At the Center for Integrated Access Networks (CIAN), an Engineering Research Center funded from 2008-2018 by the National Science Foundation, the education department worked to develop new and innovative digital resources to engage students in learning science content. One resource created, the CIAN Comic Book, focuses on educating students about…

In response to increasingly diverse student groups in U.S. schools, educational researchers have developed curricula that respond to students' unique needs, cultures, and experiences. Curricula that embrace a pedagogy of empowerment are known as Culturally Responsive Curricula (CRC), and such curricula specific to science are referred to as…

Students often need to obtain, organize, clean, and analyze data in order to draw conclusions about a particular phenomenon (e.g., why tidal heights change). When conducting a science investigation in biology, chemistry, physics, or Earth science, data can be collected by the student or can be provided to them via secondary data sets. This article…

Underrepresentation is endemic across disciplines and across time (National Science Foundation 2019), and extensive research clearly shows that this reflects bias and a lack of access, not a lack of ability in students from those underrepresented groups (National Research Council 2012). Systemic injustice is present in the teaching (Moss-Racusin…

The lesson set in this article describes an introductory learning experience using wildlife camera-based citizen science projects hosted on Zooniverse (http://www.zooniverse.org). Wildlife camera projects were chosen due to the charisma of the study organisms, student engagement while looking at images, ease of access to projects, ease of teaching…

Instead of having their students' first experience with biology that did not address issues of racism in science, Kelsie Fowler and Saraswati Noel created a unit drew on storytelling and artistic expression which is rare in science education, where these modes helped them center what really mattered to them--their Black students' personal…

America's current student demographics reflect greater diversity than ever before. With the increased enrollment of Black and Latinx students in American schools (NCES 2019), the importance of providing science students with classroom experiences embracing diversity is greater than ever. Experiences that spark an interest in Science, technology,…

There has never been a more pressing need for students to learn how to evaluate scientific information online than during the COVID-19 outbreak. Information, misinformation, and disinformation spread quickly across online news and social media platforms. This misleading or incorrect scientific information about infectious diseases could lead to…

Quantum technologies refer to any technology developed based on the principles of quantum physics. Quantum communication, quantum computing, and quantum sensing are applications of such technologies, in which quantum mechanics underpins the key assumptions on their design and development. Quantum technologies promise revolutionary and disruptive…

The "Framework" (NRC 2012) and "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS Lead States 2013) require science teachers to think differently. Specifically, NGSS's performance expectations now require that three domains (disciplinary core ideas (DCI), crosscutting concepts (CCC), and scientific and engineering practices (SEP)) be…

Science is a human endeavor; the way it is taught, applied, and in some cases exclude populations from having access to it, may affect people for generations (NGSS Lead States 2013). Science education continues to be a complex civil rights issue (Tate 2001), but there is hope. Movements to promote just, equitable, and inclusive opportunities to…

Mary Colson is an eighth-grade Earth science teacher at Horizon Middle School, and Russ Colson is a professor of geology and Earth science education in the Department of Anthropology and Earth Science at Minnesota State University Moorhead, both in Moorhead, Minnesota. Since her first year in teaching eighth grade Earth science, in 1986,…

Teaching the children of today about nature is important as they become increasingly removed from the natural world. Children should be exposed to environmental issues so that they will become environmentally aware adults. This article describes a project in which high school biology students teach preschool students about a local environmental…

Learning science is language intensive. Students might have to interpret the meaning of models, support claims with evidence, communicate arguments, and discuss phenomena and scientific principles. For English Language Learners (ELLs), engaging in scientific and engineering practices includes additional challenges. This article describes a series…

This article introduces the Critical Response Protocol (CRP), an arts-based technique that engages students in equitable critical discourse and aligns with the "Next Generation Science Standards" vision for providing students opportunities for language learning while advancing science learning (NGSS Lead States 2013). CRP helps teachers…