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In response to the growing emphasis on addressing global socio-scientific issues like climate change and viral pandemics in K-12 education, we designed three socio-scientific units for middle school science. We call this…
STEM Teacher Characteristics and Mobility: Longitudinal Evidence from the American Midwest, 2010 Through 2023
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This study examines the demographics, qualifications, and turnover of STEM teachers in Kansas and Missouri—two contiguous, predominantly rural states in the Midwestern region of the United States. The existing literature…
“Adapting for a Local Space Can be Tricky”: Designing Units for Teachers to Localize Through Phenomenon Adaptation
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Learning science in the context of local phenomena and problems can be powerful for young people. Yet, designing place-based instructional materials is resource intensive, limiting broad access. This study investigates how…
Expanding Uses of the STEM Observation Protocol (STEM-OP): Secondary Science Teachers’ Reflections on Integrated STEM Practice
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There are few guidelines related to how to implement integrated STEM education in the K-12 science classroom. It is important that teachers have opportunities to reflect on integrated STEM instruction when implemented so…
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A teacher’s working context is an important factor in how they make sense of and enact curriculum. Understanding how external factors (e.g. state and/or district policies, school cultural norms) interplay with teachers’…
Fostering Critical Consciousness: A Systematic Review of K-12 Teachers’ Integrations of Sociopolitical Issues in Science and Mathematics Classrooms
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Efforts towards providing inclusive science and mathematics education for marginalized students are increasingly found in literature advocating for equity-oriented instruction through supporting students’ critical…
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Science and engineering offer ways to maintain the thermal comfort of our homes while minimizing impacts on the environment. This article introduces the Energy-Plus House Design Project, an NGSS-aligned curriculum unit…
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Grand Challenges (GCs) are complex, global, and multifaceted science and societal problems such as climate change, viral pandemics, loss of biodiversity, and quests for new energy sources. In this article, we advance a…
Co-designing Citizen Science Projects for Elementary Schools in New Hampshire Through Teacher and Community-based Extension Science Volunteer Partnerships
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In the United States, reforms put forth by Next Generation Science Standards have increased the demand for K-12 teacher professional development in science instruction. This study investigates a new professional…
Integrating Community Assets, Place-based Learning, and Career Development Through Project-based Learning in Rural Settings
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Our study investigates the first year of a two-year place-based education (PBE) professional development model that focuses on career development in rural middle schools through project-based learning (PBL) units. Rural…
Integrating Math and Science Through Engineering: Illustrative Examples from Curricula Implementation in Middle School Engineering Classrooms
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Engineering has emerged as a promising context for STEM integration in K-12 schools. In the previous decade, the field has seen an increase in curricular resources and pedagogical approaches that invite students to utilize…
NLP-Enabled Automated Assessment of Scientific Explanations: Towards Eliminating Linguistic Discrimination
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As use of artificial intelligence (AI) has increased, concerns about AI bias and discrimination have been growing. This paper discusses an application called PyrEval in which natural language processing (NLP) was used to…
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This article emphasizes the critical role of play in early childhood science education, arguing that natural, child-led play fosters important opportunities for children to explore scientific ideas and practices. Drawing…
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Situated learning has been widely promoted in educational practice, where students are encouraged to learn by exploring real-world problems in authentic contexts. To expand the opportunities for situated learning,…
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This study practically addresses some key challenges teachers face in enacting reform-oriented science teaching and offers suggestions for how continued research regarding norms and uncertainty can continue to further…
Development of an Observation Protocol for Teachers' Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Science Instruction
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This study is part of a larger project on culturally and linguistically responsive instruction for multilingual learners (MLs) in biology (CLIMB), aimed at enhancing MLs’ engagement in science practices, biology content,…
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As educators, we recognize that commercially prepared curricula advertised as “NGSS aligned” do not necessarily emphasize student sensemaking. In this article, we describe our process of modifying such curricula by…
More Than a Sprinkle: Elevating Multiple Perspectives in a Unit Exploring Coasts and Coastal Change in Hawai‘i
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The Exploring Coasts and Coastal Change in Hawai‘i unit supports middle school haumana (students) in developing multi-perspective understanding and personal stances about coastal change in their community. The unit was…
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The Language, Culture, and Knowledge-building through Science (LaCuKnoS) project tests and refines a model of science teaching and learning that brings together current research on the role of language in science…
STEM Education with a Focus on Equity and Justice: Traditional Approaches, Contemporary Approaches, and Proposed Future Approach
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The disproportionate impacts of societal challenges (e.g., climate change, air and water pollution) on minoritized groups expose systemic injustices and compels STEM educators to reframe the role of STEM education in…
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The recent surge of artificial intelligence (AI) in science education has heightened interest among the NARST community—a curiosity about how technology can transform education that has lasted for decades. This growing…
Unveiling Scoring Processes: Dissecting the Differences Between LLMs and Human Graders in Automatic Scoring
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Large language models (LLMs) have demonstrated strong potential in performing automatic scoring for constructed response assessments. While constructed responses graded by humans are usually based on given grading rubrics…
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This article portrays how citizen science (CS) projects can be integrated into elementary classrooms to enhance students’ sensemaking skills and connect to real-world science problems.
This article…
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Teach mathematics and science using materials for the weather-focused Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, & Snow Network project.
Teach mathematics and science using materials for the weather-…
Culturally and Linguistically Sustaining Formative Assessment in Science and Engineering: Highlighting Multilingual Girls’ Linguistic, Epistemic, and Spatial Brilliances
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This study advances understandings of formative assessment by introducing the Culturally and Linguistically Sustaining Formative Assessment (CLSA) framework, grounded in relational and embodied perspectives and culturally…