This study responds to the need to produce inviting learning environments that help to build intentional science learning in early childhood education. We present a free-choice science learning environment on plant diversity in the fall. From the moment it was implemented, we analyzed whether children of different educational levels acted in…

Children's multiple interests intersect with their participation in informal learning practices in dynamic ways. Using a theoretical framework illustrating interest as a multifaceted construct that has different forms and a range of scope and durability, this study investigates how children's situational interests and individual interests are…

In contemporary society, cultivating scientific literacy among the public is imperative for informed decision-making on matters influencing general well-being. Here, we report the multifaceted activity Magnifying Minds as a collaboration between artists and scientists to enhance scientific literacy through public art. Murals as a medium for…

An understanding of how sensemaking unfolds when elementary students engage in engineering design tasks is crucial to advancing engineering teaching and learning at K-12 levels. Sensemaking has been widely studied in the context of science as a discipline. In this paper, we seek to contribute to the more nascent efforts to build theory about the…

Recent science education reforms emphasize the goal of developing students' science and engineering practices. To foreground those practices during science instruction, teachers need conceptual tools to guide their instructional decision-making. In this conceptual paper, I propose that thinking about science and engineering activities as educative…

Green and sustainable chemistry (GSC) will become ever more central to the study of chemistry. This is demonstrated by commitments from the American Chemical Society, particularly the Committee on Professional Training and the Green Chemistry Institute, and the United Nations (UN Sustainable Development Goals), which underscore the urgent need for…

The article presents a research study that examined the ways in which digital curation promotes personalized learning, as well as the students' experiences of this learning process. The study was conducted in the context of K-12 education. Participants spent three months on a project that included curating a personalized digital collection. The…

Background: Students' satisfaction with science education is one of the preconditions for the students' future interest in pursuing an academic career in science. However, to date it is still not clear what particular teaching strategies promote students' satisfaction with science and, specifically, what opportunities for promoting this…

In 2018, the National Science Foundation supported the sixth in a series of surveys through a grant to Horizon Research, Inc. (HRI). This series of studies has been known as the National Survey of Science and Mathematics Education (NSSME). The 2018 iteration of the study included an emphasis on computer science, particularly at the high school…

The establishment and use of nuclear power plants to meet the energy need is a controversial socioscientific issue in all the countries of the world; as in Turkey. In this regard, the current study intended to investigate the effect of the socioscientific issue-based instructional activities related to the Nuclear Energy Plants (NEP) that have…

The Report of 2018 National Survey of Science and Mathematics Education (NSSME+) details the results of a survey of 7,600 science, mathematics, and computer science teachers in schools across the United States. Areas addressed include: teacher backgrounds and beliefs; science, mathematics, and computer science professional development; science,…

People are regularly confronted with environmental and science-related issues presented to them in newspapers, on television, or even in their own doctor's office. Often the information they use to inform their decisions on matters of science may be ambiguous and contradictory. This article presents an activity that investigates how students deal…

In this article, I introduce a framework for guiding future citizens to think critically about nature of science (NOS) and "with" NOS as they engage in socioscientific decision making. The framework, referred to as the critical thinking--nature of science (CT-NOS) framework, explicates and targets both NOS as a learning objective and NOS…

Current science education reforms and the new standards (Next Generation Science Standards [NGSS], 2013) advocate that K-12 students gain proficiency in the knowledge-generating practices of scientists. These practices include argumentation, modeling, and coordinating evidence with theories and models. Practice-based instruction is very different…

This report highlights some of the major findings from the 2018 NSSME+. Six major topical areas are addressed: (1) Teacher Background and Beliefs; (2) Science, Mathematics, and Computer Science Professional Development; (3) Science, Mathematics, and Computer Science Courses; (4) Instructional Decision Making, Objectives, and Activities; (5)…