Academic Publications

April 24, 2023

Exploring Biotechnology in Middle School: Inspiring Future Problem Solvers

This Program Brief gives an overview of a program that introduces middle school students to the science behind biotechnology, features stories from diverse local biotechnology…

April 17, 2023

Addressing Sustainability in the High School Biology Classroom through Socioscientific Issues

Developers of SEPUP’s Science and Global Issues high school biology program published an article in the journal Sustainability detailing how their recently revised curriculum is…

March 2, 2023

The computational thinking for science framework: Operationalizing CT-S for K-12 science…

Contemporary science is a field that is becoming increasingly computational. Today’s scientists not only leverage computational tools to conduct their investigations, they often must contribute…

May 31, 2022

Improving Outdoor Science Teaching and Learning: The Implementation of a Capacity-Building…

This paper examines the role and value of professional learning and organizational capacity building in outdoor science education by investigating several questions analyzing the Better…

May 2, 2022

“That’s What Science Is, All This Data:” Coding Data Visualizations in Middle…

Abstract: In this experience report, we describe the Investigating Air Quality curriculum unit that integrates computational data practices with science learning in middle school science…

March 24, 2022

Designing for Engineering: A Model for Integrating Engineering and Science NGSS Middle School…

This paper describes the project design approach for developing item sets for the NGSS engineering performance expectations (PEs) for middle school. It further examines how…

March 2, 2022

A review of augmented reality for informal science learning: Supporting design of…

Designing for and facilitating intergenerational group learning is an important objective of informal science institutions as most visitors in those settings engage with scientific thinking…

March 2, 2022

Racial equity and inclusion in United States of America-based environmental education…

In the United States of America, societal structures of oppression frame and underpin nearly every field and industry, including environmental education. Despite growing attention on…

May 2, 2021

A Typology of Models for Integrating Computational Thinking in Science (CT+S)

Abstract: In order to expand opportunities to learn computer science (CS), there is a growing push for inclusion of CS concepts and practices, such as…

April 15, 2021

Supporting Making-Centered Experiences in Distance-Learning Contexts

The paper looks at the challenges and opportunities within the making (hands-on, design-based STEAM learning experiences) movement as program developers and leaders pivoted to online,…

March 24, 2021

Bridging the Gap: Evaluating a Design Approach for Curriculum-Neutral NGSS Benchmark…

This study focuses on the project approach to item design and eliciting three-dimensional student performances aligned to the NGSS middle school performance expectations. It also…

March 21, 2021

Articulating a Transformative Approach for Designing Tasks that Measure Young Learners’…

As early elementary classrooms shift to implementing Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) instruction, high-quality assessments are essential for providing teachers with information about where students…

March 21, 2021

BEETLES: An Evaluation of a Capacity Building Model to Support Outdoor Science Programs

This brief shares (1) the underlying goals and design principles for the BEETLES project, (2) a summary of the field-testing process, and (3) program leaders’…

March 20, 2021

Impacts from COVID-19: Resilient Outdoor Science Programs Need Support as Challenges Persist

More than a year after the COVID-19 pandemic struck the United States and forced widespread lockdowns, closures, and social distancing, the field of outdoor science…

March 2, 2021

Learning to Teach to Argue: Case Studies in Professional Learning in Evidence-Based Science…

The emphasis on scientific practices articulated by the National Research Council framework and the Next Generation Science Standards requires significant pedagogical shifts for U.S. science…

September 12, 2020

How High School Science Teachers Respond in a Crisis

Emerging best practices for distance learning in the high school science classroom, from a virtual gathering of educators and administrators in May 2020.

March 20, 2020

A Field at Risk: The Impact of COVID-19 on Environmental and Outdoor Science Education

During April 2020, the Lawrence Hall of Science at the University of California, Berkeley, conducted a survey to learn about the impact of the COVID-19…

March 2, 2019

Experimental and quasi-experimental designs in visitor studies: A critical reflection on three…

Identifying causal relationships is an important aspect of research and evaluation in visitor studies, such as making claims about the learning outcomes of a program…

March 2, 2019

Service learning as a lever to support STEM engagement for underrepresented youth

Women and people of color are consistently underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields and careers. Though there are myriad factors underlying these…

March 2, 2019

Scientific sensemaking supports science content learning across disciplines and instructional…

Science consists of a body of knowledge and a set of processes by which the knowledge is produced. Although these have traditionally been treated separately…

