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Resource | STEM Curriculum Development and Implementation
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. Details and examples from a large integrated STEM research project in the United States are included. The paper concludes with a call for future research related to STEM curriculum…
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. Details and examples from a large integrated STEM research project in the United States are included. The paper concludes with a call for future research related to STEM curriculum…
Posted: Thursday, May 18
Resource | STEM Curriculum Development and Implementation
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. Details and examples from a large integrated STEM research project in the United States are included. The paper concludes with a call for future research related to STEM curriculum…
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. Details and examples from a large integrated STEM research project in the United States are included. The paper concludes with a call for future research related to STEM curriculum…
Posted: Thursday, May 18
Resource | STEM Curriculum Development and Implementation
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. Details and examples from a large integrated STEM research project in the United States are included. The paper concludes with a call for future research related to STEM curriculum…
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. Details and examples from a large integrated STEM research project in the United States are included. The paper concludes with a call for future research related to STEM curriculum…
Posted: Thursday, May 18
Resource | Investigating the Presence of Mathematics and the Levels of Cognitively Demanding Mathematical Tasks in Integrated STEM Units
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 conducted within the context of science classrooms, ignoring mathematics. Also missing from the literature is research that examines the level of cognitive demand required from…
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 conducted within the context of science classrooms, ignoring mathematics. Also missing from the literature is research that examines the level of cognitive demand required from…
Posted: Thursday, May 18
Resource | Investigating the Presence of Mathematics and the Levels of Cognitively Demanding Mathematical Tasks in Integrated STEM Units
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 conducted within the context of science classrooms, ignoring mathematics. Also missing from the literature is research that examines the level of cognitive demand required from…
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 conducted within the context of science classrooms, ignoring mathematics. Also missing from the literature is research that examines the level of cognitive demand required from…
Posted: Thursday, May 18
Resource | Investigating the Presence of Mathematics and the Levels of Cognitively Demanding Mathematical Tasks in Integrated STEM Units
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 conducted within the context of science classrooms, ignoring mathematics. Also missing from the literature is research that examines the level of cognitive demand required from…
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 conducted within the context of science classrooms, ignoring mathematics. Also missing from the literature is research that examines the level of cognitive demand required from…
Posted: Thursday, May 18
Resource | Uncovering Core Dimensions of K-12 Integrated STEM
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 classrooms. This study demonstrates how our instrument can be used to uncover the dimensions of integrated STEM instruction practiced in K-12 classrooms and to determine which protocol…
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 classrooms. This study demonstrates how our instrument can be used to uncover the dimensions of integrated STEM instruction practiced in K-12 classrooms and to determine which protocol…
Posted: Thursday, May 18
Resource | Uncovering Core Dimensions of K-12 Integrated STEM
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 classrooms. This study demonstrates how our instrument can be used to uncover the dimensions of integrated STEM instruction practiced in K-12 classrooms and to determine which protocol…
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 classrooms. This study demonstrates how our instrument can be used to uncover the dimensions of integrated STEM instruction practiced in K-12 classrooms and to determine which protocol…
Posted: Thursday, May 18
Resource | Uncovering Core Dimensions of K-12 Integrated STEM
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 classrooms. This study demonstrates how our instrument can be used to uncover the dimensions of integrated STEM instruction practiced in K-12 classrooms and to determine which protocol…
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 classrooms. This study demonstrates how our instrument can be used to uncover the dimensions of integrated STEM instruction practiced in K-12 classrooms and to determine which protocol…
Posted: Thursday, May 18
Resource | Design Considerations for a Middle School Computer Science Pedagogical Content Knowledge Instrument
K- 12 Computer Science (CS) education is developing rapidly but still lacks a comprehensive measure for CS teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) . We respond to this need by describing the design of a CS-PCK instrument for ‘Algorithms and Programming’ that measures three broad constructs: (a) teachers’ understanding of standards and standards-alignment, (b) teachers’ formative assessment…
