Project-based learning (PjBL) instruction is an inquiry-based method that is beneficial to student achievement and their exploration of 21st-century learning skills, but there is a gap in the literature about how Grades 6 to 8 teachers feel about PjBL and its implementation. The research problem was science teachers in the United States were not…

Research has highlighted the significant decline in teachers' implementation of newly acquired teaching practices following professional development (PD), primarily attributed to the absence of follow-up support. Even science teachers who have participated in intensive PD programs often encounter challenges in integrating new teaching practices…

This article illustrates a "STEM Circle" approach to problem solving with students who are emergent multilinguals (a.k.a. English Language Learners or ELLs). Middle school educators know learning is constructed through active discovery and most effective when scaffolded within constructive sociocultural contexts. Yet applying those…

In the past decade, scientific process skills and scientific attitudes are widely regarded as essential factors influencing students' achievement and their future career choices. Unfortunately, previous literature found that students' scientific skills and attitudes tend to be unsatisfactory. Thus, cultivating students' skills and attitudes is…

Research on science-education reform affirms the importance of taking into consideration teachers' pedagogical beliefs in relation of the constructivist perspective to ensure successful implementation of a reform-oriented curriculum. In addition, prominent studies pinpoint the need for teachers to have sufficient pedagogical content knowledge…

Research on science-education reform affirms the importance of taking into consideration teachers? pedagogical beliefs in relation of the constructivist perspective to ensure successful implementation of a reform-oriented curriculum. In addition, prominent studies pinpoint the need for teachers to have sufficient pedagogical content knowledge…

Sustained professional development can support STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) reform. The authors describe a 3-year study of sustained professional development for 3 diverse urban schools across the salient factors of fidelity of implementation of project-based learning, development of professional learning communities,…

Chemistry instructors in teaching laboratories provide expert modeling of techniques and cognitive processes and provide assistance to enrolled students that may be described as scaffolding interaction. Such student support is particularly essential in laboratories taught with an inquiry-based curriculum. In a teaching laboratory with a high…

A longitudinal evaluation study of a science professional development program for K-12 teachers was conducted using the CIPP evaluation model. Eleven years of program data were described and analyzed. Elementary teachers comprised 62% of the 384 participants, 17% of all participants were middle school teachers, and 13% of all participants were…

Many college science educators have moved away from the traditional lecture format and toward learner-centered classroom environments. Yet many of us struggle to cover large content loads, reverting at times to rote memorization. This paper suggests rote memorization simply does not work and students must be actively engaged to learn. (Contains 1…

This meta analysis study focused on identifying and analyzing research studies that measured effects of teacher professional development with a content focus on math or science. This meta analysis was carried out to address two primary questions: (1) What are the effects of content-focused professional development for math and science teachers on…

Technology Engineering is an innovative component of a much larger arena of teaching that effectively uses interactive technology as a method of enhancing learning and the learning environment. Using this method to teach science and math content empowers the teacher and enhances the curriculum as the classroom becomes more efficient and effective.…

The focus of this research was an evaluation of the impact of teacher professional development (PD) on student achievement during implementation of a reform curriculum. The PD consisted of five four-hour workshop sessions distributed over the time teachers were implementing the reform curriculum in their classrooms. The research was conducted in a…