A wide variety of out-of-school time (OST) programs across the U.S. offer science education opportunities that cover many scientific disciplines and use diverse pedagogical practices (National Research Council [NRC], 2009). However, to improve youth's scientific literacy, OST educators need to "have the disposition and repertoire of practices…

This paper will describe a five year research project of a teaching strategy whereby pre-service credential students at a southern California university were taught to develop and apply science curriculum to parents of elementary-aged English as a Second Language students. The paper will elaborate upon the importance of parental engagement in…

This course of study is aligned with the California State Science Framework and provides students the chemistry content needed to become scientifically literate and prepared for post-secondary science education. The course of study is divided into four sections. The first section provides an overview of the course and includes a course…

This handbook was designed for school-level planners (school site councils, principals, parent groups, and teachers) in developing, assessing, and improving K-12 science education programs. The main body of the handbook (chapter 2) describes the most important components of an effective science education program: (1) school-level plan; (2)…

This course of study is aligned with the California State Science Framework and provides students with the physics content needed to become scientifically and technologically literate and prepared for post-secondary science education. Framework themes incorporated into the course of study include patterns of change, evolution, energy, stability,…