K- 12 Computer Science (CS) education is developing rapidly but still lacks a comprehensive measure for CS teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) . We respond to this need by describing the design of a CS-PCK instrument for ‘Algorithms and Programming’ that measures three broad constructs: (a) teachers’ understanding of standards and standards-alignment, (b) teachers’ formative assessment…
Posted: Thursday, May 18
Resource | Standards-Aligned Instructional Supports to Promote Computer Science Teachers' Pedagogical Content Knowledge
The rapid expansion of K-12 CS education has made it critical to support CS teachers, many of whom are new to teaching CS, with the necessary resources and training to strengthen their understanding of CS concepts and how to effectively teach CS. CS teachers are often tasked with teaching different curricula using different programming languages in different grades or during different school…
The rapid expansion of K-12 CS education has made it critical to support CS teachers, many of whom are new to teaching CS, with the necessary resources and training to strengthen their understanding of CS concepts and how to effectively teach CS. CS teachers are often tasked with teaching different curricula using different programming languages in different grades or during different school…
Posted: Thursday, May 18
Resource | Innovate to Mitigate: Microgenesis of Student Design and Rationale in a Crowdsourcing Competition to Mitigate Global Warming
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 mitigate CO2 emissions and thus global warming. The paper draws on data from 3 project teams. The paper presents evidence that a web-mediated community of practice supports STEM…
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 mitigate CO2 emissions and thus global warming. The paper draws on data from 3 project teams. The paper presents evidence that a web-mediated community of practice supports STEM…
Posted: Wednesday, May 17
Resource | Professional Noticing as Student-Centered: Pre-service Teachers’ Attending to Students’ Mathematics in 360 Video
Teachers’ professional noticing has been described as transitioning from descriptions of general pedagogy to analysis of students’ mathematical procedures and conceptual reasoning. Such a shift is described as a transition towards more student-centered noticing. In the present study, we used screen recordings of pre-service teachers’ (PSTs) 360 video viewing to examine the relationship between…
Teachers’ professional noticing has been described as transitioning from descriptions of general pedagogy to analysis of students’ mathematical procedures and conceptual reasoning. Such a shift is described as a transition towards more student-centered noticing. In the present study, we used screen recordings of pre-service teachers’ (PSTs) 360 video viewing to examine the relationship between…
Posted: Wednesday, May 17
Resource | Preservice Teachers’ Focus in 360 Videos: Understanding the Role of Presence, Ambisonic Audio, and Camera Placement
Immersive 360 videos are increasingly being used in pre-service teachers (PST) education. There is preliminary evidence that this technology may benefit future educators’ focus and attention to classroom settings and events. However, more analytical efforts are needed to better understand its potential impact on reported focus of attention (RFA) among future educators. This article addresses this…
Immersive 360 videos are increasingly being used in pre-service teachers (PST) education. There is preliminary evidence that this technology may benefit future educators’ focus and attention to classroom settings and events. However, more analytical efforts are needed to better understand its potential impact on reported focus of attention (RFA) among future educators. This article addresses this…
Posted: Wednesday, May 17
Resource | Using the COVID-19 Pandemic to Create a Vision for XR-based Teacher Education Field Experiences
If there was a bright side to the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly related to education, it was the massive and rapid introduction of educational technologies to scaffold teaching and learning. Most notably, within teacher education, this included extended reality (XR) technologies to supplement or replace face-to-face field experiences. With the pandemic turning endemic, and with preK-12 schools…
If there was a bright side to the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly related to education, it was the massive and rapid introduction of educational technologies to scaffold teaching and learning. Most notably, within teacher education, this included extended reality (XR) technologies to supplement or replace face-to-face field experiences. With the pandemic turning endemic, and with preK-12 schools…
Posted: Wednesday, May 17
Survey | 2023 DRK-12 PI Meeting: Virtual Session Registration
Register to attend two virtual sessions at the 2023 DRK-12 PI Meeting. This is an opportunity for project team members to engage with other researchers and NSF program officers, learn about NSF initiatives, and ask your questions about the DRK-12 program. Choose which sessions you'd like to join below. Plenary | June 28, 5:00-6:15 PM ET NSF Welcome: NSF program officers present NSF and the STEM…
Register to attend two virtual sessions at the 2023 DRK-12 PI Meeting. This is an opportunity for project team members to engage with other researchers and NSF program officers, learn about NSF initiatives, and ask your questions about the DRK-12 program. Choose which sessions you'd like to join below. Plenary | June 28, 5:00-6:15 PM ET NSF Welcome: NSF program officers present NSF and the STEM…
