Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies generate increasingly sophisticated non-human cognition; however, foundational learning theories only contemplate human cognition, and current research conceptualizes AI as a pedagogical tool. We argue that the incipient abilities of AI for "mutual engagement" with people could allow AI to…

Narrative texts have been advocated as tools to tackle science learning challenges, and there is even the proposal of a "narrative effect" on learning. We believe it is necessary to examine previous evidence on this effect, as well as to characterize the process of learning through science narrative texts more broadly. In this article,…

In this position paper, we introduce the concept of socioscientific capital (SSC) to denote students' resources that unequivocally play a part when students learn about and make decisions regarding socioscientific issues (SSIs). Students use a variety of resources when they engage with SSI. Our conceptualization of SSC expands on current…

The Framework for K-12 Science Education set an ambitious goal of broadening participation in science learning for all students. Meeting this vision will involve supporting teachers in making meaningful connections with the cultural and linguistic resources their students bring to school; in essence, developing pedagogies that frame these…

We investigated the intersectional relationships between racism, sexism, and classism in inequities in student conceptual knowledge in introductory biology courses using a quantitative critical framework. Using Bayesian hierarchical linear models, we examined students' conceptual knowledge as measured by the Introductory Molecular and Cell Biology…

Since scientific literacy has become a key goal in science education, many people have argued in favor of the incorporation of inquiry in science education. However, scattered in the literature are extrinsic and intrinsic teaching challenges linked to the design and implementation of inquiry-based practical work (IBPW) in secondary school science…

In this paper, I offer a critique of "A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas" (NRC, 2012) and of the "Next Generation Science Standards" (Achieve, 2013). While the new version of the science education standards and the arguments put forward to support them are an improvement…

In this special issue, the structure-agency dialectic is used to shift the analytic frame in science education from focusing on youth as in need of remediation to rethinking new arrangements, tools, and forms of assistance and participation in support of youth learning science. This shift from "fixing" the individual to re-mediating and…

The push for STEM has raised the visibility of engineering as a discipline that all students should learn. With the release of the "Framework for K-12 Science Education" and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), engineering now has an official place in the science curriculum. In both the "Framework" and the NGSS,…

Evaluating the relation between evidence and theory should be a central activity for science learners. Evaluation comprises both hypothetico-deductive analysis, where theory precedes evidence, and inductive synthesis, where theory emerges from evidence. There is mounting evidence that induction is an especially good way to help learners grasp the…

This article is concerned with "commonsense science knowledge", the informally gained knowledge of the natural world that students possess prior to formal instruction in a scientific discipline. Although commonsense science has been the focus of substantial study for more than two decades, there are still profound disagreements about its nature…

The connection between the molecular-level structure of a substance and its macroscopic properties is a fundamental concept in chemistry. Students in college-level general and organic chemistry courses were interviewed to investigate how they used structure-property relationships to predict properties such as melting and boiling points. Although…

Assessments associated with learning progressions are designed to provide diagnostic information about the level and nature of student understanding. Valid interpretations of such diagnoses are only possible when students consistently express the ideas associated with a single learning progression level. Latent class analysis was employed to…

"Science for All" is a mantra that has guided science education reform and practice for the past 20 years or so. Unfortunately, after 20 years of "Science for All" guided policy, research, professional development, and curricula African Americans continue to participate in the scientific enterprise in numbers that are staggeringly low. What is…

This study examines cognitive and social processes in group interactions that shape collaborative learning in science classrooms. Three small groups of students were observed while working collaboratively on explaining the burning of a candle under a jar. The learning environment served as a context for examination of conceptual convergence, a…