More than a decade ago, the K-12 Framework for Education and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) shifted states' notions of what constitutes the core of science skills and knowledge that students need to thrive in school and beyond. The majority of states adopted standards based on the framework as well as the NGSS. Yet because of the…

The purpose of this interpretative phenomenological analysis study was to understand the perspectives of Massachusetts biology teachers and discover if the 2016 changes to the Massachusetts Science, Technology, and Engineering (STE) Curriculum Frameworks impacted their instructional practices and pedagogy. Concentrating on the consequences of…

Writing a lab report can be an opportunity for students to engage in scientific thinking. Yet students' lab reports often do not exhibit evidence of such engagement. Students' writing can appear focused on "filling in" required components and reporting on predetermined conclusions. We conducted a design experiment in an introductory…

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) provide a succession of objectives for energy learning and set an expectation for teachers to assess learners' representations of energy in a variety of science contexts. To support teachers in evaluating the extent to which representations of energy display NGSS objectives, we have (i) discerned the…

National reports have called for the introduction of research experiences throughout the undergraduate curriculum, but practical implementation at many institutions faces challenges associated with sustainability, cost, and large student populations. We describe a novel course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) that introduces…

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) released proposed Science and Technology/Engineering standards in 2013 outlining the concepts that should be taught at each grade level. Previously, standards were in grade spans and each district determined the method of implementation. There are two different methods used…

The last two decades have seen unprecedented interest in science curricula, with many governments seeing improvements in the performance of their school students in science as key to future economic prosperity. We present the results of an analysis of the curriculum documents for primary and secondary science in Australia (New South Wales and…

Participation in inquiry-based science education, which focuses on student-constructed learning, has been linked to academic success. Whereas the benefits of this type of science education are evident, access to such high-quality science curriculum and programming is not equitable. Black and Latino students in particular have less access to…

If a "curriculum" -- a set of instructional materials intended as a comprehensive course of study for a particular subject and grade level -- is well-aligned with state standards, it can help teachers deliver instruction that leads to students' mastery of those standards. However, most research suggests that curricula, in themselves, are…

State implementation of new standards (revising, adapting, and adopting new standards) is a significant undertaking. Such an effort at the state level requires extensive support, planning, and resources. Implementing new state standards also requires the support of multiple education leaders--governors, legislators, state departments of education,…

Business is progressively integrating technologies and R&D with corporate and business strategy. This trend is creating increasing demand for executives and managers who have sufficient technology-centered knowledge to work effectively in interdisciplinary environments. This study addresses how management education could address the growing…

Primary research articles discuss aspects of scientific inquiry that are important in understanding the nature of science. Yet, most introductory science courses use textbooks that ignore the scientific process; opportunities for explicit discussion of the nature of science are lost. In Hampshire College's science program, students read current…

In the United States after World War II, science had come to occupy a central place in the minds of policy makers, scientists, and the public. Negotiating different views between these groups proved a difficult task and spilled into debates over the role and scope of science education. To examine this process, this dissertation traces the history…

Guided by a new framework, the NAEP science assessment was updated in 2009 to keep the content current with key developments in science, curriculum standards, assessments, and research. The 2009 framework organizes science content into three broad content areas. Physical science includes concepts related to properties and changes of matter, forms…

Guided by a new framework, the NAEP science assessment was updated in 2009 to keep the content current with key developments in science, curriculum standards, assessments, and research. The 2009 framework organizes science content into three broad content areas. Physical science includes concepts related to properties and changes of matter, forms…