptive Expertise
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Bioinformatics—a rapidly developing discipline that integrates mathematical and computational techniques with biological knowledge for applications in medicine, the environment, and other important aspects of life—is an…
Beyond the Design of Assessment Tasks: Expanding the Assessment Toolkit to Support Teachers’ Formative Assessment Practices in Elementary Science Classrooms
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Teachers experience challenges in effectively using formative assessment practices in their classrooms. In the US, only 28% of elementary teachers report using formative assessment. This study highlights the need to design…
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We need STEM knowledge programs in formal and informal settings that guide learners in applying STEM learning to the creation of solutions.
We need STEM knowledge programs in formal and informal…
How Do Interdisciplinary Teams Co-construct Instructional Materials Emphasising Both Science and Engineering Practices?
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To build a sustainable future, science and engineering education programmes should emphasise scientific investigation, collaboration across traditional science topics and disciplines, and engineering design, including…
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Mastery goal structures, which communicate value for developing deeper understanding, are an important classroom support for student motivation and engagement, especially in the context of science learning aligned with the…
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Involving students in scientific modeling practice is one of the most effective approaches to achieving the next generation science education learning goals. Given the complexity and multirepresentational features of…
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To best support students in developing competence, assessments that allow students to use knowledge to solve challenging problems and make sense of phenomena are needed. These assessments need to be designed and tested to…
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MindHive is an online, open science, citizen science platform co-designed by a team of educational researchers, teachers, cognitive and social scientists, UX researchers, community organizers, and software developers to…
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In super-diverse classroom contexts, students come from varied migration channels, immigration statuses, languages, countries of origin, and religions, which contribute to new and complex social configurations of the…
Examining Elementary Science Teachers' Responses to Assessments Tasks Designed to Measure Their Content Knowledge for Teaching About Matter and its Interactions
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Despite the importance of developing elementary science teachers' content knowledge for teaching (CKT), there are limited assessments that have been designed to measure the full breadth of their CKT at scale. Our overall…
“Unnatural How Natural It Was”: Using a Performance Task and Simulated Classroom for Preservice Secondary Teachers to Practice Engaging Student Avatars in Scientific Argumentation
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Facilitating discussions is a key approach that science teachers use to engage students in scientific argumentation. However, learning how to facilitate argumentation-focused discussions is an ambitious teaching practice…
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Eliciting and interpreting students’ ideas are essential skills in teaching, yet pre-service teachers (PSTs) rarely have adequate opportunities to develop these skills. In this study, we examine PSTs’ patterns of discourse…
Exploring the Potential of an Online Suite of Practice-Based Activities for Supporting Preservice Elementary Teachers in Learning How to Facilitate Argumentation-Focused Discussions in Mathematics and Science
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This study explored the use of a three-part suite of practice-based activities -- one- and two-player online simulations, an avatar-based simulation, and a virtual teaching simulator—for supporting preservice teachers in…
MoDa: Designing a Tool to Interweave Computational Modeling with Real-world Data Analysis for Science Learning in Middle School
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Coordinating modeling and real-world data is central to building scientific theories. This paper examines how a complementary focus on modeling and data contributed to 8th grade students’ learning of mechanisms underlying…
Infect, Attach or Bounce off?: Linking Real Data and Computational Models to Make Sense of the Mechanisms of Diffusion
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This study explores how the interplay between data and model design shifts 6th graders’ students' ideas about diffusion as they build a range of models (“paper and pencil” and computational models). We present a new web-…
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Big ideas in science education are meant to be interpretive frameworks that empower student learning. Unfortunately, outside of the broad conception of scientific evaluation, there are few theoretical explanations of how…
Socio-Scientific Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Comparing In-person and Virtual Science Learning Using Model-Evidence Link Diagrams
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Science learning is an important part of the K-12 educational experience, as well as in the lives of students. This study considered students’ science learning as they engaged in the instruction of scientific issues with…
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This webinar provided early career data science education researchers with information on the state of the field; tools, curricula, and other resources for researchers; and insight into funding opportunities and proposal…
A Remote View into the Classroom: Analyzing Teacher Use of Digitally Enhanced Educative Curriculum Materials in Support of Student Learning
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When integrated into online curriculum modules for students, educative curriculum materials (ECMs) can enhance teachers’ enactment of these modules. This study investigated (1) the use of digitally enhanced ECMs built into…
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Explaining phenomena associated with a system involves describing a system’s structure and articulating the process through which the system’s structure changes over time. This paper defines geo-sequential reasoning in the…
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This report takes stock of what we currently know as well as what we need to know to make classroom assessment maximally beneficial for the teaching and learning of STEM subject matter in K–12 classrooms…
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A 10-week, energy literacy curriculum unit for 6th grade students. Students will study energy use and transfer in their own school buildings. They will explore how Earth systems supply renewable and nonrenewable energy,…
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Teachers must know how to use language to support students in knowledge generation environments that align to the Next Generation Science Standards. To measure this knowledge, this study refines a survey on teachers’…
‘If You Wanted to Take this Model and Throw Nitrogen at It, It Would Fit’: Synthesis Approach to Modelling to Learn About Biogeochemical Cycles
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This qualitative study examines how a group of undergraduate and graduate students in an upper-level ecosystem ecology course at a research university in the southeastern part of the United States engage in a task that…
‘Me Hizo Sentir Como Científica’: The Expressed Science Identities of Multilingual Learners in High School Biology Classrooms
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Science identity development begins in school-aged years, when multilingual students (MLs) are often marginalised in the classroom due to language challenges and low expectations placed on them. This descriptive multiple…
Student Outcomes of Teaching About Socio-scientific Issues in Secondary Science Classrooms: Applications of EzGCM
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Science education literature has highlighted socio-scientific issues (SSI) as an effective pedagogy for teaching science in a social and political context. SSI links science education and real-world problems to engage…
Supporting Secondary Students’ Understanding of Earth’s Climate System and Global Climate Change Using EzGCM: A Cross-Sectional Study
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Global climate change (GCC) is one of the greatest challenges of our age and a highly significant socio-scientific issue (SSI). Developing secondary students’ understanding about the Earth’s climate and GCC is critical for…
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Educational policies exist as part of complex systems of many policies, all of which science teachers must make sense before using in practice. Using Actor-Network Theory to view policy translation in assemblages, we…
Intersections of Teacher Noticing and Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy: A Conceptual Framework to Inform the Design of Teacher Learning
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Teacher noticing scholars are just beginning to explore how to support noticing that is responsive to students' cultural resources. The theoretical basis of the teacher noticing literature affords scholars a range of paths…
Evaluating the Effectiveness of an Online Professional Development for Rural Middle-School Science Teachers
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In rural, geographically dispersed school districts, access to high-quality face-to-face professional development (PD) is challenging. Our study developed and compared the effectiveness of an online PD for middle-school…
Exploring the Noticing of Science Teachers: What Teachers' Notice and Using Video to Capture Teacher Knowledge
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Knowing how science teachers develop their professional knowledge has been a challenge. One potential way to determine the professional knowledge of teachers is through videos. In the study described here, the authors…
Why Does Teacher Learning Vary in Professional Development? Accounting for Organisational Conditions
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Professional development providers often struggle with how some teachers take up and internalise new instructional practices while others have difficulty implementing new ideas and strategies. Teacher personal…
Why Do Teachers Vary in Their Instructional Change During Science PD? The Role of Noticing Students in an Iterative Change Process
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This qualitative study uses a nonlinear, iterative model of teacher learning (Interconnected Model of Professional Growth; Clarke & Hollingsworth, 2002) alongside professional noticing to help understand why elementary…
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Our research explores possibilities for cultivating new spaces for preservice secondary science teachers to engage in science. In a content-focused education course, we designed for and studied preservice teachers'…
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Reform efforts in science and mathematics education highlight students’ experiences and sensemaking repertoires as valuable resources for instruction. Yet, there is much to learn about how to cultivate teachers’ capacity…
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Foregrounding climate education in formal science learning environments provides students with opportunities to develop critical climate-related knowledge and skills. However, research has shown many challenges to teaching…
Understanding the Effect of Differences in Prior Knowledge on Middle School Students’ Collaborative Interactions and Learning
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We investigated how the level of variance in students’ prior knowledge may have influenced their collaborative interactions and science learning in small groups. We examined learning outcomes from 102 groups from seven…
Can Generative AI and ChatGPT Outperform Humans on Cognitive-Demanding Problem-Solving Tasks in Science?
