School districts choose programs based on limited data, word of mouth, or cost-effectiveness. STEM-based schools often choose project-based learning (PBL) programs to deliver curricula through limited research and word of mouth effectiveness. This study evaluated one PBL program implementation in the context of a suburban Texas middle school by…

Many theoretical models of action research depict its process as cycles that include several sequential phases. In Bhutan, teachers use Kemmis and McTaggart's spiral model which has four phases of: "plan," "act," "observe" and "reflect" to conduct action research for their professional learning. As a growing…

Computer-based analysis of preservice teachers' written reflections could enable educational scholars to design personalized and scalable intervention measures to support reflective writing. Algorithms and technologies in the domain of research related to artificial intelligence have been found to be useful in many tasks related to reflective…

Train-the-trainer programs are an effective method for improving educators' content knowledge and pedagogical skills. They also offer a way to reach more educators than by traditional professional development models. This manuscript shares the results of a retrospective study conducted with a cohort of informal science educators who participated…

Recent research and reform efforts in science education have consistently stressed the importance of coherent science instruction, in which learning opportunities are connected and contextualized by meaningful phenomena, focus on a small set of core ideas over time, and generate a need-to-know about new ideas through a set of connected lessons.…

The effective use of technology in teaching can aid in enhancing the teaching and learning of a subject matter. This study aimed to enhance the technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) of five pre-service biology teachers (PSBTs) by implementing a TPACK-Instructional Design (TPACK-ID) model-based technology integration course at a…

The importance of the philosophy of science in science teacher education has long been argued for by science educators. In particular, understanding how scientific knowledge is generated, negotiated, and developed is a key area of the philosophy of science that is relevant to science teaching. However, research on the nature of scientific…

We present an empirically based model for modeling the quality of pre-service teacher reflection. Conversations from twelve groups of a total of 47 pre-service teachers were video recorded and transcribed verbatim. First, we analyzed their conversations through practical epistemology analysis and an operationalization of Dewey's definition of…

Research has shown that teachers and students have difficulties in connecting climate change evidence with climate change claims. Such difficulties may come from the lack of knowledge about how scientific models and modeling work in climate science. Climate change as a complex system with a large time and land scale requires sophisticated…

This study aims to develop, implement, and evaluate an instructional design model to enhance the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of physics student teachers. Model development is accomplished in five stages over two years: 1) problem identification, 2) preliminary identification of the product and design concepts, 3) preliminary theories and…

We investigated beginning secondary science teachers' understandings of the science and engineering practice of developing and using models. Our study was situated in a scholarship program that served two groups: undergraduate STEM majors interested in teaching, or potential teachers, and graduate students enrolled in a teacher education program…

Worldwide, teachers are expected to engage their students in authentic practices, like scientific modeling. Research suggests that teachers experience challenges when integrating modeling in their classroom instruction, with one explanation that teachers themselves lack the necessary modeling competence. Currently, theoretical conceptualizations…

As educational accountability pressures and science teacher attrition rates within American public-school systems continue to rise, so does the need for improved reform-based professional development (PD) opportunities that allow science educators to challenge their pedagogical beliefs and teaching practices. This qualitative case study explores…

There is a large amount of research that indicates that the use of 3DMP in STEM education improves students' knowledge, motivation, and participation in the learning process. Nevertheless, despite the existing attempts to market 3DMP in education, its adoption in schools remains low. A number of studies with teachers in secondary schools and…

This study was the first year of a two-year project which applied a program theory-driven approach to evaluating the impact of teachers' professional development interventions on students' learning by using a mix of methods, qualitative inquiry, and quasi-experimental design. The current study was to show the results of using the method of…