Posted: Wednesday, May 17
Survey | 2023 Digital Learning Arcade Sign Up
The 2023 Digitial Learning Arcade at the DRK-12 PI Meeting will take place as part of the General Poster Halls. A section of each session will be dedicated to projects that are developing or researching learning technologies, where attendees can demo or interact with their digital products. Note: There will not be access to electricity for the one hour duration of the session. Please complete the…
The 2023 Digitial Learning Arcade at the DRK-12 PI Meeting will take place as part of the General Poster Halls. A section of each session will be dedicated to projects that are developing or researching learning technologies, where attendees can demo or interact with their digital products. Note: There will not be access to electricity for the one hour duration of the session. Please complete the…
Posted: Tuesday, May 16
Project Spotlight | Administrators and Teacher Leaders in STEM Education
Administrators and teacher leaders are playing a critical role in improving preK-12 STEM education by providing updated technology, materials, and equipment; offering professional development opportunities; and establishing policies and procedures that support teachers, students, and families in their efforts to engage with STEM learning. In this Spotlight, learn more about how two DRK-12…
Administrators and teacher leaders are playing a critical role in improving preK-12 STEM education by providing updated technology, materials, and equipment; offering professional development opportunities; and establishing policies and procedures that support teachers, students, and families in their efforts to engage with STEM learning. In this Spotlight, learn more about how two DRK-12…
Posted: Monday, May 15
Newsletter | May 2023 Newsletter
Dear Colleagues, Administrators and teacher leaders have distinct roles when it comes to leading and carrying out STEM teaching and learning. They discuss the vision for and implementation of instruction, how to use data to inform instruction, strategies for leading school-wide initiatives, how to provide meaningful opportunities to understand and use content and instructional practices, and how…
Dear Colleagues, Administrators and teacher leaders have distinct roles when it comes to leading and carrying out STEM teaching and learning. They discuss the vision for and implementation of instruction, how to use data to inform instruction, strategies for leading school-wide initiatives, how to provide meaningful opportunities to understand and use content and instructional practices, and how…
Posted: Monday, May 15
Resource | Young Philosophers: Fifth-Grade Students Animating the Concept of Space
In many schools across the world, students experience mathematical concepts as ideas empty of wisdom and possibility. In this paper the authors analyze a philosophical conversation in which fifth-grade students were caught up in the animacy of the concept of space. Challenging the common view of mathematics as dealing with absolute truths and certainty, these students, the materials, and the…
In many schools across the world, students experience mathematical concepts as ideas empty of wisdom and possibility. In this paper the authors analyze a philosophical conversation in which fifth-grade students were caught up in the animacy of the concept of space. Challenging the common view of mathematics as dealing with absolute truths and certainty, these students, the materials, and the…
Posted: Thursday, May 11
Resource | Vygotskian Hybridizing of Motion and Mapping: Learning About Geometric Transformations in Block-based Programming Environments
Research on geometric transformations suggests that early learners possess intuitive understandings grounded in motion metaphors, transitioning to mappings. The processes through which students transition between these two conceptions are not fully understood. We propose that Vygotskian hybridizing (related to Vygotsky’s articulation of everyday and scientific concepts) may provide a lens for…
Research on geometric transformations suggests that early learners possess intuitive understandings grounded in motion metaphors, transitioning to mappings. The processes through which students transition between these two conceptions are not fully understood. We propose that Vygotskian hybridizing (related to Vygotsky’s articulation of everyday and scientific concepts) may provide a lens for…
Posted: Thursday, May 11
Resource | Unpacking Response Process Issues Encountered When Developing a Mathematics Teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) Assessment
It is essential for items in assessments of mathematics’ teacher knowledge to evoke the desired response processes – to be interpreted and responded to by teachers as intended by item developers. In this study, we sought to unpack evidence that middle school mathematics teachers were not consistently interacting as intended with constructed response (i.e. open-ended) items designed to assess…
It is essential for items in assessments of mathematics’ teacher knowledge to evoke the desired response processes – to be interpreted and responded to by teachers as intended by item developers. In this study, we sought to unpack evidence that middle school mathematics teachers were not consistently interacting as intended with constructed response (i.e. open-ended) items designed to assess…
Posted: Thursday, May 11
Resource | Instructional Pathways to Considering Social Dimensions Within Socioscientific Issues
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 learning, teachers often struggle to implement this approach in their classrooms (Sadler et al., 2006; Saunders & Rennie, 2013), and one of the most prominent reasons for…