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This study aimed to examine an assumption regarding whether generative artificial intelligence (GAI) tools can overcome the cognitive intensity that humans suffer when solving problems. We examine the performance of…
Elementary Teachers’ Knowledge of Using Language as an Epistemic Tool in Science Classrooms: A Case Study
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Language is a fundamental tool for learning science. This study highlights the importance of teacher knowledge in utilising language as a tool for knowledge generation in the classrooms. This case study examines elementary…
Embodied, Dramatizing Performances in Science Class: Multimodal Spaces and Places of Knowledge and Identity Construction
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We explored the semiotic choices children in grades 1–6 made that nurtured embodied, dramatizing performances in science classes at urban public schools, serving predominantly students of color in a large US city. We…
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In this paper, we describe three challenges (conflict between multiple dimensions of science proficiency, authentic data, and grade-appropriate graphing tools) that we faced when designing for a specific Next Generation…
Reasoning About Data in Elementary School: Student Strategies and Strengths when Reasoning with Multiple Variables
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The need for data literacy is an increasingly pressing priority in society, but most of the work in data-centred education has focused on developing skills at the middle school, secondary, and post-secondary levels, with…
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The authors are developing a model for rural science teacher professional development, building teacher expertise and collaboration and creating high-quality science lessons: technology-mediated lesson study (TMLS…
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This study applied the many-facet Rasch measurement (MFRM) to assess students’ knowledge-in-use in middle school physical science.
This study applied the many-facet Rasch measurement (MFRM) to assess…
Elementary Science Teacher Educators Learning Together: Catalyzing Change With Educative Curriculum Materials and Vignette Writing
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In this article, we describe a professional learning community (PLC) for science teacher educators that supported changes in pedagogy through educative curriculum materials and vignette writing.
In this…
Related Paper Set: Designing, Supporting, and Enacting Elementary Science Units for Teacher Phenomenon Adaptation
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Paper set on designing, supporting, and enacting elementary science units for teacher phenomenon adaptation from 2023 NARST conference.
Cook Whitt, K., Harris, E., Kenyon, L., Kenyon, F. L., Hanson, A…
How It All Happened: Cause and Effect as a Lens and Thinking Tool to Observe and Make Sense of Two Puzzling Phenomena
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This article uses cause and effect as a lens and thinking tool to observe and make sense of phenomena in elementary science.
Mohan, L., Harris, E., & Guy-Gaytan, C. (2023). How it all happened:…
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The Innovate to Mitigate (I2M) project poses challenges for secondary-school students to design feasible, innovative strategies that mitigate CO2 emissions and thus global warming. Design is informed by research on problem…
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Making science accessible is an important and worthy goal, but for many students, science is inaccessible because what counts as science in the classroom is narrowly defined as what is known as western science, rooted in…
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Practical research article from Science Scope.
Liu, P., Taylor, S. Colwell-Johnson, A., Lee, A. A., McKinney, D., Harris, C. J., Linnenbrink-Garcia, L., Marchand, G. C., & Schmidt, J. A. (2023).…
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Research on socio-scientific issues (SSI) has revealed that it is critical for learners to develop a systematic understanding of the underlying issue. In this paper, we explore how modeling can facilitate students’ systems…
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Justice-centred science pedagogy has been suggested as an effective framework for supporting teachers in bringing in culturally relevant pedagogy to their science classrooms; however, limited instructional tools exist that…
Designing Educative Curriculum Materials for Teacher Educators: Supporting Preservice Elementary Teachers’ Content Knowledge for Teaching About Matter and Its Interactions
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Research on teacher educators’ professional learning has gained increasing interest within science education. Curriculum materials have been suggested as a means of supporting teacher learning for several decades but have…
Developing and Using a Scalable Assessment to Measure Preservice Elementary Teachers' Content Knowledge for Teaching About Matter
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There is strong agreement in science teacher education of the importance of teachers' content knowledge for teaching (CKT), which includes their subject matter knowledge and their pedagogical content knowledge. However,…
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Educating students about real-world, issues such as local invasive species aims to encourage wider engagement with STEM.
Educating students about real-world, issues such as local invasive species aims…
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Nancy Butler Songer, Associate Provost of STEM Education at the University of Utah, discusses the importance of supporting and including young people as part of environmental decision-making teams and key problem-solvers…
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The authors designed a science and engineering curricular program that includes design features that promote student interest and motivation and examined teachers' and students' views on meaningfulness, motivation and…
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Nancy Butler Songer, from the University of Utah, makes a call for collective action to create a new curriculum focused on the design of solutions.
Nancy Butler Songer, from the University of Utah,…
Elementary Preservice Teachers' Responsiveness While Eliciting Students' Initial Arguments and Encouraging Critique in Online Simulated Argumentation Discussions
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Limited research has explored elementary preservice teachers' responsiveness while navigating an argumentation-focused discussion, particularly in an online simulated teaching experience. The purpose of this study was…
Preservice Teachers Noticing and Positioning Students as “Knowers” in Equitable Scientific Argumentation-based Discussions
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This study investigated how preservice elementary teachers' (PSTs) noticed the discourse practices they used to position students and their scientific thinking as they engaged a group of student avatars in argumentation-…
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TU professor studies avatar-based classroom simulations in three-year, $3 million NSF grant.
TU professor studies avatar-based classroom simulations in three-year, $3 million NSF grant.
Kirkman, R. (…
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In this article, we describe our implementation of an innovative approximation of practice in teacher education: chat-based role-play. In so doing, we share our collective experiences as teacher educators about how the…
Scientific Communities of Practice: K–12 Outreach Model Around Organism Responses to Repeated Hurricane Disturbances
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Collaboration between ecologists and learning scientists can give rise to powerful models for scientific outreach within ecology. This paper presents a process by which learning scientists and ecologists codesigned a…
Designing Educative Tools for Scientific Argumentation: A Case Study of DBR Before and During the Pandemic
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Design-based research is uniquely positioned to adapt instructional resources quickly to meet the needs of teachers and students. This chapter explores how researchers adapted and improved two educative tools over the…
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In this report section, we discuss the importance of aligning classroom assessments with learning goals and instructional practices to both shape and evaluate students’ learning opportunities.
In this…
Scaling STEM-ID—Research Strategies to Inform Initial Scaling of Middle School Engineering Curricula
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This work-in-progress paper discusses a three-year middle school Engineering and Technology course sequence that integrates foundational mathematics and science in an engineering context through challenges that introduce…
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This chapter describes our middle school energy literacy project to develop, implement, and test curriculum materials for a unit titled Energy and Your Environment (EYE). EYE fosters place-based education by using the…
Justice-Centered STEM Education with Multilingual Learners: Conceptual Framework and Initial Inquiry into Pre-service Teachers’ Sense-Making
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Our conceptual framework for justice-centered STEM education engages all students in multiple STEM subjects, including data science and computer science, to explain and design solutions to pressing societal challenges and…
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This section presents an overview of critical developments in technology-driven, classroom-based innovative assessment practices. It uses a framework organized around cognitive constructs, assessment functionality, and…
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Framework to organize foothold practices for centering justice in science education.
Framework to organize foothold practices for centering justice in science education.…
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This chapter describes an ongoing research-practice partnership with in-service teachers in communities across Oregon focused on broadening participation in STEM fields. We explore how our design-based work with teachers…
Shaping Ambitious Science Teaching to Be Culturally Sustaining and Productive in a Rural Context: Toward a Justice-Centered Ambitious Science Teaching Framework
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Significant science education resources, namely the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and the Ambitious Science Teaching (AST) framework, need an intentional aim of centering social justice for minoritized…
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Abstract concepts, such as gravity, may provide the perfect opportunity to bring phenomena into the classroom. Using phenomena and summary writing together might help student learning since it requires making connections…
Characterizing Adaptive Expertise: Teacher Profiles Based on Epistemic Orientation and Knowledge of Epistemic Tools
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With an ultimate goal of characterizing teachers' movement toward understanding the epistemic complexity of generative learning environments, this study refers to adaptive teaching expertise (AdTex) as a…
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Adopting a complexity perspective, we attempt to understand how teachers shift over time by examining their epistemic orientation to knowledge generation and their understanding of the nature of the epistemic tools of…
How Do On-Site Teacher Educators Approach Professional Development? A Study of Insider/Outsider Hybridity
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In-service professional development is important for improving teaching. However, little research has examined how the roles, beliefs, and backgrounds of the individuals providing professional development can best be…
The Dimensionality of the Epistemic Orientation Survey and Longitudinal Measurement Invariance for the Short Form of EOS (EOS-SF)
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The dimensionality of the epistemic orientation survey (EOS) was examined across four occasions with item factor analysis (IFA). Because of an emphasis on the knowledge generation of epistemic orientation (EO), four…
Unpacking Teachers’ Orientations Toward a Knowledge Generation Approach: Do We Need to Go Beyond Epistemology?
