We add to a growing literature suggesting that demographic grade gaps should be attributed to biases embedded in the courses themselves. Changes in the structure of two different introductory physics classes were made while leaving the topics covered and the level of coverage unchanged. First, a class where conceptual issues were studied before…

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.…

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…

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…

In spring 2020, the California State University System and its 23 campuses became the first in the United States to commit to a year of remote instruction due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Remote instruction separated the system's librarians from their users, whose needs were especially great within the system's ethnically, economically, and…

This article presents a community of practice (CoP) designed to help California State University and California Community College STEM faculty implement active, equity-centered pedagogical changes. Using the Reading Apprenticeship framework as a foundation, the CoP focuses on text-based metacognitive conversations to facilitate students' authentic…

In 2018, in response to the proposed elimination of physics at a predominately Hispanic and socioeconomically disadvantaged (SED) high school, the Northern California/Nevada chapter of the AAPT investigated school demographics and their effect on physics offerings in public high schools in our region. As access was a key issue, the focus was on…

The purpose of this study is to document how K-8 critically conscious, dual language, science teachers (CCDLSTs) working with bilingual learners (BLs) practice their critical consciousness via the four tenets of dual language education: ideological clarity, pedagogical perspective and clarity, access for all, and equitable spaces (IPAE). This…

This 13th report in WestEd's evaluation of the K-8 Early Implementers Initiative for the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) provides an extensive response to the following question: What does NGSS science teaching look like in the classroom? The report first discusses Initiative teachers' experiences with four instructional practices that…

The California Next Generation Science Standards (CA NGSS)--adopted in 2013--have the potential to improve scientific literacy and strengthen the global competitiveness of California's workforce. However, longstanding underinvestment in science education and the unprecedented disruptions caused by COVID-19 have heightened challenges faced by…

California adopted the Next Generation Science Standards (CA NGSS) in 2013, with the aim of improving scientific literacy and strengthening the global competitiveness of the state's workforce. But the COVID-19 pandemic has been especially disruptive for science education, which has long been a lower priority than math and English language arts.…

This paper is part of the special issue on Teacher Learning and Practice within Organizational Contexts. Shifting instructional practices in elementary schools to include more equitable, reform-based pedagogies is imperative for supporting students' development as science learners. Teachers need high quality professional development (PD) to learn…

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on education. Science teaching, in particular, has faced specific challenges given the field's emphasis on high-quality instruction that has students "do" science collaboratively rather than just read about it or hear about it in a lecture. This brief provides: (1) a summary of data collected…

The rational design of compounds to covalently label natural amino acids has become a popular method in both therapeutics design and chemical biology exploration. The field is saturated with rich chemistry for the targeting of nucleophilic amino acids, with chemical advances in recent years opening the door to the targeting of additional amino…