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Empowering Future Scientists: Mentors Employ Various Strategies to Engage Students in Professional Science Disciplinary Literacy Practices

Peer-review and publication are important parts of the scientific enterprise, and research has shown that engaging students in such scholarly practices helps build their sense of belonging and scientific identity. Yet, these disciplinary literacy skills and professional practices are often part of the hidden curriculum of science research, thus excluding students and others from fully understanding ways in which scientific knowledge is constructed, refined, and disseminated even though students are participating in such activities.

Author/Presenter

Trisha Minocha

Tanya Bhagatwala

Gwendolyn Mirzoyan

Gary McDowell

Sarah C. Fankhauser

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2025
Short Description

Secondary students are increasingly involved in scientific research projects that include authentic disciplinary literacy components such as research proposals, posters, videos, and scientific research papers. More and more, students are also engaging in professional practice of publishing their scientific research papers through dedicated secondary science journals. How teachers and other mentors support the development of professional disciplinary literacies in students is critical to understand as part of supporting more student participation in research.

Effective Strategies for Learning and Teaching in Times of Science Denial and Disinformation

The modern information landscape offers an abundance of options to learn about science topics, but it is also ripe for the spread of mis- and disinformation and science denial. Science education can play a pivotal role in mitigating harm from untruthful information, strengthening trust in science, and fostering a more informed and critically engaged public. Across the articles in this special issue, 10 pedagogical strategies to address mis- and disinformation in the classroom were synthesized.

Author/Presenter

K. C. Busch

Doug Lombardi

Year
2025
Short Description

The modern information landscape offers an abundance of options to learn about science topics, but it is also ripe for the spread of mis- and disinformation and science denial. Science education can play a pivotal role in mitigating harm from untruthful information, strengthening trust in science, and fostering a more informed and critically engaged public.

Impact of an Adaptive Dialog that Uses Natural Language Processing to Detect Students’ Ideas and Guide Knowledge Integration

Author/Presenter

Gerard, L., Holtman, M., Riordan, B., & Linn, M. C.

Year
2025
Short Description

This study leverages natural language processing (NLP) to deepen our understanding of how students integrate their ideas about genetic inheritance while engaging in an adaptive dialog. 

Impact of an Adaptive Dialog that Uses Natural Language Processing to Detect Students’ Ideas and Guide Knowledge Integration

Author/Presenter

Gerard, L., Holtman, M., Riordan, B., & Linn, M. C.

Year
2025
Short Description

This study leverages natural language processing (NLP) to deepen our understanding of how students integrate their ideas about genetic inheritance while engaging in an adaptive dialog. 

Contextual Resources Supporting the Co-evolution of Teachers' Collective Inquiry and Classroom Practice After the Grant Ended

We explored how various contextual resources accumulated over multiple years operated together to facilitate a team of high school teachers' sustained and agentive learning after a 4-year research–practice partnership (RPP) grant concluded. Specifically, we examined constellations of resources that promoted the co-evolution of the teachers' collective inquiry in the professional learning community (PLC) and classroom instruction, focused on supporting students' scientific explanations.

Author/Presenter

Soo-Yean Shim

Jessica Thompson

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2024
Short Description

We explored how various contextual resources accumulated over multiple years operated together to facilitate a team of high school teachers' sustained and agentive learning after a 4-year research–practice partnership (RPP) grant concluded. Specifically, we examined constellations of resources that promoted the co-evolution of the teachers' collective inquiry in the professional learning community (PLC) and classroom instruction, focused on supporting students' scientific explanations.

Using Artificial Intelligence Teaching Assistants to Guide Students in Solar Energy Engineering Design

Engineering projects, such as designing a solar farm that converts solar radiation shined on the Earth into electricity, engage students in addressing real-world challenges by learning and applying geoscience knowledge. To improve their designs, students benefit from frequent and informative feedback as they iterate. However, teacher attention may be limited or inadequate, both during COVID-19 and beyond. We present Aladdin, a web-based computer-aided design (CAD) platform for engineering design with a built-in artificial intelligence teaching assistant (AITA).

Author/Presenter

Shannon Sung

Xiaotong Ding

Rundong Jiang

Elena Sereiviene

Dylan Bulseco

Charles Xie

Year
2024
Short Description

Engineering projects, such as designing a solar farm that converts solar radiation shined on the Earth into electricity, engage students in addressing real-world challenges by learning and applying geoscience knowledge. To improve their designs, students benefit from frequent and informative feedback as they iterate. However, teacher attention may be limited or inadequate, both during COVID-19 and beyond. We present Aladdin, a web-based computer-aided design (CAD) platform for engineering design with a built-in artificial intelligence teaching assistant (AITA). We also present two curriculum units (Solar Energy Science and Solar Farm Design), where students explore the Sun-Earth relationship and optimize the energy output and yearly profit of a solar farm with the help of the AITA.

