This study examined factors that have been shown to predict middle school students' (grades 6-8) task values (utility value related to engaging with science in the future). Using structural equation modeling students' (N = 1015) responses to a career aspiration survey were analyzed to determine relationships among the factors. The model of best…

Argumentation plays a significant role in science as a scientific practice in which knowledge is constructed, evaluated, and modified. Scientific argumentation (SA) is thus a promising activity for students to pursue in order to think and act like scientists and to enhance their understanding of science. Considering the impact that assessments…

In order to deepen students' understanding of natural phenomenon and how scientific knowledge is constructed, it is critical that science teachers learn how to engage students in productive scientific argumentation. Simulations for teachers are one possible solution to providing practice-based spaces where novices can approximate the work of…

Laboratories have been a cornerstone in teaching and learning across multiple scientific disciplines for more than 100 years. At the collegiate level, science laboratories and their corresponding lectures are often offered as separate courses, and students may not be required to concurrently enroll in both. In this study, we provide evidence that…

Individuals are at an increased risk to drop out of the STEM pipeline if they are female or Latino, and during certain periods including high school. Families are a potential untapped resource of support for high school students. Based on the expectancy-value model, we examined if a variety of parental behaviors predicted students' ability…

While environmental argumentation has recently received much attention from science educators, little consideration has been given to how personal identities and social relationships can either support or constrain student argumentation. This study attends to this issue by examining environmental argumentation as a sociocultural activity (how…

Alternative certification programs (ACPs) have been proposed as a viable way to address teacher shortages, yet we know little about how teacher knowledge develops within such programs. The purpose of this study was to investigate prior knowledge for teaching among students entering an ACP, comparing individuals with teaching experience to those…