The "Framework for K-12 Science Education" (National Research Council, 2012) sets an ambitious vision for science learning by emphasizing that for students to achieve proficiency in science they will need to participate in the authentic practices of scientists. To realize this vision, all students will need opportunities to learn from…

One goal of project-based science is to promote the development of scientific discourse communities in classrooms. Holding rich high school scientific discussions is challenging, especially when the demands of content and norms of high school science pose challenges to their enactment. There is little research on how high school teachers enact…

Understanding how geckos--small lizards belonging to the family "Gekkonindae"--can "defy gravity" and walk across a ceiling provides a fascinating frame through which students can not only learn valuable content about electrostatic forces, but also engage in authentic scientific practice and explore new technologies based on gecko adhesion. In…

Contextualizing science instruction involves utilizing students' prior knowledge and everyday experiences as a catalyst for understanding challenging science concepts. This study of two middle school science classrooms examined how students utilized the contextualizing aspects of project-based instruction and its relationship to their science…

This study explores seventh graders' use of inscriptions in a teacher-designed project-based science unit. To investigate students' learning practices during the 8-month water quality unit, we collected multiple sources of data (e.g., classroom video recordings, student artifacts, and teacher interviews) and employed analytical methods that drew…

Describes the theoretical premises of project-based instruction and its features. Presents a model of collaboration between teachers and university faculty designed to support teachers in attempts to enact project-based instruction. Describes the teachers in the initial collaboration, the science projects they enacted, and the methods used to…

What teaching practices foster inquiry and promote students to learn challenging subject matter in urban schools? Inquiry-based instruction and successful inquiry learning and teaching in project-based science (PBS) were described in previous studies (Brown & Campione, [1990]; Crawford, [1999]; Krajcik, Blumenfeld, Marx, Bass, & Fredricks,…

A challenge for urban systemic reform initiatives in science education has been to achieve local, state, and national standards for teaching and learning. We have collaborated with teachers in the Detroit Public School System to design project-based curriculum materials that contextualize the learning of science in meaningful real-world problems,…