Integrating sophisticated graphical analysis skills as they learn science is essential for K-12 students and emphasized in current standards. In this study, we iteratively designed a Graphing Integration Inventory (GII) over a three-year period, while also supporting students to develop their capabilities to use graphs to learn science content in…

A science achievement model was separately investigated for students in low and high achieving schools (LAS and HAS) in Turkey. Then, gender differences based on variables that significantly contributed to each achievement model were investigated. The student-level variables that were under investigation for multiple regression analyses include…

This study uses a mixed method sequential exploratory design to examine motivational and contextual influences on boys' and girls' engagement in math and science, paying particular attention to similarities and differences in the patterns by gender. First, interviews were conducted with 38 middle and high school students who varied in their level…

Can engaging college students in client-centered projects in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) coursework increase interest in STEM professions? The current study explored the effectiveness of project-based learning (PjBL) courses on student attitudes, major choice, and career aspirations in STEM. Framed in expectancy-value…

The present study is based on the empathizing-systemizing (E-S) theory of cognitive science. It was hypothesized that the influence of students' gender on their motivation to learn science is often overestimated in the research literature and that cognitive style is more important for motivation than students' gender. By using structural equation…

Despite valuable syntheses of the field of gender and science education, there has not been a systematic, comprehensive review of the literature on gender and science education in recent years. We examine the literature pertaining to girls' engagement in science and develop four themes (equity and access, curriculum and pedagogy, the nature and…

Much research has focused on student views about physics concepts, with an emphasis on the identification of alternative conceptions, and how curricula and professional development may ameliorate the situation. However, there has been little work on determining the extent of, and in separating, the student and teacher/classroom level variables…

Whereas there has been strong advocacy of the value of writing for learning in science, the role of student planning in this approach and the relationships between planning, writing, and learning have been underresearched. Our mixed method study aimed to address this issue by seeking to identify quantitative differences in learning outcomes…

"Hands-on" activities play an important, but controversial, role in early science education. In this study we attempt to clarify some of the issues surrounding the controversy by calling attention to distinctions between: (a) type of instruction (direct or discovery); (b) type of knowledge to be acquired (domain-general or domain-specific); and…