In this article, we report on sixth-grade students' responses to a set of problem activities that required the application of mathematics, science, and engineering knowledge in designing and constructing a paper bridge that could withstand an optimal load. Increasing students' application and awareness of their disciplinary learning and how they…

Learning science in the middle years can be an emotional experience. In this study, we explored ninth-grade students' discrete emotions expressed during science activities in a 9-week unit on chemistry. Individual student's emotions were analyzed through multiple data sources including classroom videos, interviews, and emotions diaries completed…

Ghana is a rapidly developing West African country whose goal is to build a prosperous economy reliant on innovation and technology. Identifying and developing talent in the school system will play a role in achieving this goal; however, there is limited research on the status of gifted education and talent development in Ghana. This study…

In "It's the magic circle"! cogenerative dialogue is used to create a safe environment to address emotional conflicts in a project-based learning (PBL) science internship. Hsu is drawing on polyvagal theory (PVT) and event-oriented enquiry to show how educators can use cogens as a pedagogical tool to successfully address emotional…

Abdominal deep breathing (DB) has been used in conjunction with paying attention on purpose to the present moment as a mindfulness tool to help students develop skills for managing emotions. While studies are emerging that investigate outcomes of mindfulness practices with adolescents, how to implement such practices, and students' reactions to…

There is growing interest in how to engage middle school students in science to improve their enthusiasm for science and to arrest the decline in uptake in the senior years. Also, there is interest in improving students' application of science to real-life situations, a requirement for international tests. One approach that offers hope for…

Emotion researchers have grappled with challenging methodological issues in capturing emotions of participants in naturalistic settings such as school or university classrooms. Self-reporting methods have been used frequently, yet these methods are inadequate when used alone. We argue that the self-reporting methods of emotion diaries and…

Connecting schools and teachers with industry and community partners is essential for improving STEM outcomes for students. To address this, two pilot 'STEM Hubs' were created for schools in Brisbane and Townsville that connected secondary STEM teachers with local industry and community partners. The collaboration afforded innovative STEM units to…

Internationally there is a need for research that focuses on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education to equip students with the skills needed for a rapidly changing future. One way to do this is through designing engineering activities that reflect real-world problems and contextualise students' learning of STEM concepts.…

As part of a 3-year longitudinal study, 136 sixth-grade students completed an engineering-based problem on earthquakes involving integrated STEM learning. Students employed engineering design processes and STEM disciplinary knowledge to plan, sketch, then construct a building designed to withstand earthquake damage, taking into account a number of…