This article establishes a rational, feasible, and necessary conclusion to reform high school science content into an equitable experience for its wide diversity of students' self-identities. Research indicates that 85% of graduates would not normally have enrolled in any science course unless required. Their values are more aligned with their…

Student performance in high school Earth science coursework is an important factor in lifelong scientific literacy and workforce readiness in geoscience fields. Performance often depends upon access to high quality teaching and resources in precollege academic settings. This study employed a non-experimental, correlational research design to…

Professional learning communities (PLCs) involve a process of collaboration, focus on student data and best instructional practices, and serve as a way for all students can receive an equitable education. Many schools implementing PLCs considered the term a noun, not a verb, leading to an inequitable education for high school students across…

Rural students often face challenges in receiving high-quality education in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Yet without meaningful STEM educational opportunities, rural students might not develop the knowledge and skills needed to compete in a technology-driven workforce. The Learning by Making program (LbyM), an innovative…

The problem of practice explored in this work was the equitable education of students with disabilities (SWD) in high school science classrooms. This problem was first identified at Hartland High School in New Jersey, where through informal interviews science teachers reported being unprepared to teach SWD. This problem was then investigated…

Introductory calculus-based mechanics ("Physics 1") is an important gateway course for students desiring to pursue a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) career. A major challenge with this course is the large spread in the students' incoming physics preparation. This level of preparation is strongly predictive of a…

This three-manuscript dissertation used a rapid PDSA to improve teacher efficacy concerning designing and teaching an unleveled 9th grade science class. Leveling and tracking can lead to inequitable outcomes and experiences for minoritized students. However, designing and implementing effective heterogeneous, unleveled classes that meet the needs…

The COVID-19 pandemic was an unprecedented event in world history with a global impact. In the United States, emergency remote teaching (ERT) was utilized due to significant changes in the educational system, including temporary closures, shifts to remote and hybrid learning, and the addition of various infection control measures such as the…

Background: Although cutting-edge chemistry research can be an interesting and motivating context for students in pre-university education, few characteristics of supportive and effective learning materials based on such contexts are available. Purpose: In this study we investigated the design, implementation, and evaluation of context-based…

Multiple initiatives contend that all students should master computational thinking, including the "Next Generation Science Standards, the K-12 Framework for Computational Thinking," and Code.org. In turn, many physics teachers have begun to explore a variety of approaches to integrating computational modeling through programming. These…

The "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS) stress the need for all students to receive excellent science instruction--including those with disabilities--based upon disciplinary core ideas, crosscutting concepts, and science and engineering practices (NGSS Lead States 2013). Further, the NGSS emphasize reducing disparities in student…

Situated learning experiences such as research apprenticeships can help connect girls to the sciences, ultimately helping to achieve gender equity in the science workforce. The material resources available in research apprenticeships--such as research equipment, field gear, etc.--may be particularly consequential for building identification with…

This article presents a case study of "the aspirin unit," a curriculum unit from an advanced chemistry class in a neighborhood high school in a large US city. The extended case method is applied to analyze this curriculum within the larger US political context that criminalizes youth of color. Data sources include retrospective…

Extensive research shows that non-formal science education programs effectively build and sustain long-term interest and persistence in science careers. Framed by expectancy-value theory, this study examined the academic and career outcomes of students who participated in a multi-year volunteer program at a science museum. Twenty-one participants…

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Instructional labs: Improving traditions and new directions.] This review article provides an overview of research on the topic of gender equity in educational physics labs. As many institutions and instructors seek to evolve or transform physics lab learning, it is important that changes are made…