Science

Science instruction should involve learners in generating and warranting ideas, what we call epistemic generation. In modeling instruction, epistemic generation should be achieved by coordinating a model structure with the experienced world in reciprocal directions denoted as developing models and using models. In the former, a model structure is shaped from experience. In the latter, experience is shaped by a model structure.

Science instruction should involve learners in generating and warranting ideas, what we call epistemic generation. In modeling instruction, epistemic generation should be achieved by coordinating a model structure with the experienced world in reciprocal directions denoted as developing models and using models. In the former, a model structure is shaped from experience. In the latter, experience is shaped by a model structure.

Engaging students in scientific modeling practice is critical for developing their competence in using scientific knowledge to explain phenomena and design solutions. Student-drawn models are frequently used to investigate students’ proficiency in scientific modeling. However, scoring student-drawn models is time-consuming and requires technical expertise. The recently released GPT-4V(ision) provides a unique opportunity to facilitate the automatic scoring of scientific models with its image classification capability.

American science education leaders play critical roles in promoting equity in education, but little is known about how they understand everyday classroom interactions where inequities related to intersectionality are evident. This study examines science leaders' sensemaking about a scenario depicting the experiences of a group of American Black girl elementary students in an engineering design lesson, focusing on what leaders notice and how they propose to intervene to address problematic aspects of the students' experience.

Preservice elementary science teachers' beliefs and practices influence the kinds of adaptations they make to curriculum materials and the extent to which they are able to enact justice-oriented science lessons. Through this qualitative study, we explored the beliefs and practices of five focal preservice teachers through an analysis of their lesson plans, recorded enactments, and interviews about their science teaching throughout their student teaching experience.

The Concord Consortium is proud to announce a new grant from the National Science Foundation for our Intelligent Simulation-based Learning About Natural Disasters (ISLAND) project. ISLAND will harness the power of artificial intelligence to help middle school students explore wildfires, floods, and hurricanes through scientific simulations—building critical knowledge and science practices for understanding and responding to natural hazards.

The disciplines provide a wealth of resources to make sense of complex problems; when taking a transdisciplinary approach, students have the opportunity to engage in inquiry with local issues of meaning that can allow for deeper learning and engagement. Curriculum design experts from the Center for Technology and School Change propose a process for teachers to design STEM curriculum that prioritizes inquiry rooted in the community that empowers students to be active participants in a democratic society.

Curriculum materials can play an essential role to help teachers shift their instruction. However, curricular enactment does not look identical in every classroom, because teachers need to be responsive to their students. In this study, we investigated the customizations teachers made while enacting storyline science curriculum. Specifically, we collected two data sources: a teacher survey and interviews. The survey was completed by 169 participants and included 20 follow-up interviews with middle school science teachers enacting the OpenSciEd curriculum across the United States.

This article explores how unstructured playtime in early childhood settings offers rich opportunities for science learning. Despite play being crucial for children’s development, its potential for science education remains largely untapped. We introduce our framework featuring three observational lenses—actions, exploration, and environment—to help educators identify specific scientific practices (such as planning investigations, analyzing data, and constructing explanations) that naturally emerge during child-led play.

This article explores how unstructured playtime in early childhood settings offers rich opportunities for science learning. Despite play being crucial for children’s development, its potential for science education remains largely untapped. We introduce our framework featuring three observational lenses—actions, exploration, and environment—to help educators identify specific scientific practices (such as planning investigations, analyzing data, and constructing explanations) that naturally emerge during child-led play.