Over the past two decades, there has been an increased focus on designing STEM learning experiences for primary and second-level students. We posit that for teachers to design rich learning experiences for their students, they must first have the opportunity to develop their own STEM knowledge and competences, either during their pre-service…

This research aims to examine the competencies of pre-service science teachers in designing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) activities and the challenges they encounter in this process. The study was carried out using phenomenology, one of the qualitative research designs. A total of 23 second-year pre-service science teachers…

The COVID-19 pandemic led to a series of emergency transitions to online learning for academic institutions around the world. Previous studies have shown that undergraduate Learning Assistants (LAs) improve student engagement in classroom activities and learning outcomes. In this article, we describe the design and implementation of an LA program…

In this paper, we explore the ways that a STEAM-focused summer program for Indigenous youth supported learning in accordance with Indigenous axiologies (what we value esthetically or morally), ontologies (what we believe to be real and how we enact those beliefs), and epistemologies (what we know and how we know it) or AOE. Part of these AOEs…

Educators and researchers often think of program design and program evaluation as separate endeavors, even intentionally creating a firewall between them. But what if designers and evaluators worked together, combining their insights to strengthen both the program and the study of it? In the work of evaluating a statewide professional learning…

Environmental Education (EE) remains marginalised in Irish primary schools despite its formal inclusion in the curriculum. This study investigates the barriers to EE integration and explores how Universal Design for Learning (UDL)-based Science Festival events can support teachers and students in overcoming these challenges. Survey and interview…

The Veterinary Perspectives Institute (VPI) was designed to address the challenges faced by underrepresented youth who are interested in veterinary medicine. This study examines the VPI, a tuition-free program that introduces students from under-resourced high schools to veterinary medicine and One Health through a hands-on, transdisciplinary…

This paper describes the design, implementation and research of the Cyber Sleuth Science Lab (CSSL), an innovative educational program and supporting virtual learning environment, that combines pedagogical theory, gender inclusive instruction strategies, scientific principles/practices, gamification methods, computational thinking, and real-world…

The sustained recruitment and retention of students in STEM majors is a national concern. Although the rate of attrition in these majors is comparable to other majors, the demand for trained scientists to enter the workforce with a baccalaureate degree is high. To enhance retention and support of STEM students from their first year until…

Background: The Noyce Scholarship Program was created to attract and retain science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers in high-need schools. Teacher support networks, and specifically mentorship support, have been linked to increased retention of high-quality teachers in the classroom. Using a sample of Noyce teachers, we…

One of the central issues in ecology is the underrepresentation of individuals from diverse backgrounds. This underrepresentation starts at the undergraduate level and continues into graduate programs, contributing to a need for more diversity in the discipline. We hypothesize that the interplay of students' identities and contextual factors…

Collective impact is an organizational model that is often used as a tool for solving complex social problems through cross-sector collaboration. Traditional applications of this model require a separate backbone organization to oversee the organizational partnership. Using qualitative data from a larger mixed methods study, we examined…

A university in the California Central Valley and three rural district partners designed and implemented a rural teacher residency (RTR) to address the urgent need to prepare and increase retention of qualified educators serving students in rural communities. The RTR program prioritized building partnerships through data use and continuous…

Within this article, the researchers present the design, implementation, and evaluation of a pilot of a virtual peer mentoring training program for racial and ethnic minority women peer mentors within STEM programs at two historically black institutions. The design, usefulness, and usability of the training program are explored, and the influence…

The main focus of this paper is to put forward an argument about the value of asset-based, culturally relevant/responsive and sustaining pedagogies in science education, especially in former colonial contexts. Countering the framing hegemony of science education through a historically Euro-dominant lens, we call for a critical analysis of the…