Instructional practices in science education often create dichotomies of "expert" and "outsider" that produce distinct power differences in classrooms. Building upon the idea of "making present practice" to disrupt these binaries, this paper presents select findings from a year-long study investigating two urban…

The jigsaw model is a dynamic cooperative learning approach where students become experts on different segments of the material and teach their peers, thereby enhancing engagement accountability, team work, and ultimately improving academic achievement. This study investigated the effectiveness of a cooperative learning strategy on secondary…

In this article, we describe curricular materials developed to engage undergraduate students in evolutionary thinking around antibiotic resistance using the MEGA-plate experiment (Microbial Evolution and Growth Arena). This elegant and visual experiment, developed by the Kishony Lab, shows the development of antibiotic resistance on the timescale…

Modern society is complex and ever-changing. To adapt to this situation, the level of education must be continuously enhanced, and college students who are about to enter society are the group that needs the most attention. As a creative and effective teaching organizational form and teaching strategy, the cooperative learning method plays an…

Escape rooms are making their way into the chemistry classroom as a learning tool. However, escape rooms require a large amount of preparation and setup, and they are only novel and exciting for a single play-through. For escape room games to be incorporated into multiple class periods, they must be streamlined for reuse. In this work, I introduce…

In a traditional lecturing environment, students possess limited agency in accepting or rejecting information provided by teachers. A higher level of student agency involves opportunities and actively identifying uncertainties and collaborating with peers to deepen understanding within the classroom community. Teachers play a crucial role in…

The purpose of this article is to describe a modeling sequence about the digestive system. "What happens in your body when you have lactose intolerance?" is the initial question that will guide the activities. Students will build a 3D plaster cast of the digestive system as part of a modeling cycle through which they are expected to…

Peer-led team learning is a socially mediated pedagogy where trained peer leaders, students who have completed a course, return to lead students in groups within a targeted course. The effect of peer-led team learning to improve student success in chemistry has been extensively documented but it is unclear if it is just as effective at…

Plant morphology courses develop students' understanding of plant structures and identification skills through mini-research activities. Effective species identification requires a literature review and the ability to find, evaluate, and use relevant information. This qualitative study examines students' information literacy skills in completing…

Testing is a highly important tool, used ubiquitously in academia, to assess student comprehension and understanding of material. Unfortunately, the emphasis placed on test grades has resulted in a modern epidemic of test-related anxiety, which can have adverse health effects on students. Over time, novel testing strategies have been developed to…

This dissertation explores the implementation of classical education in a non-classical charter high school, with a focus on science education using classical methodologies. Employing techniques like copy work, history-based science teaching (HBST), the Socratic method, and the Progymnastmata, astronomy, and chemistry were taught. To identify…

The purpose of this research was to determine the effect of the 5E model on the understanding of the molecular genetics concepts taught in general biology. The research had a quantitative focus and a quasi-experimental design, and the participants were 40 undergraduate students from a private university in the west of Puerto Rico, which were…

The low scientific literacy in students is due to several factors such as lack of motivation, negative attitudes towards teachers, low self-esteem, and lack of confidence in self-ability. This study aims to analyze the effectiveness of the Numbered Head Together (NHT) learning model based on the Growth Mindset of scientific literacy and learning…

Teaching assistants have a very important role in physics education as they interact with students and guide them in different contexts. A multitude of research has focused on how to prepare teaching assistants to implement high-quality, research-based teaching techniques. Video clubs, i.e., working with a group of teachers to watch and discuss…

Student engagement in a science classroom is challenging and most students perceive science courses as difficult. Gamification is an emerging strategy used by educators across various disciplines to increase student engagement and promote active learning. One known gamification technique is team Jeopardy, however, there is a gap in knowledge about…