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 learning, teachers often struggle to implement this approach in their classrooms (Sadler et al., 2006; Saunders & Rennie, 2013), and one of the most prominent reasons for…
Posted: Thursday, May 11
Resource | Instructional Pathways to Considering Social Dimensions Within Socioscientific Issues
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 learning, teachers often struggle to implement this approach in their classrooms (Sadler et al., 2006; Saunders & Rennie, 2013), and one of the most prominent reasons for…
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 learning, teachers often struggle to implement this approach in their classrooms (Sadler et al., 2006; Saunders & Rennie, 2013), and one of the most prominent reasons for…
Posted: Thursday, May 11
Resource | Increasing Student Confidence in Writing: Integrating Authentic Manuscript Writing into an Online 8-Week Research Program
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 provided explicit instruction on how to incorporate authentic communication practices into the student research process. In this paper, we describe how we integrated primary…
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 provided explicit instruction on how to incorporate authentic communication practices into the student research process. In this paper, we describe how we integrated primary…
Posted: Thursday, May 11
Resource | Identifying the Roles of Science Teacher Leaders in Practice
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; therefore, the work of STLs within a reform context can vary. In this descriptive case study, we explore the work of 11 science teacher leaders who support science education reform in a…
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; therefore, the work of STLs within a reform context can vary. In this descriptive case study, we explore the work of 11 science teacher leaders who support science education reform in a…
Posted: Thursday, May 11
Resource | Finding the Right Grain-Size for Measurement in the Classroom
This article introduces a new framework for articulating how educational assessments can be related to teacher uses in the classroom. It articulates three levels of assessment: macro (use of standardized tests), meso (externally developed items), and micro (on-the-fly in the classroom). The first level is the usual context for educational measurement, but one of the contributions of this article…
This article introduces a new framework for articulating how educational assessments can be related to teacher uses in the classroom. It articulates three levels of assessment: macro (use of standardized tests), meso (externally developed items), and micro (on-the-fly in the classroom). The first level is the usual context for educational measurement, but one of the contributions of this article…
Posted: Thursday, May 11
Resource | Mathematics and Science Teacher Educators' Use of Representations of Practice: A Mixed Methods Study
This study sought to explore math and science teacher educators' use of various media to represent practice within methods courses. There is little understanding of why certain media is used over other representations and the rationale for these choices. Specifically, the study focused on the prevalence and familiarity of teacher educators with comics and animations, standard videos, and 360…
This study sought to explore math and science teacher educators' use of various media to represent practice within methods courses. There is little understanding of why certain media is used over other representations and the rationale for these choices. Specifically, the study focused on the prevalence and familiarity of teacher educators with comics and animations, standard videos, and 360…
Posted: Thursday, May 11
Resource | Examining How Using Dichotomous and Partial Credit Scoring Models Influence Sixth-Grade Mathematical Problem-Solving Assessment Outcomes
Determining the most appropriate method of scoring an assessment is based on multiple factors, including the intended use of results, the assessment's purpose, and time constraints. Both the dichotomous and partial credit models have their advantages, yet direct comparisons of assessment outcomes from each method are not typical with constructed response items. The present study compared the…
Determining the most appropriate method of scoring an assessment is based on multiple factors, including the intended use of results, the assessment's purpose, and time constraints. Both the dichotomous and partial credit models have their advantages, yet direct comparisons of assessment outcomes from each method are not typical with constructed response items. The present study compared the…
Posted: Thursday, May 11
Resource | Examining How Using Dichotomous and Partial Credit Scoring Models Influence Sixth-Grade Mathematical Problem-Solving Assessment Outcomes
Determining the most appropriate method of scoring an assessment is based on multiple factors, including the intended use of results, the assessment's purpose, and time constraints. Both the dichotomous and partial credit models have their advantages, yet direct comparisons of assessment outcomes from each method are not typical with constructed response items. The present study compared the…
Determining the most appropriate method of scoring an assessment is based on multiple factors, including the intended use of results, the assessment's purpose, and time constraints. Both the dichotomous and partial credit models have their advantages, yet direct comparisons of assessment outcomes from each method are not typical with constructed response items. The present study compared the…
Posted: Thursday, May 11