The advancement of technology has led to a growing interest in assessing scientific inquiry within digital platforms. This shift towards dynamic and interactive inquiry assessments enables researchers to investigate not only the accuracy of student responses ("product data") but also their steps and actions leading to those responses…

Chemical reasoning, and in particular structure--property reasoning, is an important goal of chemistry education. Johnstone's triangle (1982, 1991) is often used to explicate this type of reasoning. This triangle describes the multilevel thought chemical reasoning requires and shows why students find chemistry so difficult. However, this model…

Creative and critical thinking (C&CT) capabilities are essential qualities of future ready scientific literate citizens. As teacher educators, developing C&CT in science pre-service teachers (PSTs) requires supporting PSTs' development of C&CT, in addition to supporting their understanding and capacity to teach for development of…

Recent reform initiatives in STEM disciplines inspired the development and implementation of integrated STEM approaches to science teaching and learning. Integrated STEM as an approach to science teaching and learning leverages engineering principles and practices to situate learning in an authentic and meaningful science learning environment.…

This study examined the dimensions of the structure-agency dialectic embedded in students' embodied narratives of their science experiences. As three Black high school students with developed dancer identities used what I have named "ethnodance" to author and narrate their evolving science identity, I looked for structures that hindered…

There is currently a lack of systematic study examining the integration of verbal-visual elements in science textbooks. In particular, few research has investigated how different types of visual representations (e.g. photograph, diagram, table) vary across the major written genres of science (e.g. information report, explanation). Based on the…

In this study, we developed machine learning algorithms to automatically score students' written arguments and then applied the cognitive diagnostic modeling (CDM) approach to examine students' cognitive patterns of scientific argumentation. We abstracted three types of skills (i.e., attributes) critical for successful argumentation practice:…

This study is framed by Bandura's social cognitive theory and Dewey's idea of habits and investigates types of science teachers based on four constructs: (a) self-efficacy beliefs, (b) twenty-first-century learning attitudes, (c) the frequency of implementing inquiry-based instruction, and (d) the frequency of using technology in teaching. K-means…

This study aims to evaluate students' ability to process the context information embedded in chemistry problems. To achieve this goal, a diagnostic measurement instrument was developed, comprising 28 short-answer items embedded in seven context-based chemistry tasks. Four hundred and ninety-three ninth-graders took part in the testing in Jiangsu,…

Learning analytics, referring to the measurement, collection, analysis, and reporting of data about learners and their contexts in order to optimize learning and the environments in which it occurs, is proving to be a powerful approach for understanding and improving science learning. However, few studies focused on leveraging learning analytics…

This research examined the differential motivational effects of a pre-college science enrichment program delivered in both online and in-person learning formats. Using self-determination theory as a guiding framework, we hypothesized that (1) students would exhibit growth in their perceived satisfaction of needs for autonomy, competence, and…

This study examined high school chemistry students' understandings of big ideas--matter and energy, how these understandings are related to macro and submicro representations and fine-grained distinguishing characteristics of students' explanations. The study was conducted in the context of computer-based models and model-based assessments.…

Secondary school students find it difficult to write elaborated causal explanations of scientific phenomena. They frequently present their own opinions and write descriptions of their observations rather than linking observations with logical chains of causal reasoning, underpinned by a theoretical framework, to provide explanations of scientific…

Teachers' understanding and teaching of argumentation is gaining more attention in science education research. However, little is known about how science teachers engage in argumentation with teachers of different subject taking an interdisciplinary perspective that may inspire new pedagogical ideas or strategies. In particular, the positioning of…

Research on the STEM educational pipeline has focused on degree attainment, finding that students who take STEM courses in high school are more likely to declare a STEM major later on (Gottfried & Bozick, "Education Finance and Policy" 11:177-202, 2016) and tend to perform better in college (Sadler & Tai, "Science…