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This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a professional development program rooted in knowledge generation theory. Specifically, it sought to examine the changes in teachers' three orientations following…
Centering Educators’ Voices in the Development of Professional Learning for Data-Rich, Place-Based Science Instruction
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This self-reflective case study describes our project team’s efforts to promote equity in science professional learning (PL) by centering the voices of educators in the PL design process and within the course itself. In…
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In today’s technologically complex and connected world, students’ needs to develop competencies and confidence with data have never been greater. The authors describe effective practices for engaging all students with data…
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Daily Do Playlists are suggested instructional sequences of two or more Daily Do lessons in which students coherently build science ideas over time.
In the first playlist lesson, students experience…
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This is the project-created training course for new users to learn about the STEM-OP and how to use it.
This is the project-created training course for new users to learn about the STEM-OP and how to…
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A open science data repository and processing system for educational game data.
A open science data repository and processing system for educational game data.
Science…
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Repository of project simulation tasks and data.
Repository of project simulation tasks and data.
Mathematics
Science
Classroom Practice…
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Online plotter for historical data and student data collected using the Emery Method for beach profiling.
Online plotter for historical data and student data collected using the Emery Method for beach…
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Our 5D assessment development process is eight phases, each with a clear goal and tools to support task development. The tools and processes are combined in the 5D Assessment Development Tool for easy access from a single…
The Schoolyard SITES Curriculum Workbook: A Design Process for Engaging Students in Citizen Science in Their Schoolyard
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Schoolyard SITES Curriculum Workbook includes a narrative description of the SITES professional development program and the Project Planning Guide.
Schoolyard SITES Curriculum Workbook includes a…
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This Citizen Science Guide provides specific guidance on identifying relevant citizen science projects that fits an educators' curricular and instructional needs.
This Citizen Science Guide provides…
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This book is a guide for K-12 school leaders and educators who are planning to implement new bilingual and dual language (BDL) elementary programs for multilingual learners in the United States, focusing on the integration…
Schoolyard SITES: School-Community Partnership to Learn About Teaching Locally-Relevant Citizen Science
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Our research study examines the community-based partnership PD model and its impact on school teachers’ self-efficacy and their success in engaging students in the NGSS science practices through citizen science projects…
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The ability for an educational game designer to understand their audience's play styles and resulting experience is an essential tool for improving their game's design. In this paper we present a simple, reusable process…
Elementary Teachers as Collaborators: Developing Educative Support Materials for Citizen Science Projects
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Elementary teachers face many challenges to implementing reform-based science instruction in their classrooms. Some teachers may choose to enhance their students’ science experiences by introducing them to citizen science…
Analysing Students' Concept Mapping Style and Its Association with Task Performance in Computer-based Inquiry Learning
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In scientific inquiry learning, students often have difficulties conducting hypothetical reasoning with multiple intertwined variables. Concept maps have a potential to facilitate complex thinking and reasoning. However,…
Cultivating a Higher Level of Student Agency in Collective Discussion: Teacher Strategies to Navigate Student Scientific Uncertainty to Develop a Trajectory of Sensemaking
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Teachers play a crucial role in guiding students through sensemaking by addressing uncertainties and assisting in solution development. Student uncertainty is recognized as a pedagogical resource, engaging them in…
Science Teachers’ Implementation of Science and Engineering Practices in Different Instructional Settings
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This article explores science teachers’ implementation of science and engineering practices (SEPs) under different instructional settings.
This article explores science teachers’ implementation of…
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In this paper, we introduce an epistemic scaffolding framework for understanding the nature of support for epistemic growth in science.
In this paper, we introduce an epistemic scaffolding framework for…
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With a decade passing since the release of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), it is timely to reflect and consider the extent to which the promise of science teaching and learning that values and centers…
Shining Light on Preschool Science Investigations: Exploring Shadows and Strengthening Visual Spatial Skills
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Young children are naturally interested in light and shadows, thus providing a meaningful context to introduce preschool science investigations. As children explore how shadows are made and change, they also have…
Using Simulations to Support Students’ Conceptual Development Related to Wildfire Hazards and Risks from an Experiential Learning Perspective
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From the experiential learning perspective, this study investigates middle and high school students (n = 1009) who used an online module to learn about wildfire hazards, risks, and impacts through computational simulations…
Communities of Practice and the Elevation of Urban Elementary Teacher Discourse About Critical Pedagogy of Place
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Children who live in under-resourced communities and attend under-resourced schools deserve access to high-quality teachers and educational opportunities to support their success and well-being. This study emerged from a…
Learning About Science Topics of Social Relevance Using Lower and Higher Autonomy-Supportive Scaffolds
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Evaluation of plausible alternative explanations of scientific phenomena is an authentic scientific activity. Instructional scaffolding can facilitate students’ engagement in such evaluations by facilitating their…
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This library contains lessons and tools designed for preservice teachers that focus on argumentation, or quality talk, in high school science.
This library contains lessons and tools designed for…
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This collection of 10 investigations offers collaborative, NGSS-aligned plant science lessons for middle and high school that include guides for students, teachers, and mentors.
This collection of 10…
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The Spiral Notebook app is a digital portfolio tool that enables teachers to efficiently capture multiple representations of classroom practice via documents, images, and videos, and organize, share, and discuss evidence…
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This resource collection includes lessons for nine biology themes and content areas: matter and energy transformation, organization and development of living organisms, earth systems and patterns, energy, interdependence,…
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This collection provides K-12 math and science curriculum units and practice guides authored by INE educators, as well as culturally responsive resources for educators and counselors.
This collection…
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This series includes lessons and professional development video sessions focused on: multilingual learning strategies for STEM, culturally responsive strategies for STEM, knowledge building strategies for STEM, semantic…
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This NGSS-aligned place-based curriculum features experiential, field-based, inquiry-oriented K-12 learning activities that incorporate real-world applications integrating Hawaiian and 21st Century STEA²M. It includes…
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In this free life sciences learning game, middle school students can play as a young scientist faced with scientific challenges across multiple oceanic ecosystems. Wake: Tales from the Aqualab addresses the NGSS practices…
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This portal contains classroom-ready assessments for elementary and middle school teachers to use formatively to gain insights into their students’ progress on achieving NGSS performance expectations.…
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StoryMaker is a powerful learning platform developed by PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs to build the next generation of media creators through media-making projects. These lesson plans and activities provide a strong…
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This collection offers K-12 curricula, activity guides, and other resources to support hands-on, inquiry-based investigations of the ecosystems and organisms around us. Themes include: Hudson River ecology, urban…
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Do you want to learn more about complex ecological systems, nature-culture relations, and field-based science? These storyline frameworks are designed for educators working in a variety of places (community-based…
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With the LRHE curriculum, student learning is used in the generation of solutions to local problems, such as increasing indigenous populations of insects within local urban neighborhoods. The learning approach—solutioning—…
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The ASET Toolkit is a Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) planning toolkit designed to help science educators plan lessons and units that integrate the 3 dimensions outlined in the Framework (NRC, 2012). The toolkit…
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This curriculum workbook details a design process for engaging elementary students in citizen science investigations that are relevant to their school district’s curriculum and school site. The citizen science guide is…
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This toolkit lays important groundwork to help teachers successfully enact motivation design principles (MDPs) in support of student motivation and engagement in science. It addresses the reciprocal relationship between…
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These high-quality, NGSS-aligned science lesson plans are built on phenomena meaningful to rural students. They include plans for middle school science, as well as high school biology, Earth science, chemistry, and physics…
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This collection of curriculum units focus on the biology topics of natural selection, matter and energy, and genetics. Each unit contains a series of lessons, videos, and materials for students and teachers…
Supporting Student Voice in Science Classrooms: The Limits of Psychosocial Approaches and the Importance of Sociocultural and Critical Perspectives on Student Agency
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In this paper, we examine traditional psychosocial approaches to the study of student agency in science education, emphasizing the importance of incorporating sociocultural and critical perspectives.
