Student Attitudes/Beliefs

“We Are the Future”: Critical Inquiry and Social Action in the Classroom

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 and employing a collective case study approach, we focused on six diverse students from two of the 18 teams who participated in a PBI Global examining global water and sanitation over a two-month period. Data sources included semi-structured student interviews, students’ posts and uploads in a shared writing space, and students’ multimodal products of learning.

Author/Presenter

Hiller Spires

Marie Himes

Crystal Chen Lee

Andrea Gambino

Year
2021
Short Description

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 and employing a collective case study approach, we focused on six diverse students from two of the 18 teams who participated in a PBI Global examining global water and sanitation over a two-month period.

Lessons From a Co-design Team on Supporting Student Motivation in Middle School Science Classrooms

Decades of motivation research have yielded a set of Motivation Design Principles (MDPs) that can be leveraged to support the development of student motivation and engagement in the classroom. This article addresses the translation of these guiding principles to teacher professional learning and subsequently, classroom practice.

Author/Presenter

Jennifer A. Schmidt

Lisa Linnenbrink-Garcia

Christopher J. Harris

David McKinney

Pei Pei Liu

Year
2021
Short Description

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 designing and implementing professional learning focused on supporting middle school students’ motivation in science.

Lessons From a Co-design Team on Supporting Student Motivation in Middle School Science Classrooms

Decades of motivation research have yielded a set of Motivation Design Principles (MDPs) that can be leveraged to support the development of student motivation and engagement in the classroom. This article addresses the translation of these guiding principles to teacher professional learning and subsequently, classroom practice.

Author/Presenter

Jennifer A. Schmidt

Lisa Linnenbrink-Garcia

Christopher J. Harris

David McKinney

Pei Pei Liu

Year
2021
Short Description

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 designing and implementing professional learning focused on supporting middle school students’ motivation in science.

Lessons From a Co-design Team on Supporting Student Motivation in Middle School Science Classrooms

Decades of motivation research have yielded a set of Motivation Design Principles (MDPs) that can be leveraged to support the development of student motivation and engagement in the classroom. This article addresses the translation of these guiding principles to teacher professional learning and subsequently, classroom practice.

Author/Presenter

Jennifer A. Schmidt

Lisa Linnenbrink-Garcia

Christopher J. Harris

David McKinney

Pei Pei Liu

Year
2021
Short Description

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 designing and implementing professional learning focused on supporting middle school students’ motivation in science.

No Science Fair? No Problem. Engaging Students in Science Communication through Peer Review and Publication in a Remote World

Since March 2020, in-person science competitions have been cancelled or moved to a virtual space. This reality has encouraged teachers and students to find alternative ways to disseminate student research and participate in a scientific community. Participating in the peer review and publication of one’s research offers one such alternative. The Journal of Emerging Investigators (JEI) is a free, online, peer-reviewed science journal specifically for middle school and high school students.

Author/Presenter

Eddie Rodriguez

Michael Mazzola

Sarah C. Fankhauser

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2022
Short Description

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 their research papers.

Participating in the Scientific Publication Process: Exploring How Pre-college Students Perceive Publication within the Scientific Enterprise

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 scientific inquiry skills in the pre-college science classroom, thus undermining a true understanding of what it means to do science. In this study, we examined middle and high school student perceptions of scientific inquiry and the role of disciplinary literacy practices after engaging in scientific review and publication of their research papers.

Author/Presenter

Gwendolynne Reid

Gwendolyn Mirzoyan

Clara Meaders

Olivia Ho-Shing

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2021
Short Description

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 scientific inquiry skills in the pre-college science classroom, thus undermining a true understanding of what it means to do science. In this study, we examined middle and high school student perceptions of scientific inquiry and the role of disciplinary literacy practices after engaging in scientific review and publication of their research papers.

Developing Transmedia Engineering Curricula Using Cognitive Tools to Impact Learning and the Development of STEM Identity

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. In IE, cognitive tools—such as developmentally appropriate narratives, mysteries and fantasies—are used to design learning environments that both engage learners and help them organize knowledge productively. We have combined IE with transmedia storytelling to develop two multi-week engineering units and six shorter engineering lessons.

Author/Presenter

Glenn W. Ellis

Jeremiah Pina

Rebecca Mazur

Al Rudnitsky

Beth McGinnis-Cavanaugh

Isabel Huff

Sonia Ellis

Crystal M. Ford

Kate Lytton

Kaia Claire Cormier

Year
2020
Short Description

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.

Resource(s)

Developing Transmedia Engineering Curricula Using Cognitive Tools to Impact Learning and the Development of STEM Identity

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. In IE, cognitive tools—such as developmentally appropriate narratives, mysteries and fantasies—are used to design learning environments that both engage learners and help them organize knowledge productively. We have combined IE with transmedia storytelling to develop two multi-week engineering units and six shorter engineering lessons.

Author/Presenter

Glenn W. Ellis

Jeremiah Pina

Rebecca Mazur

Al Rudnitsky

Beth McGinnis-Cavanaugh

Isabel Huff

Sonia Ellis

Crystal M. Ford

Kate Lytton

Kaia Claire Cormier

Year
2020
Short Description

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.

Resource(s)

“Teaching Them How to Fish”: Learning to Learn and Teach Responsively

The Responsive Math Teaching (RMT) project’s 3-year model for professional development introduces teachers to a new instructional model through a full year of monthly Math Circles, where they experience problem solving and productive struggle from the student perspective while working through challenging open-ended tasks, engaging in mathematical discussions, and reflecting on the process. This paper examines teachers’ views of what they learned from this experience and how it affected both their instructional practices and their visions of mathematics teaching and learning.
Author/Presenter

Caroline B. Ebby

Brittany Hess

Lizzy Pecora

Jennifer Valerio

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2021
Short Description

The Responsive Math Teaching (RMT) project’s 3-year model for professional development introduces teachers to a new instructional model through a full year of monthly Math Circles, where they experience problem solving and productive struggle from the student perspective while working through challenging open-ended tasks, engaging in mathematical discussions, and reflecting on the process. This paper examines teachers’ views of what they learned from this experience and how it affected both their instructional practices and their visions of mathematics teaching and learning.

Data Investigations to Further Social Justice Inside and Outside of STEM

This article focuses on discussion and preliminary findings from classroom testing of the prototype learning module: Investigating Income Inequality in the U.S. In this module, students examine patterns of income inequality using person-level microdata from the American Community Survey (ACS) and the U.S. decennial census.

Author/Presenter

Josephine Louie

Jennifer Stiles

Emily Fagan

Soma Roy

Beth Chance

Year
2021
Short Description

This article focuses on discussion and preliminary findings from classroom testing of the prototype learning module: Investigating Income Inequality in the U.S.