This research reviews 56 robots in science education (RSE) research articles published in SSCI (Social Sciences Citation Index) journals in the Web of Science (WoS) database. The analysis results showed that there were three clusters of RSE studies: robots in elementary science education, robot-based STEM activities, and robot-facilitated…

Improving achievement in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) is essential for elevating individual success and solving societal challenges. Yet national and international assessments paint a poor picture of students' STEM competencies (NAEP, 2019; OECD, 2018). An untapped avenue to improve STEM education lies in developing…

Preparing elementary students to think and communicate like an engineer is possible, but requires a sequence of lessons spanning multiple classroom experiences that are aligned to multiple performance expectations (PEs). This article identifies how multiple PEs can be clustered to meet the instructional goals set forth in the "Next Generation…

This study applied the Porter's alignment model to construct a localized two-dimensional framework based on Anderson's taxonomy. The research chose the third-grade primary school science textbooks from two representative presses in China and Japan, coded the textbooks and curriculum standards, calculated the alignment level between the textbooks…

Youth often fail to see themselves in the role of a scientist or engineer and they may lack the confidence to believe they can be successful in STEM courses and careers. This study investigated students wearing lab coats as one strategy to build science academic self-concept and self-efficacy in science. Teachers in four elementary schools had…

This article seeks to use Dewey's interpretation of pragmatism and education as a model for how dominant notions of school exemplify a e. The article argues that Dewey sought to commodify nature as a tool for human progress. This aspect of Dewey's beliefs is further demonstrated in the kind of schooling that is being implemented through…

The Next Generation Science Standards lay out a model of energy that locates energy within objects and fields, and tracks energy as it transfers between these objects and transforms between forms of energy while always being conserved. This model of energy pervades much of modern science and represents a foundational, cross-cutting concept for…

During the COVID-19 'lockdown', members of the Association for Science Education (ASE) primary science community worked together to develop a series of remote learning resources for the 2020 summer term. This article describes how the aim of making science, with embedded science enquiry activities, accessible to parents and children in their home…

While both citizen science engagements and computational thinking practices can mutually support student ownership in the science classroom, both face similar challenges to adoption in that they require teachers to openly position themselves as learners alongside their students. This dual role--as a teacher and as a learner--poses self-efficacy…

In science education, there has been a sustained focus on supporting the emergence of science practices in K-12 and field-based settings. Recent work has elevated the integral role of emotion in sparking and sustaining such disciplinary practices, deepening the field's understanding of what is entailed in "doing" science. Yet even as we…

Children are very curious about the world around them. You may find them peering at tadpoles in a pond, counting ants on a log, or wondering about the stars, the sun, and the moon. I have been asked many times: Is the moon really made of cheese? Do astronauts live on the moon? Why does the moon look different every time I look up? Introducing…

According to the National Survey of Science and Mathematics Education (2018), only 16% of the elementary teachers surveyed reported including hands-on activities in all or most of their lessons. Strategies that engage students in hands-on investigations help improve student achievement (Minner, Levy, and Century 2010) and provide students with a…

In this essay from a teacher in Argentina, Valeria Vincent describes how she employed Multiple Literacies in Project-based Learning (MLPBL) (Krajcik, Palincsar, and Miller 2015). ML-PBL, an open education free resource, has three design principles that support teacher and student learning and satisfaction. ML-PBL builds on teacher ingenuity and…

Elementary science education calls on teachers to facilitate student learning of the content of science while they engage in the work of scientists. Additionally, recent national and state standards incorporate the practices of engineering into science education throughout grades K-12. However, many practicing teachers receive little to no…

This dissertation examines students' social-emotional experience with knowledge building pedagogy from the lenses of grit and growth mindset. The goal of this dissertation is to understand how interest, perseverance of effort and growth mindset oriented feedback engage students social emotionally in knowledge building to sustain and deepen their…