The science education community is deeply invested in growing the next generation of scientists. One way to do this is through evidence-based interventions that support the motivation and performance of students in introductory classes. The literature is replete with interdisciplinary research presenting such interventions. Unfortunately, the…

Understanding human behavior and reasoning is essential for developing successful instruction. Discipline-based education researchers have examined how students learn, informing the development of successful instructional strategies. Researchers have also identified barriers to the successful implementation of such strategies. This work utilizes…

This action research study aimed to find ways to adjust my practice by incorporating inquiry-based, science activities and virtual simulations to improve student conceptual understanding of physical and chemical changes. A multi-lesson, curricular intervention combining inquiry-based activities and virtual simulations was developed using…

As student populations in the United States grow increasingly linguistically and culturally diverse, asset-oriented pedagogical approaches become essential for leveraging the linguistic talents of multilingual students in science education. This literature review explores evidence-based instructional interventions supporting emergent multilingual…

Biology education research (BER), currently conducted mostly at four-year colleges and universities, is changing the culture of teaching biology and improving student success. We are community college faculty participating in the NSF-funded CC Bio INSITES network, getting training and support in BER to ask questions to improve student success in…

In Cell Biology, a sophomore/junior undergraduate-level high-enrollment core course, students areexpected to develop a broad and detailed understanding of the functioning of eukaryotic cells. Forexample, some of the more challenging biological concepts include machinery involved in thereplication and translational processes, protein…

This study measured the effect of an evidence-based science curriculum delivered in both English and Spanish using the preview-view-review (PVR) strategy, on the science vocabulary and content knowledge acquired by students with moderate to severe intellectual disabilities who were learning English. The intervention was compared to the same…

Background: There is a critical need for evidence-based metacognition instruction models with an ease of implementation. Three issues involved in advancing the implementation and assessment of metacognitive interventions are: (i) the lack of an operational framework for the development of metacognition; (ii) metacognition instruction models that…

General chemistry are key gateway courses for many Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) majors. To improve student outcomes, it is critical both to identify at-risk students and implement evidence-based instructional strategies and interventions. These remain active areas of investigation, with recent literature showing that…

Science includes a multitude of specialized terms that are not consistently taught using effective practices. Often, students with disabilities rely on ineffective strategies in order to memorize word definitions, which inhibits their science achievement. Using a counter-balanced design, we tested whether having access to multimedia videos that…

Recognising critical reasoning and problem-solving as one of the key skills for twenty-first century citizenship, various types of problem contexts have been practiced in science classrooms to enhance students' understandings and use of evidence-based thinking and justification. Good problems need to allow students to adapt and evaluate the…

Students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are increasingly included in general education and are expected to access core content, including science. Development of science content knowledge, scientific literacy, and scientific thinking are emphasized in legislation as well as the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) as critical for all…