Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education has emerged as a powerful tool for boosting students' mathematics achievement. By integrating these disciplines, students are equipped with essential skills for the 21st-century workforce and can develop a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts. Through hands-on experiments,…

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects and impact of interdisciplinary teaming on teacher practices and efficacy. This study revealed the perspectives of eight 7th and 8th grade teachers, who teach one of the core disciplines (English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies) and the school principal by interviewing…

STEM education is on demand more than ever as the workforce relies on 21st century skills and STEM disciplines. This paper presents a framework (IMS-TEAM) for integration of mathematics and science with the use of technology and modeling in an authentic context. The activity based on this framework is designed for and implemented with forty-four…

Reading Apprenticeship is a model of academic literacy instruction designed by the Strategic Literacy Initiative (SLI) at WestEd to improve student literacy skills and academic achievement. Based on understandings of the close relationship between curricular reform and professional development, Reading Apprenticeship includes an instructional…

This study was conducted to examine the effect of mathematical modelling activities on the mathematical modelling skills of secondary school students in the context of STEM education. The study was designed according to the embedded design, one of the mixed research methods. The study group of research consists of 66 eighth-grade students studying…

This dissertation explored the roles schools can play in the successful outcomes of large carnivore or keystone reintroduction projects. Schools are more than centers for knowledge acquisition--they connect their community and disseminate information quickly to a wide audience. This study took place in California's Eastern Sierra Nevada, a…

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) advocate an integrated model of science instruction for middle schools in which the science disciplines are connected rather than separate. This model, used by other countries that are consistently successful in science, has several key benefits, including enhanced student learning and better…

This Teaching and Learning Research Initiative (TLRI) project was a 2-year exploratory study focusing on differentiating the curriculum in response to individual learner differences. The project was designed to explore learning and teaching of differentiated scientific content through observational processes and the expression of that learning…

As part of an outreach initiative by the Natural History Museum in Vienna, Austria, an interdisciplinary educational module was developed to teach students about sustainability through the lens of mineral resources used to produce mobile phones. The overall goal of the module is to provide teachers of different subjects with a multifaceted tool to…

Literacy in the Middle (LIM) is a sixth- through eighth-grade literacy initiative being implemented in the Houston Independent School District (HISD). The initiative is an extension of the Literacy by 3 initiative being implemented at the elementary school level, district-wide. LIM focuses on literacy across the curriculum, including the core…

This paper highlights an investigation of how middle school students responded to a theatre performance designed to portray science as a humanistic and relatable endeavour that youth -- similar to the youth in the audience -- engage in during their everyday lives. The play included in this study was generated as a part of a design research project…

To bridge the gap for English language learners (ELLs) in science, hybrid language affords the opportunity for students to communicate through various modes, including natural language, visual representations, mathematical expressions, and manual-technical operations. The purpose of this study was to investigate how ELLs use hybrid language (a) to…

Purpose: This study explored implementation of the middle school concept (MSC) in Illinois middle-level schools, examining relationships between MSC implementation and schools' relative wealth, racial/ethnic composition, and achievement levels. Design/methodology/approach: This quantitative study utilized a sample of 137 Illinois middle-level…

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation invested in the Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC) as one strategy to support teachers' and students' transition to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in English language arts. This report provides an early look at the implementation of LDC in eighth-grade history/social studies and science classes in two…

The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of Summer Environmental Education Program (SEEP) on elementary school students' environmental knowledge, affect, skills and behavior which are the main components of environmental literacy. The sample consisted of 45 students (25 males, 20 females) studying in 4th through 8th grades and living in…