High

Our 5D assessment development process is eight phases, each with a clear goal and tools to support task development. The tools and processes are combined in the 5D Assessment Development Tool for easy access from a single source.

Repository of project simulation tasks and data.

This is the project-created training course for new users to learn about the STEM-OP and how to use it.

This is the project-created training course for new users to learn about the STEM-OP and how to use it.

This is the project-created training course for new users to learn about the STEM-OP and how to use it.

Aqueous solutions have proved to be a challenging topic for chemistry students at all levels. An understanding of what is happening at the molecular level in aqueous processes such as dissolution is key to understanding the macroscopic properties of the system as well as to communicating fluently with chemical symbols.

When designing a study, the sampling method for selecting research participants is an important decision with a host of considerations. When designing a professional development (PD) program with a limited number of spaces, the method of choosing participants from the applicants is also important. When research and professional development are entwined, sets of sampling criteria could conflict. Additionally, in a mixed methods study, such as the one undertaken by the researchers, additional trade-offs exist when considering the many potential methods of sampling and participant selection.

Most chemistry instruction and assessment lie in the symbolic domain of Johnstone’s representational levels, despite years of chemistry education researchers calling for increased emphasis to be placed on the molecular or particulate level of chemistry. Without a deep understanding of the particulate nature of matter and molecular-level interactions, meaningful chemistry understanding is nearly impossible. Understanding how molecules and other particles interact provides the necessary explanatory elements for predicting how chemical reactions will occur.

We find ourselves at a time when the need for transformation in science education is aligning with opportunity. Significant science education resources, namely the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and the Ambitious Science Teaching (AST) framework, need an intentional aim of centering social justice for minoritized communities and youth as well as practices to enact it. While NGSS and AST provide concrete guidelines to support deep learning, revisions are needed to explicitly promote social justice.

This chapter describes an ongoing research-practice partnership with in-service teachers in communities across Oregon focused on broadening participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Broadening participation is essential for creating more justice-centered STEM in our society and cannot occur without families and communities working in partnership with educators to ensure that community resources, needs, and multi-generational perspectives are centered in this work.