In…
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Studying moths is an excellent way to include students in science practices by introducing them to a ubiquitous but under-appreciated animal group that can be found in their local places, including urban, suburban,…
Engaging Elementary Students in Science Practice: Strategies for Helping Children Plan Investigations
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This article presents a tool that teachers can use to support children in planning science investigations. Using an extended example from a second-grade investigation into seed dispersal, we describe strategies for…
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Teaching science to elementary school students is complex, and teacher preparation programs must support preservice teachers’ learning to communicate science content and practices with children. Science teachers bring the…
Understanding Variation in Integrated STEM Practice as Measured by the STEM Observation Protocol (STEM-OP)
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To better understand integrated STEM education, this work explored scores on the STEM Observation Protocol (STEM-OP), a newly developed observation protocol for use in K-12 science and engineering classrooms. The goals of…
Contextual Resources Supporting the Co-evolution of Teachers' Collective Inquiry and Classroom Practice After the Grant Ended
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We explored how various contextual resources accumulated over multiple years operated together to facilitate a team of high school teachers' sustained and agentive learning after a 4-year research–practice partnership (RPP…
Development of a Questionnaire on Teachers' Beliefs, Preparedness, and Instructional Practices for Teaching NGSS Science with Multilingual Learners
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The limited availability of research instruments that reflect the vision of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) restricts the field's understanding of whether and how teachers are making instructional shifts…
How Does an Adaptive Dialog Based on Natural Language Processing Impact Students from Distinct Language Backgrounds?
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This study takes advantage of advances in Natural Language Processing (NLP) to build an idea detection model that can identify ideas grounded in students’ linguistic experiences.
This study takes…
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We present a detailed empirical investigation of feature-based, recurrent neural network, and pre-trained transformer models on scoring content in real-world formative assessment data. We demonstrate that recent neural…
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We use natural language processing (NLP) to identify student ideas in science explanations. The identified ideas, along with Knowledge Integration (KI) pedagogy, informed the design of a question bank to support students…
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Two teachers—whose students were concerned about environmental injustices in their communities and eager to take action—initiated a collaboration to design freely available, customizable curriculum materials and a model…
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Participatory science conducted in formal K–12 settings has many benefits, including the potential to engage teachers and students authentically in the scientific enterprise and to make learning more meaningful. Despite…
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The modern information landscape offers an abundance of options to learn about science topics, but it is also ripe for the spread of mis- and disinformation and science denial. Science education can play a pivotal role in…
Empowering Future Scientists: Mentors Employ Various Strategies to Engage Students in Professional Science Disciplinary Literacy Practices
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Secondary students are increasingly involved in scientific research projects that include authentic disciplinary literacy components such as research proposals, posters, videos, and scientific research papers. More and…
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Despite a growing effort to integrate students’ civic action projects into science and engineering curricula that address climate change and environmental justice, there are few frameworks that guide teachers and students…
Quenching a Thirsty Planet: Teaching the Dynamics of Water Scarcity and Sustainability Through the Water Cycle
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Water scarcity poses a significant global challenge, which is often overlooked, particularly in regions with abundant water resources. This article outlines a curriculum designed for middle school students (grades 6–8)…
Variation in the Implementation of Educative Curriculum Materials for Elementary Science Teacher Educators in Two Course Contexts: An Exploratory Case Study
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Educative curriculum materials (ECM) have been shown to support K-12 teacher learning, but little is known about teacher educators’ use of ECM. In this study, we report on enactments of ECM designed to support the…
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Environmental education is essential for protecting and restoring natural water sources. Integrating education with positive environmental experiences can instill values and stewardship in the public, encouraging proactive…
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Students benefit from dialogs about their explanations of complex scientific phenomena, and middle school science teachers cannot realistically provide all the guidance they need. We study ways to extend generative teacher…
Elementary Students Learning Through Data Analysis and Sharing Findings: Design-based Research for Community and Citizen Science in Schools
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While citizen science and other participatory approaches to science are increasingly used in schools to promote student science learning, rarely are these students supported to collect, analyze, and share their data with…
Exploring Students’ Engagement with Inscription-based Science Practices from the Perspective of Epistemic (Un)certainty
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Learning about natural hazards and risks through science practices entails considerations of uncertainty. We examined ways in which students expressed their epistemic (un)certainty about claims they made based on their…
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For this study, we focused on the Ambitious Science Teaching–based teacher talk engaged in by two middle school science teachers to support student sensemaking regarding a phenomenon-based science unit with embedded data…
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Physics has the reputation of being purely about nature, not about people or culture. Physics concepts such as time, space, and mass are often considered to be independent of sociopolitical concepts such as democracy and…
Teacher Educators’ Use of Formative Feedback During Preservice Teachers’ Simulated Teaching Experiences in Mathematics and Science
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The purpose of this research study was to identify how teacher educators (TEs) attend to and use formative feedback as they work to support preservice teachers’ (PSTs’) learning. The formative feedback was provided to the…
The Design and Implementation of a Bayesian Data Analysis Lesson for Pre-Service Mathematics and Science Teachers
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With the rise of the popularity of Bayesian methods and accessible computer software, teaching and learning about Bayesian methods are expanding. However, most educational opportunities are geared toward statistics and…
Unpacking the Nuances: An Exploratory Multilevel Analysis on the Operationalization of Integrated STEM Education and Student Attitudinal Change
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Integrated STEM education (iSTEM) is recognized for its potential to improve students’ scientific and mathematical knowledge, as well as to nurture positive attitudes toward STEM, which are essential for motivating…
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This paper describes how plate tectonics and rock genesis, two topics that are typically addressed separately in secondary Earth science classes, can be taught together as an integrated system.
