This research with middle school students from Kentucky (KY) and Nevada (NV) provides a snapshot of students' spatial-scientific understandings as we explored how well students understand lunar-related content, both spatially and scientifically, after receiving instruction with similar curricular Earth-Space content. Utilizing a lens of spatial…

Science education reform efforts have highlighted the need for scientifically literate citizens, who are capable of using scientific knowledge and skills for reasoning, argumentation, and decision-making. Concurrently, recent state education policies dictate that teachers' effectiveness is measured in part by their students' performance on high…

Curriculum materials can play a major role in shaping teachers' thinking about instruction and content as well as serve as a support for teachers' learning. With the inclusion of engineering in NGSS, many teachers may be turning to existing curriculum materials to help them infuse engineering into their science classroom, especially when they do…

Gender equity is a critical agenda for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education to increase women involvement in the STEM pathway. Our study is about the impact of a project in which all-girl teams participated to an educational robotics program. We used quantitative and qualitative data to determine the impact and…

This qualitative study examines the information collected about applicants to mathematics or science teacher preparation programs (MSTPPs) and how university faculty perceive and value this information in admissions decisions. Based on document review and interviews with MSTPP faculty and admissions directors, we found that broad measures of…

Teachers make many important decisions about instruction during the process of planning. While educational researchers have extensively explored teacher planning, this research has largely neglected the ways teachers attend to subject matter while planning. We first explore ways a sample of 13 experienced secondary biology teachers attend to…

Understanding science concepts and phenomena is important for an increasingly complex global society. For students with disabilities, there continue to be huge achievement disparities in science achievement when compared to their peers without disabilities. This includes students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The current study examines and…

The goal of this article is to inform professional understanding regarding preservice science teachers' knowledge of engineering and the engineering design process. Originating as a conceptual study of the appropriateness of "knowledge as design" as a framework for conducting science teacher education to support learning related to…

More research related to effective ways to support and retain teachers in the teaching profession is necessary as the need for science and mathematics teachers continues to grow. Understanding how teachers perceive challenges and experience support early in their career can contribute to building environments which foster teacher retention. This…

This study sought to explore math and science teacher educators' use of various media to represent practice within methods courses. There is little understanding of why certain media is used over other representations and the rationale for these choices. Specifically, the study focused on the prevalence and familiarity of teacher educators with…

This study describes the design and implementation of a science outreach program (elementary; 2nd-5th) and its associated student outcomes. Key features of the program include: (a) phenomenon-based, NGSS-aligned curriculum designed by science education experts and influenced by educational, sociocultural, and cognitive science theories, (b) active…

Understanding large number data is essential for making sense of real-world problems. For the research reported here, our intent was to find connections between quantitative cognitive science studies and our prior qualitative study about participants' understanding of the relative size of large numbers. While all 23 cognitive science research…

The Teacher Academy in the Natural Sciences (TANS) provided middle school (U.S. Grades 6-8) teachers (N = 81) with intensive professional development (PD) in chemistry, geosciences, and physics, with teachers enrolled in one scientific discipline per year. Because some teachers were retained and rotated into different disciplines, the TANS program…

This study brings together the research focused on science education through project-based learning (PBL). This learning project was carried out in a rural learning community and an attempt was made to adapt to the natural resources of the area by organizing educational outings, experimental activities, and encouraging the participation of…

This multiple-case study examined constraints encountered by early career elementary school teachers as they try to deliver high-quality science instruction. Four first-year teachers, who expressed confidence in their preparation and enthusiasm for teaching science, were asked to reflect on the most effective strategies for teaching elementary…