This study reports on the process and development of middle school science fair projects inspired by a summer science program of citizen science monitoring (Monarch Larvae Monitoring Project) with their classroom teacher. We gathered and analyzed qualitative data (interviews, focus groups, and project boards). Our analysis revealed three key…

This study investigated eight experienced science teachers' and eight senior high school students' metavisualization when they drew models to represent their concepts of carbon cycling. Qualitative data collection techniques including think-aloud tasks and follow-up retrospective interviews were employed. The purposes of the study included: (1) to…

Science education reforms aimed at narrowing racial achievement gaps often call for educators to make their instruction more inclusive and relevant to students' lives. Culturally Relevant Science Teaching (CRST) requires teachers to develop students' sociopolitical consciousness (SPC) in science, yet little is known about if and how science…

For well over a century, the journal "Science Education" has been publishing articles about the teaching and learning of science. These articles represent more than just a repository of past work: they have the potential to offer insights into both the history of science education as well as well as the dynamics of field-specific change.…

While gender parity has been achieved in overall science degree earning, large gaps still exist within many science disciplines. Further, studies addressing gender inequity in science often ignore a large source of undergraduate science degree earners: those who enroll in science courses intending to pursue careers in health or medicine. This…

Research in languages and literacies in science education (LLSE) has developed substantial theoretical and pedagogical insights into how students learn science through language, discourse, and multimodal representations. At the same time, language is central to the functioning of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI). On this common basis…

Argumentation is a core practice of science that inherently contains uncertainty. Relatively few studies have examined the role of uncertainty within argumentation and how teachers manage uncertainty leading to conceptual development. This design-based, multiple-case study employed the constant comparative method to analyze 24 videos focused on…

Elementary teachers are tasked with the challenge of implementing Next Generation Science Standards-aligned projects that integrate science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and computer science (STEM + CS) in a variety of classroom contexts. This study investigates how teachers verbally support students in two classrooms, one general…

As part of learning to teach, teachers must learn to use a range of teaching practices. In this longitudinal study the authors explore how novice elementary teachers learn to engage in a set of high-leverage science teaching practices, such as "leading a science sensemaking discussion" and "setting up and managing small-group…

The limited availability of research instruments that reflect the vision of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) restricts the field's understanding of whether and how teachers are making instructional shifts called for by the standards. The need for such instruments is particularly urgent with teachers of multilingual learners (MLs), who…

The term social participation is widely used and has various meanings in different contexts. This article aims to enhance the understanding of social participation in science museums. The research was conducted using a cultural-historical perspective in six steps: (1) survey to identify the meanings attributed to the term social participation and…

Programs that bring teachers and scientists together have continued to achieve attention as important potential contributions to science education. Often, however, those programs place teachers in the position of learner or apprentice to the scientists. This study examines a teacher-scientist partnership program (two project sites, two teachers…

Seen as one of the essential domains for active citizenship, examining how students relate to science has become crucial. Based on a person-centered approach, this article investigates self-related dispositions and motivation in science using the 2015 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) data set. By employing a latent profile…

There is a growing research examining the use of visual diagrams in scientific explanations. However, current research in this area is mostly based on case studies involving a few explanations from one or two topics in science. There are few systematic studies that examine more broadly how diagrams are used in relation to scientific explanations…

Despite the importance of developing elementary science teachers' content knowledge for teaching (CKT), there are limited assessments that have been designed to measure the full breadth of their CKT at scale. Our overall research project addressed this gap by developing an online assessment to measure elementary preservice teachers' CKT about…