Ventura, California's 2023 winter storm activity underscored the impact that runoff has on recreational water quality and public health. To examine public perception of stormwater runoff, coastal water quality, and community decision-making toward recreating in polluted water, an online survey of the Ventura River watershed community determined…

When thinking about measurement uncertainty in a laboratory experiment that features quantum mechanical effects, it is important to consider both the physical principles of underlying quantum theory (e.g., the uncertainty due to quantum mechanical superposition states) as well as the limitations of the measurement (e.g., the spread in outcomes due…

Inquiry-based course experiences provide a scalable and equitable way to engage students in research. In this study, we describe how we introduced inquiry-based experiences to ten lower-division and upper-division courses across the biology curriculum at a regionally comprehensive public university serving the diverse population in a major…

Background: The Framework for K-12 Science Education (NRC, 2012) and Next Generation Science Standards ([NGSS] NGSS Lead States, 2013) emphasize that all students from the earliest grades onward must have the opportunity to learn and actively participate in authentic science. In K-12 science instruction, this means that students should have the…

This exploratory qualitative study examined science teacher enactment of crosscutting concepts (CCCs), a core aspect of Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) three-dimensional learning, which also includes disciplinary core ideas and science and engineering practices (SEPs). We collected naturalistic observational and interview data from 13…

Undergraduate institutions serve as stepping stones to students' careers. Teaching and learning in science classrooms require quality and integrated teaching-research learning experiences that prepare students to advance their careers. Using publicly available data sets and open-access data analyses software can be impactful for engaging students…

The Joint Educational Project's (JEP) STEM Education Programs at the University of Southern California (USC) present an elementary-level curriculum centered on the science of stem cells in partnership with Dr. Adam MacLean, an Assistant Professor of Quantitative and Computational Biology at USC for the broader impacts of a National Science…

Artificial photosynthesis is a promising approach to generate commodity chemicals using abundant chemical feedstocks and renewable energy sources. Despite its importance, affordable and effective hands-on classroom activities that demonstrate artificial photosynthesis and teach key concepts, especially for primary school students, are lacking.…

The latest developments in virtual reality (VR) are gaining attention in education as they are expected to provide risk-free, hands-on learning experiences. However, the use of VR in laboratory settings is still in its early stages of adoption. Therefore, it remains unclear whether these technologies will be widely adopted to educate students in…

This study compared two versions of the same elementary science professional development (PD) and curriculum program that were offered face-to-face and completely online, while keeping all content consistent between the two. Using quantitative analyses of pre- and posttests of content knowledge (CK), we evaluated the extent to which the online…

Dialogic, sense-making interactions are critical venues for language development and science learning, particularly for emergent multilingual students. Designing and facilitating such learning opportunities is pedagogically complex work and often requires significant shifts in practice. We report on a design study in which we partnered with 5th…

Across the landscape of higher education, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused fundamental changes at a variety of scales. To understand which aspects of higher education instruction at the departmental (meso-scale) level were most and least impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, chairs of geoscience departments at public higher education institutions in…

In this study, the Research Methods Sequence (RMS) courses in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences at California Baptist University were evaluated. There were two central aims in the study. First, the effectiveness of the RMS courses in developing students' research skills and perceptions of the research process were assessed. Second, the…

This study explored how preservice teachers engaged in collaborative inquiry with elementary students to facilitate social justice and equity in science education. By inviting elementary students as key stakeholders into collaborative inquiry, we examined how preservice teachers uncovered critical problems of science education in underserved…

Incorporating scientific uncertainty as part of science teaching means acknowledging that there may be incomplete or potentially limited scientific information when scientists draw conclusions. In the geosciences, scientists routinely make inferences about the Earth based on observations of the present, and test those observations against…