Curriculum

This gallery contains 12 community-based mathematical modeling lessons for use in the elementary grades. Also available are math modeling vignettes, a Culturally Responsive Mathematics Teaching (CRMT) framework, and other tools.

This gallery contains 12 community-based mathematical modeling lessons for use in the elementary grades. Also available are math modeling vignettes, a Culturally Responsive Mathematics Teaching (CRMT) framework, and other tools.

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 library contains lessons and tools designed for preservice teachers that focus on argumentation, or quality talk, in high school science.

This site provides three online activities focused on covariational reasoning as a foundation for middle school students to build more abstract algebraic knowledge. These tasks provide students with opportunities to understand static points, understand dynamic points, and make sense of different amounts of change.

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 reflections on how well various lines of scientific evidence support alternative explanations. In the present study, we examined two forms of such scaffolding, with one form providing more autonomy support than the other, to determine whether any differential effects existed between the two.

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 reflections on how well various lines of scientific evidence support alternative explanations. In the present study, we examined two forms of such scaffolding, with one form providing more autonomy support than the other, to determine whether any differential effects existed between the two.

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 of wildfire phenomena. These students were taught by 18 teachers in urban, rural, and suburban schools across the United States. We analyzed students’ simulation behaviors captured in log files, responses to an assessment administered before and after the module, and demographic surveys, as well as teachers’ responses to a post-module implementation survey.

Science education is an important component of a full education beginning in primary grades. In recent decades, research has identified young learners’ rich knowledge of the natural world and their potential to connect with sophisticated science ideas. 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 (CS) projects.