This…
Ten Years of Three-Dimensional Science and Its Implementation in the Secondary Classroom: A Scoping Review
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In the decade following the release of the Next-Generation Science Standards in the United States, many efforts have occurred to reform K-12 science teaching. While not all states have adopted NGSS, 48 of 50 have…
What Should We Investigate? Using a Classroom Decomposition Chamber to Support the Development of Investigation Questions
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In this article, we describe how we use classroom phenomena to help fifth grade students develop testable questions and productive investigations. Engaging students in observing and seeking to explain a classroom…
Combining Natural Language Processing with Epistemic Network Analysis to Investigate Student Knowledge Integration within an AI Dialog
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In this study, we used Epistemic Network Analysis (ENA) to represent data generated by Natural Language Processing (NLP) analytics during an activity based on the Knowledge Integration (KI) framework. The activity features…
Employing Automatic Analysis Tools Aligned to Learning Progressions to Assess Knowledge Application and Support Learning in STEM
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We discuss transforming STEM education using three aspects: learning progressions (LPs), constructed response performance assessments, and artificial intelligence (AI). Using LPs to inform instruction, curriculum, and…
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The changing landscape of geoscience learning has initiated growing interest in engaging science learners with climate data. One approach to teaching climate is the application of broadly accessible digital science…
Developing Elementary Teachers’ Climate Change Knowledge and Self-efficacy for Teaching Climate Change Using Learning Technologies
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Elementary teachers require support through professional learning activities to enhance their climate change literacy and bolster their self-efficacy for teaching climate change. This study explores methods for supporting…
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This study employs the Experiential Learning Theory framework to investigate students’ use of a wildfire simulation. We analyzed log files automatically generated by middle and high school students (n = 1515) as they used…
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Building on the literature, we designed a practical framework to support attention to equity and justice in science teacher education coursework. This framework presents four approaches for including justice moves in…
Toward a Framework of Culturally Relevant Science and Mathematics Pedagogy: A Pedagogical and Analytical Tool for Teacher Education
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In this article, we present a framework of culturally relevant science and mathematics pedagogy (CRSMP), which is grounded in the tenets of culturally relevant pedagogy. It delineates practices ranging from the most…
Toward Ontological Alignment: Coordinating Student Ideas with the Representational System of a Computational Modeling Unit for Science Learning
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Computational modeling tools present unique opportunities and challenges for student learning. Each tool has a representational system that impacts the kinds of explorations students engage in. Inquiry aligned with a tool’…
What Distinguishes Students’ Engineering Design Performance: Design Behaviors, Design Iterations, and Application of Science Concepts
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Engineering design that requires mathematical analysis, scientific understanding, and technology is critical for preparing students for solving engineering problems. In simulated design environments, students are expected…
Exploring Resources and Reasoning Practices in Socioscientific System Modeling for Justice-Centered Science Education
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Integrating science education with social justice is vital for preparing students to critically address significant societal issues like climate change and pandemics. This study examines the effectiveness of…
Facilitating Student Argumentation Around Socioscientific Issues Through Productive Discourse and Negotiation Toward Consensus
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Controversial topics that arise in science classrooms, especially those of social relevance (e.g., the climate crisis), provide opportunities to help students learn about and discuss contradictory ideas they may encounter…
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Socioscientific issues (SSI) are problems involving the deliberate use of scientific topics that require students to engage in dialogue, discussion, and debate. The purpose of this project is to utilize issues that are…
Exploring the Attending and Interpretation of Three Science and Engineering Practices Among Secondary Science Teachers
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This study explored secondary science teachers’ attending and interpretation of three science and engineering practices (SEPs) occurring in a classroom setting. This data were further examined to see if teaching experience…
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In response to the growing emphasis on addressing global socio-scientific issues like climate change and viral pandemics in K-12 education, we designed three socio-scientific units for middle school science. We call this…
STEM Teacher Characteristics and Mobility: Longitudinal Evidence from the American Midwest, 2010 Through 2023
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This study examines the demographics, qualifications, and turnover of STEM teachers in Kansas and Missouri—two contiguous, predominantly rural states in the Midwestern region of the United States. The existing literature…
“Adapting for a Local Space Can be Tricky”: Designing Units for Teachers to Localize Through Phenomenon Adaptation
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Learning science in the context of local phenomena and problems can be powerful for young people. Yet, designing place-based instructional materials is resource intensive, limiting broad access. This study investigates how…
Expanding Uses of the STEM Observation Protocol (STEM-OP): Secondary Science Teachers’ Reflections on Integrated STEM Practice
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There are few guidelines related to how to implement integrated STEM education in the K-12 science classroom. It is important that teachers have opportunities to reflect on integrated STEM instruction when implemented so…
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A teacher’s working context is an important factor in how they make sense of and enact curriculum. Understanding how external factors (e.g. state and/or district policies, school cultural norms) interplay with teachers’…
Fostering Critical Consciousness: A Systematic Review of K-12 Teachers’ Integrations of Sociopolitical Issues in Science and Mathematics Classrooms
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Efforts towards providing inclusive science and mathematics education for marginalized students are increasingly found in literature advocating for equity-oriented instruction through supporting students’ critical…
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Science and engineering offer ways to maintain the thermal comfort of our homes while minimizing impacts on the environment. This article introduces the Energy-Plus House Design Project, an NGSS-aligned curriculum unit…
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Grand Challenges (GCs) are complex, global, and multifaceted science and societal problems such as climate change, viral pandemics, loss of biodiversity, and quests for new energy sources. In this article, we advance a…
Co-designing Citizen Science Projects for Elementary Schools in New Hampshire Through Teacher and Community-based Extension Science Volunteer Partnerships
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In the United States, reforms put forth by Next Generation Science Standards have increased the demand for K-12 teacher professional development in science instruction. This study investigates a new professional…
Integrating Community Assets, Place-based Learning, and Career Development Through Project-based Learning in Rural Settings
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Our study investigates the first year of a two-year place-based education (PBE) professional development model that focuses on career development in rural middle schools through project-based learning (PBL) units. Rural…
Integrating Math and Science Through Engineering: Illustrative Examples from Curricula Implementation in Middle School Engineering Classrooms
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Engineering has emerged as a promising context for STEM integration in K-12 schools. In the previous decade, the field has seen an increase in curricular resources and pedagogical approaches that invite students to utilize…
NLP-Enabled Automated Assessment of Scientific Explanations: Towards Eliminating Linguistic Discrimination
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As use of artificial intelligence (AI) has increased, concerns about AI bias and discrimination have been growing. This paper discusses an application called PyrEval in which natural language processing (NLP) was used to…
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This article emphasizes the critical role of play in early childhood science education, arguing that natural, child-led play fosters important opportunities for children to explore scientific ideas and practices. Drawing…
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Situated learning has been widely promoted in educational practice, where students are encouraged to learn by exploring real-world problems in authentic contexts. To expand the opportunities for situated learning,…
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This study practically addresses some key challenges teachers face in enacting reform-oriented science teaching and offers suggestions for how continued research regarding norms and uncertainty can continue to further…
Development of an Observation Protocol for Teachers' Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Science Instruction
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This study is part of a larger project on culturally and linguistically responsive instruction for multilingual learners (MLs) in biology (CLIMB), aimed at enhancing MLs’ engagement in science practices, biology content,…
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As educators, we recognize that commercially prepared curricula advertised as “NGSS aligned” do not necessarily emphasize student sensemaking. In this article, we describe our process of modifying such curricula by…
More Than a Sprinkle: Elevating Multiple Perspectives in a Unit Exploring Coasts and Coastal Change in Hawai‘i
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The Exploring Coasts and Coastal Change in Hawai‘i unit supports middle school haumana (students) in developing multi-perspective understanding and personal stances about coastal change in their community. The unit was…
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The Language, Culture, and Knowledge-building through Science (LaCuKnoS) project tests and refines a model of science teaching and learning that brings together current research on the role of language in science…
STEM Education with a Focus on Equity and Justice: Traditional Approaches, Contemporary Approaches, and Proposed Future Approach
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The disproportionate impacts of societal challenges (e.g., climate change, air and water pollution) on minoritized groups expose systemic injustices and compels STEM educators to reframe the role of STEM education in…
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The recent surge of artificial intelligence (AI) in science education has heightened interest among the NARST community—a curiosity about how technology can transform education that has lasted for decades. This growing…
Unveiling Scoring Processes: Dissecting the Differences Between LLMs and Human Graders in Automatic Scoring
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Large language models (LLMs) have demonstrated strong potential in performing automatic scoring for constructed response assessments. While constructed responses graded by humans are usually based on given grading rubrics…
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This article portrays how citizen science (CS) projects can be integrated into elementary classrooms to enhance students’ sensemaking skills and connect to real-world science problems.
This article…
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Teach mathematics and science using materials for the weather-focused Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, & Snow Network project.
Teach mathematics and science using materials for the weather-…
Culturally and Linguistically Sustaining Formative Assessment in Science and Engineering: Highlighting Multilingual Girls’ Linguistic, Epistemic, and Spatial Brilliances
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This study advances understandings of formative assessment by introducing the Culturally and Linguistically Sustaining Formative Assessment (CLSA) framework, grounded in relational and embodied perspectives and culturally…
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For the promotion of youth voice to be successful, out-of-school-time (OST) program facilitators and classroom teachers need a common understanding of what quality looks and sounds like and support for implementing higher-…
Re-examining the Relationship Between Three-Dimensional Science and Engineering Knowledge and Student Interest: A Mixed Methods Study
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Now more than ever, the world needs citizens comfortable with interdisciplinary problem- solving in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) to address global environmental and health challenges, including…
The Role of Discrimination and Barriers in the Perceptions of Adolescents With and Without Disabilities of STEM Classes and Jobs
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In STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields, people with disabilities are underrepresented. This study aimed to determine what barriers might prevent students with and without disabilities from pursuing…
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Students benefit from having opportunities to explore extensive, complex datasets using technology tools that are intuitive and accessible. Likewise, middle school teachers require convenient access to captivating datasets…
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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…
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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…
Entangled in the Chemical Industry: Honest Renderings of Corporate STEM Histories for Local Engagement in Civic Science
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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…
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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…
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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…
Teacher Feedback Guiding Professional Development Programs: A 2-Year Field Trial Integrating Science and Language with Multilingual Learners
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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…
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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…
History, Hope, and Humility in Praxis: Co-determining Priorities for Professional Learning with Content Area Teachers
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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…
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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…
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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…
Middle School Science Talk: Coupling Natural Language Processing with Classroom Video Analyses to Explore Discursive Resources in Hybrid Spaces
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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…
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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…
Pathways into the CTE Teaching Profession: A Descriptive Analysis of Degrees, Licenses, and Race in Maryland
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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…
What Does Knowledge of Dialogue and Argument Mean for Elementary Teachers’ Instructional Practices? A Case Study
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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…
Can Dynamic Visualizations Improve Middle School Students’ Understanding of Energy in Photosynthesis?
