This dissertation investigates the intersection of economics of innovation and human capital development to understand how to empower individuals and marginalized communities to be directed to innovation and STEM disciplines. The research focuses on three main chapters: Chapter 1 examines the effectiveness of an education program in teaching and…

Teaching and learning in the 21st century should equip students with critical and creative thinking skills to be ready to live and contribute productively to society. One suitable learning approach is integrating STEAM education and computational thinking--the STEAM-CT approach. The present study aims to describe students' critical and creative…

Integrated STEAM education (science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics) has been shown to effectively foster global competencies as well as school and societal engagement for 21st century learners of diverse backgrounds. However, facilitating quality STEAM teaching and learning can be challenging for teachers, particularly in the area…

Mendelian genetics are essential for students seeking to comprehend the complexities of inheritance; although fundamental, these biology concepts are difficult for students to understand. This study examined the effectiveness of task-based learning (TBL) in enhancing the students' conceptual understanding of the Patterns of Mendelian Genetics. A…

Although self-directed learning is considered important in both educational practice and theory as a 21st century skill and as a means to motivate students, most teachers find it difficult to integrate self-directed learning into their practice. An instrumental case study was conducted to investigate how teachers at four innovative Dutch secondary…

The typical middle school in the United States is designed for superficial learning rather than deeper learning, compliance rather than engagement. This study sought to understand and develop problem-based learning (PBL), student choice, and community partnerships to increase deeper learning. Participants and data collected in Cycle 1 consisted of…

This mixed-methods study examined 220 teachers' responses from a new instrument, the Imagination, Creativity, and Innovation (ICI) Index. ICI Index scores represented teachers' predictions of how students would rate their school's support for student creativity, which was assumed to represent the teachers' perspective of the actual support for…

A theoretical framework grounded in constructionism and pragmatism theories supported research on learning by doing. This framework underpinned the purpose of this qualitative case study to explore how K-8 STEM teachers facilitated projects utilizing innovative technologies to solve community-based problems. The problem was a lack of connection…

Many students do not experience usefulness in mathematics. To address this problem, we offered them a mathematical tool, Sankey diagrams, which is a flow chart appearing in news media to visualize social, industrial or environmental processes. We carried out an Educational Design Research (EDR) to develop and evaluate lesson materials about…

STEM education was a systematic teaching and/or learning process in the STEM fields and a positive correlation existed between STEM education, and the economic prosperity and power of a nation in the globalized world. In recent years, rising concerns have emerged about American STEM education. Many stakeholders wondered that whether the nation has…

Science education in China is Subject Matter Knowledge (SMK) oriented in that SMK understanding is the major benchmark to assess students' achievement in science learning. Such an orientation causes students to overemphasize the memorization of SMK and neglect other indispensable components of science, such as scientific attitudes and research…

Engaging students in both hands-on and minds-on experiences is needed for education that is relevant and complete. Many middle school students enter science classrooms with pre-conceived ideas about their world. Some of these ideas are misconceptions that hinder students from developing accepted concepts in science, such as those related to…

School-based curriculum innovations, including those in science education, are usually not adequately evaluated, if at all. Furthermore, current procedures and instruments for programme evaluations are often unable to support evidence-based decision-making. We suggest that adopting fidelity of implementation (FOI) criteria from healthcare research…

This case study described teachers with varying technology skills who were implementing the use of geospatial technology (GST) within project-based instruction (PBI) at varying grade levels and contexts 1 to 2 years following professional development. The sample consisted of 10 fifth- to ninth-grade teachers. Data sources included artifacts,…

We investigated prospects for reported sustainable adoption and sharing of an educational innovation through survey research including online questionnaires and telephone interviews. This investigation is part of the Scaling-Up SimCalc experimental program, which combines dynamic representational algebra software (SimCalc MathWorlds) with…