Joseph Krajcik

Professional Title
Director, CREATE for STEM Institute
Organization/Institution
About Me (Bio)
Joe Krajcik serves as director of the Institute for Research on Mathematics and Science Education and as a faculty member in science education. A former high school chemistry and physical science teacher, Krajcik spent 21 years at the University of Michigan before coming to MSU in 2011. During his career, he has focused on working with science teachers to reform science teaching practices to promote students’ engagement in and learning of science. He was principal investigator on a National Science Foundation project that aims to design, develop and test the next generation of middle school curriculum materials to engage students in obtaining deep understandings of science content and practices. He is currently serving as head of the Physical Science Design Team to develop the Next Generation Science Standards. Krajcik, along with Professor Angela Calabrese Barton from MSU, serves as co-editor of the Journal of Research in Science Teaching. Krajcik has authored and co-authored curriculum materials, books, software and over 100 manuscripts, and makes frequent presentations at international, national and regional conferences. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and has served as president of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST), from which he received the Distinguished Contributions to Science Education Through Research Award in 2010.
Keywords
Citations of DRK-12 or Related Work (DRK-12 work is denoted by *)
  • Harris, C., Krajcik, J., Pellegrino, J. & DeBarger, A, (2019). Designing Knowledge-In-Use Assessments to Promote Deeper Learning. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice.
  • Shin, N., Choi, S. Y., Stevens, S. Y., & Krajcik, J. S. (2019). The Impact of Using Coherent Curriculum on Students’ Understanding of Core Ideas in Chemistry. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 17(2), 295-315.
  • Bielik T., Damelin D., & Krajcik J. (2018). Why do Fishermen Need Forests? Developing a Project-Based Unit with Engaging Driving Question. Science Scope, 41(6), 64-72.*
  • Damelin, D., Krajcik, J., McIntyre, C., & Bielik, T. (2017). Students making system models: An accessible approach. Science Scope, 40(5), 78-82.
  • Krajcik, J. & Delen, I. (2017). How to support learners in developing usable and lasting knowledge of STEM. International Journal of Education in Mathematics, Science and Technology, 5(1), 21-28. DOI:10.18404/ijemst.
University of Georgia (UGA)
08/01/2021

The Framework for K-12 Science Education has set forth an ambitious vision for science learning by integrating disciplinary science ideas, scientific and engineering practices, and crosscutting concepts, so that students could develop competence to meet the STEM challenges of the 21st century. Achieving this vision requires transformation of assessment practices from relying on multiple-choice items to performance-based knowledge-in-use tasks. However, these performance-based constructed-response items often prohibit timely feedback, which, in turn, has hindered science teachers from using these assessments. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has demonstrated great potential to meet this assessment challenge. To tackle this challenge, experts in assessment, AI, and science education will gather for a two-day conference at University of Georgia to generate knowledge of integrating AI in science assessment.

Michigan State University (MSU)
09/01/2013

This is a collaborative project to develop, test, and analyze sets of technology-supported diagnostic classroom assessments for middle school (grades 6-8) physical science. Assessments are aligned with the performance assessment and evidence-centered design methodologies suggested in the Framework for K-12 Science Education (NRC, 2012).

Michigan State University (MSU), University of Michigan (UM)
09/01/2011

This project designs, develops, and tests coherent interdisciplinary instructional materials to support high school students' integrated understanding of the forces and energetics involved in interactions that occur between atoms and molecules, and explores how students' learning progresses across time. The project will be implemented in three Michigan school districts with students who traditionally do not succeed in science. 

University of Michigan (UM)
09/01/2004

This project is developing a comprehensive science curriculum for grades 6-8. The materials are organized around driving questions that provide a context to motivate students as they use their knowledge and skills in scientific practices, and contain hands-on experiences, technology tools and reading materials that extend students' first-hand experiences of phenomena and support science literacy.

SRI International, Michigan State University (MSU), University of Colorado Boulder, University of Michigan (UM)
08/15/2010

This research and development project examines the impact of the Project-Based Inquiry Science (PBIS) middle school science curriculum. The research questions explored will look into efficacy, implementation, and teacher practice. A unique feature of the study’s design is an analytic focus on the conditions needed to implement the curriculum in ways that improve student learning in light of the Framework for K-12 Science Education.

Concord Consortium
09/01/2016

This project will develop and test a digital platform for middle school mathematics classrooms to help students deepen and communicate their understanding of mathematics. The digital platform will allow students to collaboratively create representations of their mathematics thinking, incorporate ideas from other students, and share their work with the class.

Michigan State University (MSU)
09/01/2016

This project will develop and test a digital platform for middle school mathematics classrooms to help students deepen and communicate their understanding of mathematics. The digital platform will allow students to collaboratively create representations of their mathematics thinking, incorporate ideas from other students, and share their work with the class.

Michigan State University (MSU)
09/01/2022

This project examines the effect of an assessment system that automatically generates feedback based on students’ open-ended assessment responses in chemistry and physics consistent with a previously-developed learning progression that describes the successively more complex understandings students can develop about electrical interactions. The scoring system will provide individualized feedback to students and class summaries to their teachers.

Michigan State University (MSU)
09/01/2021

This project will study the utility of a machine learning-based assessment system for supporting middle school science teachers in making instructional decisions based on automatically generated student reports (AutoRs). The assessments target three-dimensional (3D) science learning by requiring students to integrate scientific practices, crosscutting concepts, and disciplinary core ideas to make sense of phenomena or solve complex problems.

Michigan State University (MSU)
08/01/2014

This project will (1) develop and test a modeling tool and accompanying instructional materials, (2) explore how to support students in building and using models to explain and predict phenomena across a range of disciplines, and (3) document the sophistication of understanding of disciplinary core ideas that students develop when building and using models in grades 6-12.