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…

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 United States must grow its science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) trained workforce in order to fill the jobs projected to be in demand. One of the ways in which this can be done is to tap into the vast population of minorities and women who are underrepresented in the STEM fields. The United States has been looking for ways…

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…

While research on embodied learning sheds light on the body's role during science learning, there is a lack of understanding of how the body is drawn upon in subsequent learning interactions. We seek to understand how the body supports cognition and learning during and after embodiment. We elaborate upon the liminal blends framework (Enyedy, N.,…

This research summary accompanies the report "Final Report of the i3 Impact Study of Making Sense of SCIENCE, 2016-17 through 2017-18." Science education has experienced a significant transition over the last decade, catalyzed by a re-envisioning of what students should know and be able to do in science. That re-envisioning culminated in…

Providing science instruction is an ongoing priority and challenge in elementary grades, especially in high-need rural schools. Nonetheless, few studies have investigated the factors that facilitate or limit teachers' science instruction in these settings, particularly since the introduction of the Next Generation Science Standards. In this study…

Background/Context: Much science education reform has been directed at middle and high school students; however, earlier experiences in elementary school may well have an important impact on young people's future science literacy and preparation for possible STEM careers. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study: This study explores the…

School closures because of natural phenomena, such as COVID-19, underscore the importance of effective distance learning strategies when there are no in-school alternatives. Our study describes the implementation of a multimedia science program before and after school closure due to COVID-19 in a variety of ways depending on schools'…

We investigated what a cognitive framework for measuring classroom teaching could reveal about (a) the impact of a professional development (PD) program on teaching practices and (b) the relationship between teaching practices and student science learning. To conduct this study, we leveraged a collaboration between two entirely independent…

This article reports an investigation of a professional development program to enhance elementary teachers' ability to engage their students in argument from evidence in science. Using a quasi-experimental approach, three versions were compared: Version A--a 1-week summer institute with a 2-week summer practicum experience and 8 follow-up days…

The K-8 Early Implementers Initiative has found that careful planning is critical. With thin planning, unexpected detours or dead ends are likely. However, with solid planning, districts are more likely to achieve their implementation goals and may discover some express lanes for their implementation journey. This evaluation report documents…

Science education has experienced a significant transition over the last decade, catalyzed by a re-envisioning of what students should know and be able to do in science. That re-envisioning culminated in the release of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) in 2013. The new standards set off a chain reaction of standards adoption and…

What teachers believe about their own effectiveness in the classroom influences what and how they teach, so teacher preparation programs should work to cultivate strong self-efficacy beliefs (SEBs) in future teachers. I designed a science content course for future elementary teachers around the simultaneous goals of teaching science content and…

These appendices accompany the report "Final Report of the i3 Impact Study of Making Sense of SCIENCE, 2016-17 through 2017-18." Science education has experienced a significant transition over the last decade, catalyzed by a re-envisioning of what students should know and be able to do in science. That re-envisioning culminated in the…