Using Artificial Intelligence Teaching Assistants to Guide Students in Solar Energy Engineering Design

Engineering projects, such as designing a solar farm that converts solar radiation shined on the Earth into electricity, engage students in addressing real-world challenges by learning and applying geoscience knowledge. To improve their designs, students benefit from frequent and informative feedback as they iterate. However, teacher attention may be limited or inadequate, both during COVID-19 and beyond. We present Aladdin, a web-based computer-aided design (CAD) platform for engineering design with a built-in artificial intelligence teaching assistant (AITA).

Author/Presenter

Shannon Sung

Xiaotong Ding

Rundong Jiang

Elena Sereiviene

Dylan Bulseco

Charles Xie

Year
2024
Short Description

Engineering projects, such as designing a solar farm that converts solar radiation shined on the Earth into electricity, engage students in addressing real-world challenges by learning and applying geoscience knowledge. To improve their designs, students benefit from frequent and informative feedback as they iterate. However, teacher attention may be limited or inadequate, both during COVID-19 and beyond. We present Aladdin, a web-based computer-aided design (CAD) platform for engineering design with a built-in artificial intelligence teaching assistant (AITA). We also present two curriculum units (Solar Energy Science and Solar Farm Design), where students explore the Sun-Earth relationship and optimize the energy output and yearly profit of a solar farm with the help of the AITA.

Understanding Variation in Integrated STEM Practice as Measured by the STEM Observation Protocol (STEM-OP)

To better understand integrated STEM education, this work explored scores on the STEM Observation Protocol (STEM-OP), a newly developed observation protocol for use in K-12 science and engineering classrooms. The goals of this work were to better understand how integrated STEM might look throughout an integrated STEM unit and identify limitations of the instrument when examining daily scores and full unit implementation scores. The work takes a mixed methods approach to first examine what scores may be typically seen with daily and unit implementations.

Author/Presenter

Emily A. Dare

Elizabeth A. Ring-Whalen

Year
2024
Short Description

To better understand integrated STEM education, this work explored scores on the STEM Observation Protocol (STEM-OP), a newly developed observation protocol for use in K-12 science and engineering classrooms. The goals of this work were to better understand how integrated STEM might look throughout an integrated STEM unit and identify limitations of the instrument when examining daily scores and full unit implementation scores.

Understanding Variation in Integrated STEM Practice as Measured by the STEM Observation Protocol (STEM-OP)

To better understand integrated STEM education, this work explored scores on the STEM Observation Protocol (STEM-OP), a newly developed observation protocol for use in K-12 science and engineering classrooms. The goals of this work were to better understand how integrated STEM might look throughout an integrated STEM unit and identify limitations of the instrument when examining daily scores and full unit implementation scores. The work takes a mixed methods approach to first examine what scores may be typically seen with daily and unit implementations.

Author/Presenter

Emily A. Dare

Elizabeth A. Ring-Whalen

Year
2024
Short Description

To better understand integrated STEM education, this work explored scores on the STEM Observation Protocol (STEM-OP), a newly developed observation protocol for use in K-12 science and engineering classrooms. The goals of this work were to better understand how integrated STEM might look throughout an integrated STEM unit and identify limitations of the instrument when examining daily scores and full unit implementation scores.

Transforming Learning Opportunities in Linguistically Diverse Secondary Classrooms Through Promoting Discussions: Results of an Intervention

This article presents results from a design experiment intended to develop students’ understanding of linear functions and rates of change in a linguistically diverse ninth grade classroom. The intervention focused on fostering classroom discussions. Students’ pre-post assessment gains were higher in the redesigned classrooms than in the pre-intervention classrooms. Additionally, multilingual students who were classified as English Learners (ELs) made larger gains than their non-EL peers, and the majority of student learning gains occurred on conceptually-focused items.

Author/Presenter

William Zahner

Ernesto Daniel Calleros

Lynda Wynn

Kevin Pelaez

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2024
Short Description

This article presents results from a design experiment intended to develop students’ understanding of linear functions and rates of change in a linguistically diverse ninth grade classroom. The intervention focused on fostering classroom discussions.