In this research, we examine learning within doubly authentic learning designs, which combine the sociocultural perspective that classrooms should be congruent with professional practices, along with a humanistic perspective that suggests students' identities should be aligned with what they inquire about in class. Our work is situated in a…

Recently, the science of reading has garnered much attention in elementary schools across the U.S. The science of reading is a body of research on learning to read that has been accumulated through systematic inquiry. Seth A. Parsons and Joy Dangora Erickson argue that the way the science of reading is being implemented is missing a key…

Physics-related tricks that use simple everyday materials, which many children attempt, are often entertaining, memorable, and motivate their interest to physics. One example is balancing a stick on a fingertip or open palm (Fig. 1). To balance a stick, there are two important aspects that must be considered: (1) the rotational dynamics of the…

Teachers use a variety of strategies to capture students' attention, which is a necessary step for any lesson. Expert-level teachers take this one step farther, making sure that their attention-gathering techniques engage students cognitively, sparking productive curiosity and connecting to key concepts and skills to be learned in a unit or…

Context-based learning has become increasingly influential in science education over the last 40 years. However, it is still unclear which types of contexts foster students' interests and learning achievements and are appropriate for science classes. While contexts are usually selected by teachers or curriculum developers, this study focusses on…

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming our world, making it imperative to educate the next generation about both the potential benefits and the challenges associated with AI. This study presents a cross-disciplinary curriculum that connects AI and chemistry disciplines in the high school classroom. Particularly, we leverage machine…

Two critical challenges in science education are how to engage students in the practices of science and how to develop and sustain interest. The goal of this study was to examine the extent to which high school youth, the majority of whom are members of racial and ethnic groups historically underrepresented in STEM, learn the skills and practices…

Satellite laboratories, designed to ignite interest in technical and computer science topics, employ cross-age peer tutoring and physical computing platforms. Catering to students from 5th grade onwards, these laboratories are led by tutors from 9th grade onwards. Employing a design-based research approach, the project aims to comprehensively…

STEM experiences that capture students' curiosity have a unique role in inspiring awe in science, enculturing science engagement, and recruiting students to pursue STEM careers. Here, we present a unique interdisciplinary STEM experience for elementary school students that teaches them to write computer code to test primate intelligence at a zoo…

The authors introduce the readers to a project that highlights digital heritage in early childhood. The highlighted teachers partnered with an anthropologically-trained archaeologist who utilizes advanced digital technologies to enhance public understanding of cultural heritage. This collaboration emphasized social studies and reinforced…

We investigated the impact of inquiry-based learning on the situational interest (SI) of senior high school students in a molecular biology class. In part I of our study we designed an inquiry-based learning class as an experimental workshop in an out-of-school student lab and compared it with the participants' regular biology class. The workshop…

The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of authentically based instruction using the 5E model as the structure for lesson delivery on student emotions and the extent to which the students perceived that the teacher was facilitating mastery goals. Participants were 241 sophomore and junior biology students in three urban high schools in…