As the 21st century progresses, we are increasingly reminded of the importance of and need for green chemistry, which also leads to the corresponding need for green chemistry education. The UC Berkeley Department of Chemistry developed a green chemistry laboratory curriculum-the "General Chemistry Green Curriculum" ("GC[superscript…

A new generation of science curriculum materials is being developed and made widely available across K-12. These materials, along with their associated professional learning, are expected to play a pivotal role in transforming science instruction to meet the vision of A Framework for K-12 Science Education and the performance expectations of the…

In this study, which is aimed to investigate the balance principle of the secondary school science curriculum, a case study, one of the qualitative research methods, was employed. In the study, which was conducted by using case design, data analysis was performed by using teacher opinions, observation, and document analysis. The weighted kappa…

Culturally Relevant Education (CRE) focuses on the design of curricular materials that strengthen students' cultural identities while teaching classroom content and science practices. While examples of CRE in science continue to grow, the identities and cultures of the designers are often different from those of the students and communities in…

For decades, education policy has prioritized the need to improve reading and math achievement while science teaching and learning have received far less emphasis. In 2013, schools across the United States began implementing Next Generation Science Standards (or similarly structured, state-adopted science standards). These new science standards…

Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) incorporate research opportunities into the existing curriculum often by providing alternatives or replacing the traditional cookbook-based laboratory courses. Over the past 50 years, CURE courses have been shown to benefit both students and faculty members alike. Despite the large number of…

In this study, an innovative scientific modeling course on concentration cells is designed: First, the demonstrations revealed examples of three different concentration cells. Then, scientific models visualizing the process and principle of cell reactions at the level of microparticulates were introduced to students. Finally, three new…

This study examines how researchers can better understand the instructional and practical realities of teachers through collective sensemaking. Traditional approaches to curriculum design engage learning models without accounting for the needed flexibility of teachers. This approach has resulted in tension and gatekeeping--inhibiting the…

This study critically examines the K-12 curriculum reform in the Philippines and suggests ways on how it can move forward. Specifically, three recent curriculum guides (i.e., science, mathematics, and English) were analysed to determine how they fit with the Education 4.0 milieu. Using a curriculum analysis matrix, the findings indicate that these…

Following professional development (PD), implementation of contemporary topics into high school biology requires teachers to make critical decisions regarding integration of novel content into existing course scope and sequence. Often exciting topics, such as neuroscience, do not perfectly align with standards. Despite commitment to enacting what…

This empirical study investigates the main features of curricula and contexts that favor or hinder the process of transfer of a teaching-learning sequence (TLS) from the designers' original situation to a host one. The specific research questions addressed were (RQ1) what were the changes made during the process of transfer in the new context?…

U.S. education generally portrays science from the Western perspective. As a result, students from different cultures, also referred to as nonmajority students, often struggle to relate material learned in class to their own cultures and lived experiences. Cultural relevance is gaining momentum in broader education reform movements to relate…

A randomized trial study, conducted over two school years in 18 high schools in Washington, finds that "An Inquiry Approach," a three-year, educative curriculum for high school science, has a positive impact on student achievement, teacher practice, and fidelity of implementation of the curriculum when the curriculum is paired with…

The "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS) challenges science teachers to think beyond specific content standards when considering how to design and implement curriculum. This lesson, "Windmills by Design," is an insightful lesson in how science teachers can create and implement a cross-cutting lesson to teach the concepts…

The authors describe a model for embedding science communication into the science curriculum without displacing science content. They describe the rationale, development, design, and implementation of two courses taught by science faculty addressing these criteria. They also outline the evaluation plan for these courses, which emphasize broad…