This high school-level, place-based, inquiry-driven laboratory module familiarises students with techniques used to analyse animal behaviour while facilitating the development of the observational skills highlighted by the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Throughout the module, students observe, quantify, and discuss local invertebrate…

This dissertation is an invitation into our beloved biology classroom. Weaving hermeneutic phenomenology and critical participatory teacher action research, this study investigated self as teacher and two cohorts of student participants in a high school biology experience utilizing an 'Aina Aloha praxis. Articulating my ongoing 'Aina Aloha praxis,…

Understanding the experiences of Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander (NHPI) students in science courses can help us foster inclusivity and belonging for these often excluded and unacknowledged students. Using social influence theory as a framework, we investigated the intersection between ethnic-racial identity and science identity in NHPI…

Despite the potential of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) to positively impact science education, educators require time and support to learn the standards and their implications for science teaching and learning in the classroom. The Hawai'i Department of Education adopted the NGSS in 2016. While schools received professional…

To increase equity and inclusion for underserved and excluded Indigenous students, we must make efforts to mitigate the unique barriers they face. As their knowledge systems have been historically excluded and erased in Western science, we begin by reviewing the literature on the inclusion of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) in biology…

The purpose of this paper is to describe a three-year limited-run offer of an energy science certificate in the University of Hawaii at Hilo campus, along with lessons learned that can be of use to other institutions considering comparable programs. Energy science is a loosely defined discipline that traditionally straddles physics and mechanical,…

Since 2013, a majority of states have been working to implement new standards for K-12 science education that are based on the National Research Council's framework for science education and the Next Generation Science Standards. The new science standards emphasize deeper understanding of content in relation to practices and a three-dimensional…

In this paper, we describe a study of cosmic ray muon rates and energies at various elevations on Mauna Kea on the island of Hawaii. The study was originally conceived as an extension to the upper-division modern physics laboratory at the University of Hawaii at Hilo and used the TeachSpin Muon Physics apparatus (abbreviated TSMP below) from that…

This mixed method study explored the beliefs of teachers in religious schools regarding evolution, their attitudes toward evolution, and their teaching of evolutionary content along with Christian high school biology teachers' perceptions regarding how their religious beliefs affected their teaching of evolution. The quantitative portion of the…

Studies consistently indicate that engaging students in research is successful in improving STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) retention and graduation rates. Given that nearly half of all U.S. students are enrolled in community colleges, and that 70% of those enrolled are either women or underrepresented ethnicities, these campuses…

Since its inception, the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) blue print has attracted interest from more than 40 states in the United States. The overall objective of these proposed changes is to align K-12 science education with current trends in technology and career needs. However, the assessment of teacher preparedness and classroom…

Through a collaborative effort between an instructional design team and the Biology Department at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, the OpenStax Biology 2e open, online textbook was modified with new features to improve student engagement and learning outcomes. This study investigated students' perceptions of the customized textbook. A survey of…

The ways in which people view the world, and by extension the ways in which they learn, are shaped by cultural context. As educators striving to build scientific literacy among our students, it is critical to bridge the gaps among disparate cultures, traditional ways of knowing, and Western science. Understanding the value of traditional knowledge…

This paper approaches mindfulness, an awareness of internal and external realities, as a culturally-shaped habit of mind. Findings of a cross-cultural study and popular sayings that reflect America's cultural orientation to consumption and competition are contrasted with findings from Hawaiian language newspapers, traditional cultural practices,…

This mixed method study explored Christian teachers' beliefs in religious schools on evolution, their attitudes toward evolution, and their perceptions on the effect of those beliefs on the teaching of evolutionary content. Teachers (N = 52) from Association for Christian Schools International (ACSI) accredited schools in California and Hawaii…