This special issue of the Journal of Research in Science Teaching seeks to explore conceptualizations of culture that address contemporary challenges in science education. Toward this end, we unite two theoretical perspectives to advance a conceptualization of culture as a complex system, emerging from iterative processes of cultural bricolage,…

The forecast for the first quarter of this century is that the issue of teaching science in the language to which the learner is most familiar will receive more attention in our quest to win more students for science. Over two-thirds of countries in Africa, Asia, and Europe have developed policies on the use of the mother tongue for teaching…

The body of research aimed at explaining the science teaching and learning of African Americans has identified myriad factors that correlate with African American's science career choices and science performance generally. It has not, however, offered any satisfactory explanations as to why those factors are disproportionately racially determined.…

This study examined the nature of science (NOS) views of lower elementary grade level students, including their views of scientists. Participants were 23 third-grade African American students from two Midwest urban settings. A multiple instrument approach using an open-ended questionnaire, semi-structured interviews, a modified version of the…

With growing interest in the role of teachers as the key mediators between educational policies and outcomes, the importance of developing good measures of classroom processes has become increasingly apparent. Yet, collecting reliable and valid information about a construct as complex as instruction poses important conceptual and technical…

In recent years, research on students' scientific argumentation has progressed to a recognition of nascent resources: Students can and do argue when they experience the need and possibility of persuading others who may hold competing views. Our purpose in this article is to contribute to this progress by applying the perspective of framing to the…

We propose a new model of the factors influencing acceptance of evolutionary theory that highlights a novel variable unexplored in previous studies: the feeling of certainty (FOC). The model is grounded in an emerging understanding of brain function that acknowledges the contributions of intuitive cognitions in making decisions, such as whether or…

This paper analyzes recent research conclusions regarding biology teacher attitudes toward evolution, and the variable implementation of evolution in the high schools nationwide. Berkman and Plutzer (2010. "Evolution, creationism, and the battle to control America's classrooms." New York: Cambridge University Press) conclude that due to a large…

Education policy in the U.S. in the last two decades has emphasized large-scale assessment of students, with growing consequences for schools, teachers, and students. Given the high stakes of such tests, it is important to understand the relationships between students' answers to test items and their knowledge and skills in the tested content…

To improve assessments of academic achievement, test developers have been urged to use an "assessment triangle" that starts with research-based models of cognition and learning [NRC (2001) "Knowing what students know: The science and design of educational assessment." Washington, DC: National Academy Press]. This approach has been successful in…

Beginning with a reference to living in a time of both uncertainty and opportunity, this article presents a discussion of key areas where shared understanding is needed if we are to successfully realize the design and use of high quality, valid assessments of science. The key areas discussed are: (1) assessment purpose and use, (2) the nature of…

The purpose of this article is to address a major gap in the instructional sensitivity literature on how to develop instructionally sensitive assessments. We propose an approach to developing and evaluating instructionally sensitive assessments in science and test this approach with one elementary life-science module. The assessment we developed…

In recent years, science education has placed increasing importance on learners' mastery of scientific reasoning. This growing emphasis presents a challenge for both developers and users of assessments. We report on our effort around the conceptualization, development, and testing the validity of an assessment of students' ability to reason around…

For more than half a century concerns about the ability of American students to compete in a global workplace focused policymakers' attention on improving school performance generally, and student achievement in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) specifically. In its most recent form--No Child Left Behind--there is evidence…

Providing model-based accounts (explanations and predictions) of water and substances in water moving through environmental systems is an important practice for environmental science literacy and necessary for citizens confronting global and local water quantity and quality issues. In this article we present a learning progression for water in…