Background: Developing upper secondary school students' understanding of the nature of science and technology are important priorities in educational systems worldwide. More research is needed to better understand the conditions under which teaching and learning of epistemological insights become possible, as well as the tools that are necessary…

This study developed a physical computing game-design project that incorporates block-based programming, physical computing, and computer game design for Taiwan's high school technology education curriculum to strengthen students' computational thinking. The project asked students to develop a somatosensory computer game using a block-based…

The global carbon cycle (CC) is a key environmental literacy issue related to climate change, ocean acidification, and energy sustainability. Understanding the CC requires interdisciplinary knowledge informed by multiple science disciplines such as biology, chemistry, earth science, and physics. To examine the core principles and interdisciplinary…

A major concern in science education is how to help students form science identity to increase their aspiration for STEM careers. Given the key role of experiences in individual's science identity formation, STEM experiences related to project-based learning (PBL) have received increasing attention in recent years. The purpose of this study was to…

Professional learning communities (PLCs) involve a process of collaboration, focus on student data and best instructional practices, and serve as a way for all students can receive an equitable education. Many schools implementing PLCs considered the term a noun, not a verb, leading to an inequitable education for high school students across…

Anti-scientific attitudes can impose substantial costs on societies. Can schools be an important agent in mitigating the propagation of such attitudes? This paper investigates the effect of the content of science education on anti-scientific attitudes, knowledge, and choices. The analysis exploits staggered reforms that reduce or expand the…

The objective of our program is to foster and facilitate authentic research experiences in middle and high school science courses. We do so by providing students with a complete experience in scientific experimentation and communication. The centerpiece is a set of experiment modules in which students investigate the effects of toxic chemicals on…

The relationship between family science capital and students' science career intentions has been widely discussed since the ASPIRES project initially proposed this linkage. Since science capital is more likely to be clustered in some social groups, the linkage between family science capital and their children's science aspirations may exacerbate…

The underrepresentation of high school students of color in advanced science courses and the need to increase racial diversity in science fields is well documented. The persistence of racial disparities in science suggests that factors influencing participation include and extend beyond those currently being explored. This study explores how high…

Helping students to become more resilient to online misinformation is widely recognised as an essential task for education in a rapidly digitalising world. Students need both scientific knowledge and epistemic insight to navigate online spaces containing sensationalised reports of scientific and technological developments. Epistemic insight…

In this dissertation study, I aimed to 1) investigate gender patterns in students' career aspirations, in both STEM and non-STEM fields, and 2) identify factors contributing to persistent gender differences within specific STEM disciplines. Drawing on Gottfredson's (1983) model of circumscription and compromise, I examined gender patterns and…

The goal of our ongoing research is to identify strengths and weaknesses of high school level science fair and improvements that can help science educators make science fair a more effective, inclusive and equitable learning experience. In this paper, we confirm and extend our previous findings in several important ways. We added new questions to…

The credibility of conclusions made about the effectiveness of educational interventions depends greatly on the quality of the assessments used to measure learning gains. This essay, intended for faculty involved in small-scale projects, courses, or educational research, provides a step-by-step guide to the process of developing, scoring, and…

The authors of this report aim to understand the health of the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and labor market in the Appalachia region -- defined as the intersection of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia -- with a focus on the mining and extraction industry. This report is the third in a three-part series.…

Past studies of the relation between teacher-student relationship (TSR) and students' academic achievement (SAA) yielded mixed results, so this study determined the overall link between TSR and SAA, along with their moderators. This three-level meta-analysis of 90 independent effect sizes in 74 empirical studies of 233,961 students showed an…