Academic Publications

This study investigates the impact of an augmented reality (AR) exhibit, Bugtopia, on family learning conversations at The Lawrence Hall of Science.

What does it take to prioritize science instruction in an elementary system? In this article, we’ll examine three transformative leadership practices underway in a Title-1...

The role of computation in science is ever-expanding and is enabling scientists to investigate complex phenomena in more powerful ways and tackle previously intractable problems....

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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...

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'...

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...

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...

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

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

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,...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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

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...

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...

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...

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...

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,...