In this study, we investigated the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) that physics graduate teaching assistants (TAs) developed in the context of teaching a new introductory physics curriculum, "Matter and Interactions" ("M&I"). "M&I" is an innovative introductory physics course that emphasizes a unified framework for understanding the world and…

"The Chemistry of Perfume" is a lab-only course for nonscience majors. Students learn fundamental concepts of chemistry through the context of fragrance, a pervasive aspect of daily life. The course consists of laboratories pertaining to five units: introduction, extraction, synthesis, characterization, and application. The introduction unit…

The purpose of this study was to examine the degree to which high school students improved their inquiry capabilities in relation to scientific literacy through their experience of a problem-based environmental health science curriculum. The two inquiry capabilities studied were scientific questioning and approaches to inquiry into their own…

The National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA) sponsored professional development of educators in the NASA Summer of Innovation (SOI) program. The Idaho, Montana, and Utah (IMU-SOI) program worked with educators and students from thirteen Native American communities. The summer sessions were focused on problem based learning and…

Imagine two fourth-grade classes. Both contain students of comparable demographics and highly respected teachers each with four to five years of experience. Both classes engage in science curricula that emphasize science and engineering practices as outlined in the "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS Lead States 2013). Both classes…

Changes to the mathematics and science curriculums are designed to increase rigour in mathematics, and place greater emphasis on mathematical content in science subjects at key stages 3, 4 and 5 (ages 11-18). One way to meet the growing challenge of providing increased emphasis on mathematics in the science curriculum is greater collaboration…

Many children get little to no regular physical education during the school day. National recommendations call for schools to offer physical activity as part of planned academic lessons that teach math, language arts, science, and other subjects through movement. The purpose of this study was to analyze the student and teacher perceptions of the…

The undergraduate computer science curriculum is generally focused on skills and tools; most students are not exposed to much research in the field, and do not learn how to navigate the research literature. We describe how fiction reviews (and specifically science fiction) are used as a gateway to research reviews. Students learn a little about…

Classroom narratives and stories are rich and powerful in offering deep insights into classrooms and the reality of teaching--a reality critically re-examined in this forum. Discussing Maria's narratives led to reflections about what it takes to support teachers to become agents of more equitable science practices. Factors such as time and…

Research with Native Hawaiian science teachers is contributing to a better understanding of issues relating to equity in science education, and toward improving science curriculum to support Native Hawaiian students as well as support systems for Native Hawaiian students interested in pursuing higher education and science-based careers.…

Fifteen secondary education chemistry curricula published from 1957 until 2007 were examined based on the dimensions of rationale, goals, and subject matter. An examination of documents in the scope of qualitative research was carried out in the study. The goals included in the examined chemistry curricula were analyzed according to the cognitive,…

The National Science Foundation's Math and Science Partnership (MSP) program (NSF, 2012) supports partnerships between K-12 school districts and institutions of higher education (IHEs) and has been funding projects to improve STEM education in K-12 since 2002. As of 2011, a total of 178 MSP projects have received support as part of a STEM…

The content for the school science curriculum has always been an interplay or contest between the interests of a number of stakeholders, who have an interest in establishing it at a new level of schooling or in changing its current form. For most of its history, the interplay was dominated by the interests of academic scientists, but in the 1980s…

A fundamental social justice issue worldwide is how to meet the needs of all learners, especially those with special needs who historically have faced discrimination, exclusion, and oppression due to special needs (physical, cognitive, or behavioral dimensions). This article focuses on the key questions that researchers interested in improving…

A mixed-methods research study was designed to test whether undergraduate engineering students were better prepared to learn advanced topics in biomedical engineering if they learned physiology via a quantitative, concept-based approach rather than a qualitative, system-based approach. Experiments were conducted with undergraduate engineering…