This study aims to develop guidance materials on the topic of evaporation and boiling within the Science course, to use the materials with 5th grade students, and to find out the students' opinions about the implementation of these materials. The participants consist of 10 students studying in a public middle school in the 2020-2021 academic year.…

With the emergence of COVID-19, public interest in data visualization has surged. Data visualizations also, importantly, raised questions related to the data and the social context in which it occurred. Extending beyond but remaining connected to COVID-19, this context involved the racial and social inequality and economic disparities brought to…

This program evaluation outlines the process, challenges, and outcomes of decolonizing middle school curriculum through an interdisciplinary approach. A diverse team of educators conducted a curriculum audit and restructuring initiative in a Western New York independent school. Faced with data analysis challenges, the team devised an Environmental…

This study explored a middle school science teacher's curricular sensemaking in interaction with their use of an educative storyline curriculum, aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards, that was intentionally designed for more opportunities for students' scientific sensemaking. Using a phenomenological case study methodology, we examined…

In this paper, we describe the design, development, and implementation of a curriculum based on teaching computer science using an industry-standard game-design software: Unity 3D. We discuss the theoretical underpinnings of our instructional design process and steps we have taken to introduce complexity and maintain student motivation. We discuss…

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Curriculum Development: Theory into Design.] Although curriculum design has a long tradition in physics education research (PER), it is often criticized for unclear or inconsistent methodologies. One reason is that the theory-into-practice aspect frequently remains blurred. Only a few curriculum…

Recently there has been a call among researchers, practitioners, and policymakers for the integration of science and engineering education in K-12 curricula. Similarly, computational thinking (CT) has been recognized as a framework for developing computer literacy and computing skills among the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics…

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore middle school students' and teachers' perceptions of integrating social and emotional learning into curriculum. Researchers recognized the importance of delivering social and emotional learning skills in the classroom as the foundation for the formation of creating students who are caring…

Climate change as an instructional topic in K-12 schools is most frequently taught in the science classroom. However, it is a human issue requiring social as well as technological and scientific solutions. This study analyzes and evaluates a climate change curriculum implemented via an integrated social studies and language arts framework in a…

This study aimed to understand how a multi-tiered social-emotional curriculum could be implemented at the middle school level and its impact on student mental health, academic progress, and school culture at a public school in the Northeast. Many secondary schools quickly remediate academic skills rather than examining a student's social-emotional…

Recent calls for reform in K-12 science education and the National Academy of Engineering's Grand Challenges for Engineering in the 21st Century emphasize improving science teaching, students' engagement, and learning. In this study, we designed and implemented a curriculum unit for sixth-grade students (i = 1305). The curriculum unit integrated…

Background: We developed the Tobacco Prevention Toolkit (Toolkit) to enhance the impact of school-based tobacco education. This study describes the process of developing the Toolkit, its contents, and reach. Methods: Qualitative community-based participatory research (CBPR), including focus group discussions (N = 152) and working groups with…

In this paper, we address the societally important issue of developing a more equitable approach to preK-12 engineering education. Our primary emphasis is on K-8 grades--a time when first impressions of engineering may be developed. Calls for increased participation by all students, including those who have been historically marginalized, motivate…

This article is the first of a two-part series about Engineering for All (EfA), a $1.7M National Science Foundation-funded project, which introduces middle school students to engineering, not only as a career path, but as an endeavor with potential for doing social good. Engineering for All opens students' eyes to the role engineers play in…

Citizen science (CS) projects have become widespread in part because they expand the capacity of professional scientists, enabling research that would otherwise be impracticable or unaffordable. In addition to the research benefits, educators and scientists have seen educational value in CS because it can incorporate students into real-world…