Self-determination refers to a person's ability to have control of their life choices, decisions, and interactions with others. Self-determination skills include: 1) decision-making, 2) goal setting, 3) self-awareness, 4) problem-solving, 5) self-advocacy, 6) self-monitoring, and 7) self-efficacy. Researchers suggest that youth with or at-risk for…

Through practicing curiosity by asking questions in the hopes of seeking answers, public administrators may practice empathy, build knowledge about how the world works, and in doing so, dispel ignorance in public agencies. By valuing curiosity, or dispelling ignorance about how the world works, public administrators may help create bureaucracies…

Environmental education for all students is becoming more urgent as societies strive to deal with challenges such as climate change and loss of biodiversity. Teachers have an important role to play in defining the environmental knowledge, beliefs, and actions of the next generation. Understanding the anthropogenic inputs responsible for alteration…

This article introduces a center-based direct instruction lesson using picture-based situation cards paired with a problem-solving poster that teachers can implement within the classroom to proactively teach the skill of problem-solving to children between the ages of 3 and 5 years old.

Systems thinking, interdisciplinary research projects, and creative problem solving are ways to frame modern chemistry curricula to inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers, teachers, and citizens to use their skills and education to create a sustainable future. By integrating planetary boundaries, green chemistry, and the UN…

This article describes the impact of an adaptive professional development program for K-8 mathematics teachers to enhance their implementation of standards that were streamlined to promote improved student learning and achievement. Students from the participating district scored higher than the state average and a neighboring district during the…

The "Next Generation Science Standards" ("NGSS") emphasize integrating engineering design into the science classroom (NGSS Lead States 2013). Inventing is an authentic and relevant classroom approach, regardless of content area, located at one end of a design continuum opposite from routine problem solving. Invention, at the…

Computational thinking is a problem-solving technique traditionally employed by computer scientists to develop computer applications. However, computational thinking practices are now believed to be applicable to other fields (Google for Education, 2018), specifically those related to engineering and technology. Accordingly, the Advancing…

In the age of the internet, it is increasingly difficult to write homework assignments in a way that encourages students to struggle with a problem on their own without seeking answers from other sources. This is especially true in lower-level courses, where students often start with the attitude of "I can't do this." In this article, I…

The development of expertise in chemical information literacy requires practicing these skills in the context of chemistry work. The integration of information literacy in problem-based learning is an instructional strategy that can be used to situate skill development in the chemistry classroom. This work describes a mixed-methods approach to…

One way that STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) initiatives are being utilized is to encourage schools and teachers to integrate key science-based concepts into daily instruction. The reason is simple: it is more than just an instructional improvement or curricular enhancement; it is a research-based strategy that addresses the…

The transition towards a sustainable economy has given a new term "green competences". Green competences build upon the foundation of core competences including literacy, numeracy, communication, teamwork and problem-solving - which along with awareness of environmental issues and entrepreneurship, facilitate lifelong learning and…

Teachers readily welcome instructional materials that situate mathematics in the real world because they provide the relevance of mathematics to students who genuinely seek the answer to the question, "When are we ever going to use math in real life?" Although using the real world as a motivational hook is often effective for engagement,…

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an urgent need for engaging computational alternatives to traditional laboratory exercises. Here we introduce a customizable and flexible workflow, designed with the SARS CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 in mind, as a means of reinforcing fundamental biology concepts using bioinformatics approaches. This workflow…

Teaching a hands- and minds-on course, in which feedback is essential in order to learn, is difficult, especially in times of COVID-19 where student progression cannot be monitored directly. During the lockdown period, the workshops of an undergraduate Design Engineering course had to be transferred to the home situation, which required a redesign…