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Ryoo, K. & Linn, M.C. (2012). Can Dynamic Visualizations Improve Middle School Students’ Understanding of Energy in Photosynthesis? Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 49(2), 218-243.
ABSTRACT:
Dynamic…
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Chiu, J. & Linn, M. C. (2011). Knowledge Integration and WISE Engineering. Journal of Pre-college Engineering Education, 1(1), 1-14.
ABSTRACT:
Recent efforts in engineering education focus on introducing engineering…
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Previous research suggests the value of technology-enhanced materials that guide learners to use dynamic, interactive visualizations of science phenomena. The power of these visualizations to improve student understanding…
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Gerard, L.F., Varma, K., Corliss, S., & Linn, M.C (2011). Professional development in technology-enhanced science. Review of Educational Research. 81(3), 408 – 448
ABSTRACT:
The knowledge integration framework is used…
College Students’ Temporal-Magnitude Recognition Ability Associated With Durations of Scientific Changes
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Lee, H. –S., Liu, O. L., Price, C. A., & Kendall, A. (2011). College students’ temporal magnitude recognition ability associated with durations of scientific change. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 48(3), 317-…
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Liu, O. L., Lee, H.S. & Linn, M.C. (2011a). An investigation of explanation multiple-choice items in science assessment. Educational Assessment, 16, 164-184.
ABSTRACT:
Both multiple-choice and constructed-response…
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Liu, O.L., Lee, H.S., & Linn, M.C. (2011b). Measuring knowledge integration: Validation of four-year assessments. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 48(9), 1079-1107.
ABSTRACT:
Science education needs valid,…
Investigations of a Complex, Realistic Task: Intentional, Unsystematic, and Exhaustive Experimenters
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McElhaney, K.W. & Linn, M.C. (2011). Investigations of a Complex, Realistic Task: Intentional, Unsystematic, and Exhaustive Experimenters. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 48(7), 745-770.
ABSTRACT:
This study…
School Principals’ Influence on Science Teachers’ Technology Implementation: A Retrospective Analysis
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Peled, Y. Kali, Y. & Dori Y.J. (2011). School principals' influence on science teachers' technology implementation: A retrospective analysis. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 14(2), 229-245.
ABSTRACT…
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Shen, J., Chang, H.-Y., Chen, J.K., Chiu, J., Matuk, C., Schwendimann, B. et al. (2011). Collaboration as scaffolding to learn from dynamic, interactive scientific visualizations. In Spada, H., Stahl, G., Miyake, N.,…
A Technology-Enhanced Unit of Modeling Static Electricity: Integrating scientific explanations and everyday observations
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Shen, J., & Linn, M. C. (2011). Connecting scientific explanations and everyday observations: A Technology-Enhanced Unit of Modeling Static Electricity. International Journal of Science Education, 33(12), 1597-1623.…
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Svihla, V., Linn, M. C. (2011). A Design-based approach to fostering understanding of global climate change. International Journal of Science Education. DOI:10.1080/09500693.2011.597453
ABSTRACT:
To prepare students to…
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Tali, T., Kali, Y., Magid, S., & Madhok, J. (2011). Enhancing the authenticity of a web-based module for teaching simple inheritance. In T. D. Sadler (Ed.), Socio-scientific issues in science classroom: Teaching,…
Using Interactive Technology to Support Students’ Understanding of the Greenhouse Effect and Global Warming
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Varma, K. & Linn, M. C. (2011). "Using Interactive Technology to Support Students’ Understanding of the Greenhouse Effect and Global Warming." Journal of Science Education and Technology. DOI: 10.1007/s10956-011-9337-9…
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Zhang, Z., & Linn, M. C. (2011). Can Generating Representations Enhance Learning with Dynamic Visualizations? Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 48(10), 1177-1198.
ABSTRACT:
This study explores the impact of…
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On February 10th, 2012, five Fellows presented on the work of their projects. Many thanks to the presenters and to the audience of Fellows who followed up each presentation with great questions and discussion.
Due to…
Compendium of Research Instruments for STEM Education, PART I: Teacher Practices, PCK, and Content Knowledge
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The purpose of this compendium is to provide an overview on the current status of STEM instrumentation commonly used in the U.S and to provide resources for research and evaluation professionals. Part 1 of a two-part…
Partnering with Users to Develop STEM Education Materials: Insights from Discovery Research K-12 Projects
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This brief suggests practical ways of engaging teachers and other “end-users” in projects that develop materials for education in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Projects described in this…
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Abstract: The Science Literacy through Science Journalism (SciJourn) project aims to reframe the discussion of science literacy for citizenship, and explore how science journalism practices can be used to inform a…
A Comparison of Representations of Units of Length: A Microgenetic Analysis (Cullen, Barrett, Sarama, Clements)
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Mathematics
Science
Presentation
Elementary
Cullen, C.
Barrett, J…
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The significance of inquiry skills is widely acknowledged in science practice across many areas. Carrying out experimental investigations is an indispensable element of scientific inquiry and, therefore, an important…
A Design Pattern for Observational Investigation Assessment Tasks (Large Scale Assessment Technical Report 2)
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The significance of inquiry skills is widely acknowledged in science practice across many areas. Unlike experimentation, another form of inquiry skill, observational investigation has been much ignored in science…
Astrobiology in the Secondary Classroom Project: An Interdisciplinary Curriculum Developed by a Collaboration of Scientists and Educators from Three Different Minority Communities
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Curriculum
Science
Presentation
High
Leigh Arino de la Rubia
Todd Gary…
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Loving, C. C., Schroeder, C., Kang, R., Shimek, C., & Herbert, B. (2007). Blogs: Enhancing links in a professional learning community of science and mathematics teachers. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher…
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The Chemistry Education Research Doctoral Scholars Program aims to recruit, train and graduate a diverse group of scholars in chemistry education research (CER) who specialize in assessment; design coursework, K-12…
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Chemistry
Science
Presentation
High
Angela Haydel DeBarger
Carlos Ayala…
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This article highlights some common misconceptions students have about heat and insulation. It also provides tools for formative assessment and resources for teaching correct scientific concepts.
The…
Conceptual Framework for Analyzing and Designing Illustrations in Science Assessment: Development and Use in the Testing of Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Populations
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We present a conceptual framework for designing and analyzing illustrations used in science assessment. This conceptual framework is intended to help test developers to systematically create and examine illustrations used…
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21st Century Skills
Biology
Classroom Practice
Educational Technology
Science
Professional Development…
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Understanding, exploring, and interacting with the world through models characterizes science in all its branches and at all levels of education. Model-based reasoning is central to science education and thus science…
Development of Illustrations as Image Supports for English Language Learners in Large-Scale Testing: A Report on the Procedure for Designing Vignette Illustrations
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This paper presents a framework and a procedure for developing vignette illustrations as a form of testing accommodation for English language learners (ELLs). Vignette illustrations are defined as illustrations added to…
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The National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL) maintains a portfolio of complementary programs aimed at improving science, technology, engineering, and…
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This report is an overview of the projects in the DR K-12 portfolio.
This report is an overview of the projects in the DR K-12 portfolio.
Engineering…
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Cyberlearning
Environmental Science
Science
Pedagogy
Statistics
Technology
Presentation…
Establishing and Nurturing Effective Partnerships among University Faculty, Public School Administrators, and Classroom Teachers (Boger, Davis, Liles)
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Content Mentoring of Middle Grades Math and Science Teachers and Its Impact on Teaching Efficacy: Establishing and Nurturing Effective Partnerships among University Faculty, Public School Administrators, and Classroom…
Examining Problem Solving Strategies on Multiple-choice Science Items Among English Language Learners Through Cognitive Interviews
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This paper introduces a coding system used to compare the ways English language learners (ELLs) and mainstream students make sense of multiple-choice science items administered in English. Thirty-nine native Spanish-…
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This practice brief makes a case for substantive partnerships between STEM education R&D projects and districts and schools.
