In previous work, we described how three teachers differentially create opportunities for students to act as epistemic agents and to engage in collective knowledge-building work (Alzen et al., 2020). The descriptive nature of this previous research provided information about what variability can look like in classrooms attempting these…

Student participation in the science practices is more than following directions to conduct pre-determined experiments and analyze data with expected solutions. This requires classroom shifts that increase the epistemic agency of students: increase student involvement and authority in developing science knowledge and practices, rather than the…

Adopting new instructional materials is an important way to support reform in science education, but implementation can be challenging and complex. Therefore, we conducted a contrasting case study of two middle schools implementing new curricular materials. We conducted semi-structured interviews with teachers and leaders and collected…

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of Project-Based Learning (PBL) and Flipped Classroom Model (FCM) supported by PBL on sixth grade students' academic achievement, retention of knowledge, and individual innovation competence. A quasi-experimental design with a pre-test and post-test control group was used in the study. While the…

This study explored the influence of using Curriculum-Based Readers Theater (CBRT) on promoting 12 sixth graders' oceanic knowledge and vocabulary learning in an elementary school in Taiwan. Based on the analysis of both quantitative (oceanic knowledge tests and vocabulary knowledge tests) and qualitative data (interviews, videos, and…

The teaching and learning of chemistry can be challenging due to the complex and abstract nature of the subject matter. Traditional methods of instruction often struggle to engage students and facilitate an understanding of essential chemical concepts. To address this, an innovative card game, "Compound Chain", was developed and…

The importance of data literacies and the shortage of research surrounding data science in elementary schools motivated this research-practice partnership (RPP) between researchers and teachers from a STEM elementary school. We used a narrative case study methodology to describe the instructional practices of one music teacher who co-designed a…

This is a qualitative, descriptive, and multi-case study, in which the researcher investigated the perceptions of middle school teachers who were implementing three-dimensional learning aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) into their instructional practices. The participants were 10 middle school teachers who worked in three…

One reason for the widespread use of the energy concept across the sciences is that energy analysis can be used to interpret the behavior of systems even if one does not know the particular mechanisms that underlie the observed behavior. By providing an approach to interpreting unfamiliar phenomena, energy provides a lens on phenomena that can set…

K-12 science teachers in the United States are encouraged to teach their students engineering. When incorporating engineering into their science curricula, teachers commonly either focus on: (1) engineering and lace science throughout; or (2) science and lace engineering throughout. This study explores middle school students' nature of engineering…

Calls for engineering integration in pre-collegiate science courses are being made across the globe. The success of such efforts depends heavily on science teachers changing their instructional practices to include engineering. We conjecture when a science teacher chooses to make instructional change, including a change to integrate engineering…

This study compares direct instruction to two constructivist approaches, namely experimentation and problem-based learning, in fifth-grade science learning in Hong Kong. Constructivist instructional approaches, contrary to direct instruction, stress on students' active role in constructing knowledge in learning. Experimentation and problem-based…

The primary objective of this research was to investigate the effects of model-based science instruction on the conceptual development of 7th grade students in the topic of electricity. This qualitative research was conducted during the 2022-2023 academic year, using purposive sampling method. The study comprised 33 7th grade students (18 boys and…

Although previous belonging research has investigated social belonging sources, few studies have examined academic sources that include teacher and peer behaviors. Questions remain concerning the contextualization of belonging in specific disciplines and pedagogies. This study explores middle schoolers' science classroom belonging within two…

The purpose of this study was to analyze the effectiveness of scripted biology curriculum as a means of providing students with the information required to increase content knowledge, while comparing curriculum developed by the teacher that utilizesthe Understanding by Design (UbD) framework (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005). The study used a mixed…