The ability to express scientific concepts in mathematical terms and integrate scientific and mathematical reasoning about a phenomenon is a foundational cognitive process involved in scientific thinking. This process called "blended math-science sensemaking" (MSS) is a desired skill for all science, technology, engineering, and math…

Computational modeling and thinking skill sets were previously relegated to computer scientists and programmers. As a result, computational tools are largely unfamiliar to K-12 science teachers and students. Using Mathematical and Computational Thinking and Developing and Using Models were included in the "Next Generation Science…

The interrelationship of science and engineering and the recent inclusion of engineering in K-12 science standards have promoted the incorporation of engineering design in science classrooms. However, empirical studies on the impacts of engineering design on science learning show mixed findings and indicate that factors such as the complexity of…

In addition to the continuing need for citizens who can address the challenges of "human" communities, growing concerns have arisen regarding "all" life on the planet. Indeed, one of our most urgent conditions is the decline of the environment upon which all life depends. Yet, despite our concerns, there remain vastly differing…

Conceptual, emotional, and political challenges are entangled in environmental issues, yet science education often focuses exclusively on the conceptual dimension. To address this, we developed a design workshop to study how high-school youth could integrate all three in their creations. Specifically, we explored how youth negotiated visions of…

Rehearsals have become an increasingly popular pedagogy to support preservice teachers in developing competency in enacting challenging instructional practices and communicating associated pedagogical commitments. To understand how best to support learners participating in rehearsals, researchers have begun to analyse the facilitation of teacher…

Learning activities related to students' real-life experiences may create meaningful learning. Integrating traditional games into the physics classroom can reconstruct local knowledge into scientific knowledge. The use of technology can affect student learning achievement. One of the technologies currently attracting attention is Augmented reality…

Creativity and problem-solving are 21st-century skills that we need to develop in our students. Research on computational thinking (CT) integration in school subjects and STEAM activities has shown a positive effect on students' problem-solving skills and creativity. Our study extends our previous work from the integration of CT in a mathematics…

The emergence of immersive VR technology in K-12 educational spaces has created a need for research examining the affordances and constraints of this technology for student learning. The current study uses a case-study methodology to illustrate K-12 secondary science teachers' perceived affordances and constraints of using immersive VR tools to…

By adopting a situated and interactional approach, we explore students' immersive VR experiences as resources for collaborative meaning making and learning. We draw on data from a project in which teachers and researchers co-developed a learning design for upper secondary students involving immersive VR technology. In this learning design,…

Financial Literacy is one of the subject areas taught in Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) courses which is not graduation requirement for high school students across Pennsylvania. The problem of practice I addressed is that Greensburg Salem High School (GSHS) students are graduating without the financial literacy knowledge and skills to become…

Previous research claimed that integration of augmented reality on educational settings helps to improve academic achievement of students in collaborative learning environments, as well as to improve their retention and ability to translate this within other environments. Since augmented reality is still considered relatively novel technology in…

This paper presents an analysis of cognitive skill levels expressed in high school students' performance using laboratory simulations. We address lower-order cognitive skills (LOCS) and higher-order cognitive skills (HOCS) situations in a virtual simulation activity, in order to identify and underly further discussions about students' reasoning…

A differentiated science activity was created for gifted students. The focus is on Sustainable Development Goal 15 (SDG-15) for life on land, enhancing engagement, self-regulated learning skills, and scientific creativity in gifted students. The activity spanned eight lesson hours, with tasks encouraging observation, inquiry, and creative…

Despite clear scientific evidence to support an urgent need to cut greenhouse gas emissions, societal action remains inadequate to meet international climate goals. New approaches in climate change communication are needed to motivate climate action. "World Climate" is an interactive, engaging, and socially rich role-play simulation that…