Produced by a CADRE work group of NSF-supported researchers and…
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The session summarizes the results of research identifying pivotal experiences of career science teachers and suggests implications and applications for professional development delivery.…
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DRK–12 projects at all stages, from early design work through completion, can benefit from an awareness and understanding of the challenges of knowledge use, so that what is designed can be suitably adapted and scaled…
Illustrations with Graphic Devices in Large-Scale Science Assessments: An Exploratory Cross-Cultural Study of Students’ Interpretations
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In this exploratory, cross-cultural study, we examined students’ interpretations of graphic devise-based illustrations used in science tests. Graphic devices are visual components (e.g., arrows, dotted lines) intended to…
Integrating Innovative Technologies in Inquiry Science: Professional Development for Teachers and the Impacts on Teacher and Student Learning (Dorsey, Linn, Ryoo, Gerard)
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This session presents results from four studies investigating professional development support for teachers’ use of innovative technologies in inquiry science and the impacts of support on learning…
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Science
Presentation
Elementary
Middle
Fred Goldberg
2009
Resource
Science
Professional Development
Presentation
Elementary
Betty Young…
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This interactive session examines the different data sources for evidence of PCK in biology
teachers involved in professional development experiences linked to educative curriculum
materials.…
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In this session, the presenters discuss findings and experiences regarding technology-embedded assessment and how to support teachers in using it effectively.
Assessment…
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In this pdf are STEM education networks and social media sources that may be of interest to DR-K12 grantees for the purposes of (1) disseminating knowledge and products and (2) developing partnerships with…
Plenary Presentation: The Opportunity Equation: Transforming Mathematics and Science Education for Citizenship and the Global Economy (Cahill)
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Cahill discusses the Carnegie-Institute for Advanced Study Commission on Mathematics and
Science Education’s recent report in which they challenge the nation to mobilize for coordinated action so that all students—not just…
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NCLB defines success exclusively as test scores, fostering strategies that compromise substantive
learning. This session focuses on conceptual and theoretical frameworks for exploring this issue…
Prepare and Inspire: K-12 Education in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) for America's Future
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America is home to extraordinary assets in science, engineering, and mathematics that, if properly applied within the educational system, could revitalize student interest and increase proficiency in these subjects and…
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In this session, participants discuss knowledge synthesis in process regarding STEM teachers’ participation in professional learning communities: What have we learned and what are the implications for other NSF projects…
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Mathematics
Science
Professional Development
Presentation
Middle
Pradeep M. Dass…
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Join the panelists from the plenary presentation to continue conversations about common standards in each of the STEM disciplines.
Assessment
Science
Standards…
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The first print edition from summer 2009 of the student science news publication, in pdf format.
Disciplinary Content Knowledge
Science…
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The second print issue from summer 2009 of the student science news publication, in pdf format.
The second print issue from summer 2009 of the student science news publication, in pdf format…
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The third print edition from summer 2009 of the student science news publication, in pdf format.
The third print edition from summer 2009 of the student science news publication, in pdf format…
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The fourth print edition from summer 2009 of our science news publication, in pdf format. The articles in this edition, unlike the others, are written by high school teachers who participated in our summer PD…
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The first print edition from academic year 2010-11 of our student written science news publication, in pdf format. This is meant to be printed on large format paper, and folded, but it can be viewed online…
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The second print edition from academic year 2010-11 of our student written science news publication, in pdf format. This is meant to be printed on large format paper, and folded, but it can be viewed online…
SGER: Assessing the Educational, Career and Social Impacts of the XO Laptop Program in Birmingham, AL City Schools (Cotten)
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The goal of this study is to assess the educational, career, and social impacts of disseminating an innovative technology, the XO laptop computer, to minority 4th and 5th grade students in Birmingham City Schools (BCS) in…
Situated assessment using virtual environments for science content and inquiry (Ketelhut, Nelson, Schifter)
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In this session, the presenters discuss findings and experiences regarding technology-embedded assessment and how to support teachers in using it effectively.
Curriculum…
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This is the final poster that was presented at the PI conference in Washington, DC. it was part of the DRK 12 Sims & Games session proposal of 12 posters.
Assessment
Gaming/…
Resource
Join the panelists from the plenary presentation to continue conversations about common
standards in each of the STEM disciplines.
21st Century Skills
Engineering…
Resource
Classroom Practice
Science
Presentation
Elementary
Middle
Katherine L. McNeill…
Talk Science! Scalable, Web-based Professional Learning to Improve Science Teaching & Learning (Doubler)
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Science
Professional Development
Presentation
Elementary
Susan Doubler…
Target Inquiry: Transforming In‐Service Teacher Professional Development and Instruction in High School Chemistry (Yezierski, Herrington)
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This session presents results of a four-year longitudinal, mixed-methods study showing how Target Inquiry affects teacher beliefs, transforms teacher practice, and increases student achievement…
The Beginner’s Repertoire: Proposing a Core Set of Instructional Practices for Teacher Preparation (Windschitl, Thompson, Braaten)
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Presenters share outcomes of a research-based, tool-supported system of induction created to advance novice teachers’ capacity to scaffold students’ construction of evidence and explanation.…
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Since an August 2010 start date, the Evidence Game team has been engaged in an iterative design and development process for a game to provide middle school students and their teachers with practice in Toulmin’s (1984)…
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⁃What does it look like to begin reasoning early about density before definitions and formulas?
⁃What sorts of classroom activities and teaching approaches might support this?
Although it may be too early to formally…
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In this paper, we report on a study that compares state, national, and international assessment programs as to the characteristics and functions of the illustrations used in their science test items. We used our conceptual…
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Thinking with Data (TWD) is an Instructional Materials Design (IMD) project which developed and tested a cross-curricular unit designed to cultivate middle school students’ deep understanding of data literacy. The TWD unit…
Tipping Points: Tools and Routines To Support Expert-Like Practice in Early Career Teachers (Thompson, Windschitl, Braaten)
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Presenters share outcomes of a research-based, tool-supported system of induction created to advance novice teachers’ capacity to scaffold students’ construction of evidence and explanation.…
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Project Goals -Develop and field test a words-to-video images tool for analyzing selected features of science teaching. -Produce a Guide to Video Analysis of Science Teaching that includes a coding manual for the selected…
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This session presents an instrument for measuring preservice elementary teachers’ application of instructional planning practices and discusses the relationship between these practices and teachers’ knowledge…
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The group will discuss current research and practice in educational social networks and questions in this area that still need to be answered.
Mathematics
Science…
Powering Up for the Head Start on Science Program: Using Power Analysis to Plan the Sample Size Required for a Multi-Site Cluster Randomized Trial
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This intermediate session demonstrated how we conducted an a priori power analysis for a longitudinal,multisite cluster randomized trial of an early childhood science education program, then later revised it to accommodate…
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This study explores what students understand about enzyme–substrate interactions, using multiple representations of the phenomenon. In this paper we describe our use of the 3 Phase-Single Interview Technique with multiple…
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Research in student knowledge and learning of science has typically focused on explaining conceptual change. Recent research, however, documents the great degree to which student thinking is dynamic and context-sensitive,…
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Many of us learned about dominant and recessive genes in a humdrum high school biology class. Some of us may still recognize the terms and symbols twenty or thirty years later—are your eyes bb or Bb? But, as it turns out,…
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Science education reforms, such as the introduction of inquiry into the classroom, represent second order educational changes (12,13). Although first order changes require small alterations of existing practices, second…
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This article describes The Concord Consortium's High-Adventure Science Project, which brings frontier science into the classroom, allowing students to explore questions in Earth and space science that scientists are…
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Like citizen journalists, your students can get to the heart of science literacy—and challenging questions like these—with the “learn by doing” methodology in this innovative book. Front-Page Science uses science…
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SmartGraphs is free, open source software that helps students understand graphs and concepts represented in graphs (e.g., slope, velocity, half-life, global warming).
A demonstration of the SmartGraphs…
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In this study, we examine how a professional science news editor and high school teachers respond to student writing in order to understand the values and priorities each bring to bear on student work. These questions…
Envisioning Scientifically Literate Students Fifteen Years after Graduation: The Promise of Educative Science Journalism
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The “Science Literacy Through Science Journalism” (SciJourn) project explores how the practices of good science journalism can inform high school science education. As high school students report science news, they learn…
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In this short text, the power of formative assessment as a teaching tool is detailed, and examples of opportunities for formative assessment within Foundation Science Biology proposed, for Learning Experiences (LE) 2, 3…
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Every Learning Experience in Foundation Science Begins with a brainstorming activity. This six minute video explains how brainstorming can be used to determine prior knowledge of your students, introduce new content, and…
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A brief overview of teacher tools that promote student discourse in the classroom. A summary of why spend your time on talk in the science classroom and its functions.