March 2, 2019

From the classroom to the floor: Applying language supports to new museum contexts

The Lawrence Hall of Science implemented a two-phase project, Building Understanding in Language Diverse Students, to modify school group workshops and drop-in public programs to…

March 2, 2019

What drives visitor engagement in exhibits? The interaction between visitor activation profiles…

This paper explores the use of science learning activation to understand how various types of visitors engage with different exhibits. In particular, we examined how…

March 2, 2019

Development of the International Ocean Literacy Survey: measuring knowledge across the world

The Ocean Literacy movement began in the U.S. in the early 2000s, and has recently become an international effort. The focus on marine environmental issues…

March 2, 2018

When I grow up: the relationship of science learning activation to STEM career preferences

This paper proposes three new measures of components STEM career preferences (affinity, certainty, and goal), and then explores which dimensions of science learning activation (fascination,…

March 2, 2017

How personal, behavioral, and environmental factors predict working in STEMM vs non-STEMM…

Much of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medical (STEMM) education policy and research centers around developing the upper levels of the STEMM workforce sector. However,…

March 2, 2016

How science learning activation enables success for youth in science learning experiences

Expanding on recent advances in science education, cognitive and social psychology, and sociocultural studies, the paper explores a construct called science learning activation and a…

March 2, 2015

Assessment at the intersection of science and literacy

The authors of this article, all of whom have been a part of this effort to assess argumentation in literacy-rich science curriculum, have struggled with…

March 2, 2015

The learning benefits of being willing and able to engage in scientific argumentation

Engaging in science as an argumentative practice can promote students’ critical thinking, reflection, and evaluation of evidence. However, many do not approach science in this…

March 2, 2014

Problematizing the STEM pipeline metaphor: Is the STEM pipeline metaphor serving our students…

Researchers and policy makers often use the metaphor of an ever-narrowing pipeline to describe the trajectory to a science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) degree…

March 20, 2011

High Hopes – Few Opportunities: The Status of Elementary Science Education in California

High Hopes – Few Opportunities: The Status of Science Education in California summarizes new and extensive research examining the status of science education in the…

Filter:

Research – Evaluation of Seeds of Science/Roots of Reading: Effective Tools for Developing Literacy through Science in the Early Grades

By Pete Goldschmidt

The National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST) at the University of California, Los Angeles conducted a study on the grades 3–4 unit Light Energy. The study compared student learning from the Light Energy unit with that of students who experienced the usual science curriculum for the same topics.

Download

Research – Exploring the Influence of Science Writing Instruction on Fourth Graders’ Writing Development

By Jennifer L. Tilson, Jill Castek, and Megan Goss

This paper, presented at the National Reading Conference in December 2009, examines the affordances of an integrated science-literacy curriculum on students’ writing development. As part of the efficacy study on the Seeds of Science/Roots of Reading® unit Light Energy, students were given a writing prompt that was scored on several dimensions, including science content, vocabulary, and clarity. Students in Seeds of Science/Roots of Reading classrooms outperformed students in control classrooms on all but two dimensions of science writing.

Download

Research – Integrating Literacy and Science: The Research We Have, the Research We Need

By Gina N. Cervetti, P. David Pearson, Jacqueline Barber, Elfrieda H. Hiebert, and Marco A. Bravo

In this chapter, the authors review the research base that informs the Seeds of Science/Roots of Reading® curriculum, and trace the development of the Seeds of Science/Roots of Reading® model. Each guiding principle of the curriculum is discussed, along with preliminary assessment results that point to the advantage of integrating science and literacy. The chapter closes with questions around the science-literacy interface that merit further research.

Download

Research – Reading and Writing in the Service of Inquiry-Based Science

By Gina N. Cervetti, P. David Pearson, Marco A. Bravo, Jacqueline Barber

This paper presents a working model of the science-literacy interface. The authors include insights gained from developing theSeeds of Seeds of Science/Roots of Reading® program, and guidance for educators in shaping an appropriate and supportive role for text and for literacy practices in inquiry-based science.

Download

Research – The Effect of the Seeds of Science/Roots of Reading Curriculum (Planets and Moons Unit) for Developing Literacy through Science in Fifth Grade)

By Luke Duesbery, Jacob Werblow, and Todd Twyman

This is an evaluation which examined the Planets and Moons unit of the Seeds of Science/Roots of Reading® curriculum to determine the efficacy of the curriculum on general education students and ELL students.

Download