Owing to its recognition as a 21st-century skill, computational thinking (CT) is currently being introduced into school curricula around the world. However, in-service teachers are largely unprepared for this implementation, which, in turn, makes teacher educators (TEds) important stakeholders in preparing prospective teachers to integrate CT into…

Gender stereotypes about science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) are salient for children and adolescents and contribute to achievement-related disparities and inequalities in STEM participation. However, few studies have used a longitudinal design to examine changes in gender stereotypes across a range of STEM fields. In a large,…

The consistent prevalence of computer science in our society and the urgent need for STEM professionals in the U.S. raised the need for computer science education at the K-8 level. Researchers have examined the challenges, possible approaches, and contents of teaching computer science. However, there has been limited research on teachers'…

The growing diversity of Ontario's population is increasing pressure on the education system to ensure that all students receive equal opportunities to excel academically and develop personally. Students are more likely to succeed if their own racial, ethnic, and cultural identity is reflected in the classroom. This observation applies no less to…

At the intersection of biology and computer science is the growing field of bioinformatics--the analysis of complex datasets of biological relevance. Despite the increasing importance of bioinformatics and associated practical applications, these are not standard topics in elementary and middle school classrooms. We report on a pilot project and…

A strong gender disparity exists within the computer science (CS) field, and this imbalance stretches from the professional domain down to the educational level. In a 2013 study (Venkataraman et. al 2013), students (n = 127) of a northeastern STEM high school were surveyed. Responses were collected and analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis statistical…

While school gardens are familiar in many Western contexts and research has reported significant pedagogical and affective is correct benefits of these resources, there is limited reporting of their use in non-western contexts. A pilot school gardening project involving a quasi-experimental mixed method design was undertaken in the Sultanate of…

Lack of time for teaching science in traditional classroom placements in the United States has led some science teacher educators to provide practice teaching time for elementary education students in informal science settings. The purposes of this study were to describe the culture of one science methods course taught in conjunction with a K-7…

This paper presents a series of illustrative LEGO Mindstorms-based science and math activities, developed under an NSF GK-12 Fellows project, for elementary, middle, and high school grades. The activities, developed by engineering and science graduate Fellows in partnership with K-12 teachers, are grade appropriate, address pertinent learning…

NGSS Early Implementers is a four-year initiative created to help eight California school districts and two charter management organizations, supported by WestEd's K-12 Alliance, implement Next Generation Science Standards. The Initiative focuses on NGSS implementation in grades K-8 and incorporates the integrated course model (preferred by the…

The purpose of this report was to measure the effect of the Baylor College of Medicine Summer Science Institute (BCMSSI) on science performance of students whose teachers participated in the program during summer 2013. Paired t-test results showed statistically significant increases in the BCM students' Stanford 10 science performance at the…

The purpose of this study was to measure the effect of the Baylor College of Medicine Summer Science Institute (BCMSSI) on teacher science content knowledge and students' science performance. The analysis of the effect of participation showed an increase of 253 scale score points on the 2015 State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness,…

This Framework is built upon the foundation of the 2003 and 1997 "Massachusetts History and Social Science Curriculum Frameworks." Based in research on effective practice, it represents the contributions of members of the History and Social Science Curriculum Framework Review Panel, scholars who served as Content Advisors, and the more…

The science vocabulary from a science curriculum standards document (Ministry of Education Ontario, 2007) was classified by morphological developmental level and compared to the grade level topics of the curriculum (grades 1 to 8). Descriptive statistical analyses highlight the complex nature of science vocabulary and the incompatibilities between…

The purpose of this evaluation was to measure the impact of the Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) Summer Institute on science performance of students whose teachers participated during the summers of 2011 and 2012. Paired t-tests revealed statistically significant increases in a sample of elementary students' Stanford 10 science scores at 3rd…