A large-enrollment, introductory physics laboratory course at the University of Colorado Boulder has undergone a recent transformation to help students' develop lab skills and better align students' views and beliefs about experimental physics with those of expert experimental physicists through engagement with authentic scientific practices. We…

Through the Sediment, Ice, & Learning on the Tanana (SILT) project, a team of university scientists engaged two middle school student groups in testing innovative environmental research technologies to measure sediment flowing underneath river ice. The culturally responsive, place-based pilot program tests these technologies as a strategy to…

The direct involvement of students in conducting experiments in order to learn science has been a common part of U.S. educational practice since the late 19th century, the result of the rapid spread of what was known as the "laboratory method" of teaching. Those promoting the laboratory method recognized it as a new educational approach,…

This mixed-methods study reports the results of a survey completed by a sample of Puerto Rican social and natural scientists (STEM-S) regarding their perceptions of the intersectionalities of racism, colorism, colonialism, and the culture of science. Most participants ranked themselves as light-skinned and were familiar with the racist stereotypes…

The historical dimension of biology attests to the various conceptions of living organisms that have governed the construction of scientific knowledge over time, some of which still persist today. The present study aimed to identify and characterise the various conceptions of living organisms held by future teachers and biologists and the…

The ways in which children and adolescents become interested in science have been well studied. However, little is known from a lifespan perspective about how this process continues from childhood through adulthood. This cross-national study builds an understanding of doctoral students in the sciences in the Chile and the United States and how…

The purpose of this study was to investigate undergraduate students' conceptions of Earth scientists, using drawing as a tool, during introductory Earth science courses. We explored two research questions: 1) What student conceptions are evident in undergraduate students' drawings of Earth scientists? and 2) How do undergraduate students'…

This lesson used the correspondence of Charles Darwin as an exploration of nature of science (NOS) in a historical context. Specifically, we used his original correspondence about his "provisional hypothesis" of pangenesis as a novel way to explore a scientist's social community. Darwin's community of friends and colleagues in the…

This qualitative study aimed to explore what are pre-service elementary teachers' (N = 325) conceptualizations of scientific practices prior to their entry into the science teaching methods course through their drawn images and narratives of the scientists (male and female) and teacher as scientists. Data (drawings, narratives, and responses to…

Radiochemistry faces a well-documented training and recruitment crisis. Older radiochemists are retiring, and fewer young people are studying radiochemistry. In turn, this is leading to a shortage in newly qualified radiochemists, as well as a loss of historical knowledge (as know-how is often not passed-on). Here, we analyzed the relevance of the…

The current study investigated science identity development among Latinx university students selected for a critical race theory (CRT)-informed undergraduate research experience. Twenty students (12 female, 8 male; M[subscript age] = 22.00; SD = 2.77) enrolled in biomedical-related majors at a 4-year university responded to open-ended questions…

Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) have become more commonly incorporated in laboratory courses in undergraduate education. Because CUREs incorporate research within the context of a course, the benefits of mentored research (self-efficacy, science identity, persistence, and more) are extended to each student enrolled. CUREs…

In our taught chemistry curricula, the majority of individuals who are used to illustrate historical aspects of chemistry topics are white, western chemists. Decolonizing the undergraduate chemistry curricula is increasingly recognized as an important step toward developing a more inclusive higher-education environment for students from…

Guided by the theory of planned behavior and the science communication learning goals model, we conducted a survey to identify science communication training needs of university scientists (n = 266) at a large US land-grant university. Results indicate that most respondents believed scientists and media relations offices were most responsible for…

The under-representation of women in undergraduate science courses is well-documented. One significant challenge is that women may both perceive and receive less recognition from their science peers about their abilities as scientists than men. Here we investigate the presence and nature of such gender biases in peer recognition in the discipline…