Background: The constructs of interest and motivation are often identified as factors that contribute to the persistence of undergraduate college women in physics, mathematics, engineering, engineering technology, and computer science. A review of the literature regarding interest development and motivation as related to women as science,…

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education has become one of the main priorities in the United States. Science education communities and researchers advocate for integration of STEM disciplines throughout the teaching curriculum. This requires teacher knowledge in STEM disciplines, as well as competence in scientific…

Context: The healthcare profession is one of the largest growing occupations in the United States (US). Yet, there is a shortage of healthcare professionals and the situation is further compounded by insufficient instructors to prepare individuals to provide safe and quality care. A number of teachers leave the profession within 3 years of work in…

In our pilot studies, we found that many introductory physics textbook illustrations with supporting text for sound standing waves of air columns in open-open, open-closed, and closed-closed pipes inhibit student understanding of sound standing wave phenomena due to student misunderstanding of how air molecules move within these pipes. Based on…

This study is a research project focused on the implementation of problem-based learning in an honors, paleontology-oriented, Earth Science course. The course, the Age of Dinosaurs, is taught at the University of Texas at Dallas to undergraduates from a range of majors who seek core-curriculum science credit. All class work is centered on fossils…

This research focuses on inservice science teachers' conceptions of nature of science (NOS) before and after a two-week intensive summer professional development (PD). The PD combined traditional explicit NOS instruction, numerous interactive interventions that highlighted NOS aspects, along with documentary films that portrayed NOS in context of…

Controversy surrounds the issue of single-gender education, with advocates debating that the initiative decreases discrimination, improves educational experiences for males and females, and provides parents more choice. Opponents argue that single-gender education is a form of segregation and negates the gains that women have achieved in the area…

This study examined the relationships between teacher leadership, science teacher self-efficacy, and fifth-grade science student achievement in diverse schools in a San Antonio, Texas, metropolitan school district. Teachers completed a modified version of the "Leadership Behavior Description Question" (LBDQ) Form XII by Stogdill (1969),…

"Beyond Blackboards" is an inquiry-centered, after-school program designed to enhance middle school students' engagement with engineering through design-based experiences focused on the 21st Century Engineering Challenges. Set within a predominantly lowincome, majority-minority community, our study aims to investigate the impact of…

Data gathered from 325 middle school students in four U.S. states indicate that both male (p < 0.0005, RSQ = 0.33) and female (p < 0.0005, RSQ = 0.36) career aspirations for "being a scientist" are predictable based on knowledge of dispositions toward mathematics, science and engineering, plus self-reported creative tendencies. For…

Recent research conducted on adults in the United States indicates low ocean literacy (Ocean Project, 2009b, 1999), but there is a dearth of peer-reviewed research on K-12 students' ocean literacy. This paper presents two research studies that examined the ocean and environmental literacy of 464 K-12 students in five states. Like the majority of…

Following a developmental model of career planning and preparation, an ementoring program was devised for first semester freshmen to (1) heighten career awareness and stimulate career exploration in food and agricultural sciences; (2) expand interest and willingness to follow career opportunities beyond the regional geographic area; and (3)…

This study analyzed Texas secondary agricultural education teachers' (n = 232) attitudes toward diversity inclusion in Texas secondary agricultural education programs. Using a web-based questionnaire, the researcher employed a nonproportional stratified random sampling technique. Researchers used descriptive statistics to report demographic and…

The phrase "bigger is better" has become a common theme among Americans. The purpose of this study was to assess college students' portions and perception of recommended serving sizes of specific foods and beverages and to describe relationships of outcomes with body mass index and demographic variables. The findings indicated that…

Active-learning labs for two topics in high school biology were developed through the collaboration of high school teachers and university faculty and staff and were administered to 408 high school students in six classrooms. The content of instruction and testing was guided by State of Texas science objectives. Detailed teacher records describing…