Science…
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An essay detailing the purposes, functions and benefits of academically productive talk including the Talk Goals and Moves chart.
Science
Publication…
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Students put their knowledge to work: every student must take a stand on whether to serve genetically modified potatoes in their school cafeteria – and to give evidence for their reasoning.…
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As the students grapple with the question of whether to serve genetically modified potatoes in the school cafeteria, the teacher uses strategies that encourage all students to voice their ideas and questions, to…
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In this discussion, students try to clarify areas of confusion among themselves. They puzzle through complicated scientific ideas and ask their peers for help. They wrestle with questions ranging from the definitional --…
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Learn more about the Plan, Teach and Reflect features of the electronic teacher guide.
Curriculum
Science
Technology
Presentation…
Resource
“Recent research emphasizes that teacher quality alone cannot improve student achievement at scale. School leadership, staff collaboration, and a positive climate are among essential organizational elements that contribute…
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“Specialized schools still represent a tiny fraction of U.S. public education. However, they may not only produce better results than traditional programs; they also can serve as models for schools seeking to improve.”…
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“When students from non-mainstream backgrounds receive equitable learning opportunities, they are capable of attaining science outcomes comparable to their mainstream peers. The same is true for mathematics and, presumably…
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“Providing a richness of resources unavailable in any classroom, informal science institutions across the country have developed exemplary partnerships with public schools—and have room for more.” Read this brief to…
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In this conceptual paper, we propose an heuristic to balance context-specific and generic scaffolding, as well as computer-based and teacher scaffolding, during instruction centered on authentic, scientific problems. This…
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The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) give equal importance to Earth and space science, physical science, life science and engineering. It’s likely that the 26 Lead State Partners that helped develop the standards…
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This article describes how the NSF funded High-Adventure Science: Earth’s Systems and Sustainability (HAS:ESS) project is developing online curriculum modules for middle school and high school classroom use. The curricula…
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Create an immersive virtual environment to engage students in problem solving.
Assessment
Science
Publication…
Resource
Current science assessments typically present a series of isolated fact-based questions, poorly representing the complexity of how real-world science is constructed. The National Research Council asserts that this needs to…
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Though many national and international science organizations stress the importance of integrating scientific inquiry into classroom instruction, this is often difficult for teachers. Moreover, assessing and scaffolding…
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Inquiry-based learning is a part of modern science education at all levels. The new science education standards framework has both emphasized the central role of inquiry and further defined the core competencies, such as…
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STEM education-related publications that may be of interest to DRK-12 grantees.
This list contains STEM education-related publications that may be of interest to DRK-12 grantees for the purposes of (1)…
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A PPT presentation on Articulating the Components of Inclusive STEM High Schools. Presented at STEMx Conference.
A PPT presentation on Articulating the Components of Inclusive STEM High Schools.…
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The NSF’s Discovery Research K-12 (DR K-12) program is one potential source of funding for the needed research on the educational effectiveness of gaming and simulations. The DR K-12 program seeks to enhance the teaching…
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This paper summarizes how Collaborative Online Projects (COPs) are used to facilitate science content-area learning for English Learners of Hispanic origin. This is a Mexico-USA partnership project funded by the National…
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Current data on school readiness and early math and science achievement indicate we are not giving young children the support they need to be “STEM Smart”. Read this brief on nurturing STEM skills in young learners…
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"The majority of U.S. students, particularly low-income and minority youth, lacks foundational skills and knowledge in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics." Read the brief to learn more about preparing…
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A 2-page summary of the ASPECT project, including project goals, approach, year one accomplishments, early findings, current efforts, and early impacts.
Science
Technology…
Professional Development Aligned with AP Chemistry Curriculum: Promoting Science Practices and Facilitating Enduring Conceptual Understanding
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The recent revisions to the advanced placement (AP) chemistry curriculum promote deep conceptual understanding of chemistry content over more rote memorization of facts and algorithmic problem solving. For many teachers,…
Sticky Ions: A Student-Centered Activity Using Magnetic Models to Explore the Dissolving of Ionic Compounds
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Understanding what happens at the particulate level when ionic compounds dissolve in water is difficult for many students, yet this understanding is critical in explaining many macroscopic observations. This article…
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Understanding how games create a sense of flow and engagement can help teachers make better choices about their instructional use of games.
Ault, M., (2014). How games can engage students and improve…
The effectiveness of Reason Racer, a game designed to engage middle school students in scientific argumentation
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Reason Racer is an online, rate-based, multiplayer game that applies specific game features inorder to engage middle school students in introductory knowledge of and thinking related toscientific argumentation. Game…
Effective, Sustained Inquiry-Based Instruction Promotes Higher Science Proficiency Among All Groups: A 5-Year Analysis
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Student’s performance in science classrooms has continued to languish throughout the USA. Even though proficiency rates on national tests such as National Assessment of Educational Progress are higher for Caucasian…
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The Next Generation Science Standards can transform how teaching and learning unfold in the classroom. Here's what they look like —and how you can get started.
Whether your state has adopted the Next…
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Thinking critically. Communicating effectively. Collaborating productively. Students need to develop proficiencies while mastering the practices, concepts, and ideas associated with mathematics and science. Successful…
Professional Development to Enhance Teachers' Practices in Using Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) as Cognitive Tools: Lessons Learned from a Design-Based Research Study
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Technology integration in K-12 classrooms is usually overly teacher-centered and has insufficient impact on students' learning, especially in enhancing students' higher-order cognitive skills. The purpose of this project…
Technologies and Reformed-Based Science Instruction: The Examination of a Professional Development Model Focused on Supporting Science Teaching and Learning with Technologies
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While access to computers, other technologies, and cyber-enabled resources that could be leveraged for enhancing student learning in science is increasing, generally it has been found that teachers use technology more for…
Use of Google Earth, Cyber Databases, and Geotagged Photos to Enhance Students’ Scientific Practices and Understanding
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Using Google Earth, Cyber Databases, and Geotagged Photos to Enhance Students’ Scientific Practices and Understanding of Darwin’s Theory of Evolution
Wang, S.-K. Hsu, H.-Y. & Jean Posada. (2014).…
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Many national initiatives in K-12 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education have emphasized the connections between teachers and improved student learning. Much of the discussion surrounding these…
Exploring Ecosystems from the Inside: How Immersive Multi-user Virtual Environments Can Support Development of Epistemologically Grounded Modeling Practices in Ecosystem Science Instruction
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Recent reform efforts and the next generation science standards emphasize the importance of incorporating authentic scientific practices into science instruction. Modeling can be a particularly challenging practice to…
A Blended Professional Development Program to Help a Teacher Learn to Provide One-to-One Scaffolding
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Argumentation is central to instruction centered on socio-scientific issues (Sadler & Donnelly in International Journal of Science Education, 28(12), 1463–1488, 2006. doi:10.1080/09500690600708717). Teachers can play a…
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This paper employs meta-analysis to determine the influence of computer-based scaffolding characteristics and study and test scorequality on cognitive outcomes in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education…
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In this mixed method study, we examined the use and impact of computer based scaffolding to support middle school students’ creation of evidence-based arguments during a 3-week problem-based learning unit focused on the…
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This paper introduces SketchMiner, which uses drawing topologies to automatically interpret learner-generated sketches.
Mining learner generated sketches holds significant potential for acquiring deep…
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This paper presents WriteEval, a hybrid text analytics method for analyzing student-constructed responses.
Real-time formative assessment of student learning has become the subject of increasing…
Towards Domain-Independent Assessment of Elementary Students’ Science Competency using Soft Cardinality
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This paper presents a novel application of the soft cardinality text analytics method to support assessment of text.
Automated assessment of student learning has become the subject of increasing…
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The STEM School Study (S3) team sat down with inclusive STEM school leaders from over 25 inclusive STEM schools and asked them to describe the parts of their schools that are essential to their school models. We found that…
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A strategy that helps students develop a fuller view of energy's role in a variety of phenomena.
Crissman, S., Lacy, S., Nordine, J., and Tobin, R. (2015). Looking Through the Energy Lens. Science and…