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1. Connecting chemistry concepts with environmental context using student-built pH sensors

   https://doi.org/10.1080/10899995.2019.1702868  

   Seroy, Sasha K. ; Zulmuthi, Hanis ; Grünbaum, Daniel ( December 2019 , Journal of Geoscience Education)

   Educational research supports incorporating active engagement into K-12 education using authentic STEM experiences. While there are discipline-specific resources to provide students with such experiences, there are limited transdisciplinary opportunities that integrate engineering education and technological skill-building to contextualize core scientific concepts. Here, we present an adaptable module that integrates hands-on technology education and place-based learning to improve student understanding of key chemistry concepts as they relate to local environmental science. The module also supports disciplinary core ideas, practices, and cross-cutting concepts in accordance with the Next Generation Science Standards. We field-tested our module in three different high school courses: Chemistry, Oceanography and Advanced Placement Environmental Science at schools in Washington, USA. Students built spectrophotometric pH sensors using readily available electronic components and calibrated them with known pH reference standards. Students then used their sensors to measure the pH of local environmental water samples. Assessments showed significant improvement in content knowledge in all three courses relating to environmental relevance of pH, and to the design, use and environmental application of sensors. Students also reported increased self-confidence in the material, even when their content knowledge remained the same. These findings suggest that classroom sensor building and collection of environmental data increases student understanding and self-confidence by connecting chemistry concepts to local environmental settings. 

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2. Utilization of Remote Access Electron Microscopes to Enhance Technology Education and Foster STEM Interest in Preteen Students

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-020-09964-4  

   Wolf, Vanessa ; Hsiao, Valerie ; Rodriguez, Brandon ; Min, Ashley ; Mayorga, Jill ; Ashcroft, Jared ( November 2020 , Research in Science Education)

   null (Ed.)

   Remote access technology in STEM education fills dual roles as an educational tool to deliver science education (Educational Technology) and as a means to teach about technology itself (Technology Education). A five-lesson sequence was introduced to 11 and 12-year-old students at an urban school. The lesson sequences were inquiry-based, hands-on, and utilized active learning pedagogies, which have been implemented in STEM classrooms worldwide. Each lesson employed a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) accessed remotely. Students were assessed using multiple-choice questions to ascertain (1) technology education learning gains: did students gain an understanding of how electron microscopes work? and (2) educational technology learning gains: did students gain a better understanding of lesson content through use of the electron microscope? Likert-item surveys were developed, distributed, and analyzed to established how remote access technology affected student attitudes toward science, college, and technology. Participating students had a positive increase in attitudes toward scientific technology by engaging in the lesson sequences, reported positive attitudes toward remote access experiences, and exhibited learning gains in the science behind the SEM technology they accessed remotely. These findings suggest that remote experiences are a strong form of technology education, but also that future research could explore ways to strengthen remote access as an educational technology (a tool to deliver lesson content), such as one-on-one engagement. This study promotes future research into inquiry-based, hands-on, integrated lessons approach that utilize educational technology learning through remote instruments as a pedagogy to increase students’ engagement with and learning of the T in STEM. 

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3. An initial exploration of the perspectives and experiences of diverse learners’ acceptance of online educational engineering games as learning tools in the classroom

   https://doi.org/10.1109/FIE43999.2019.9028605  

   Cook-Chennault, Kimberly ; Villanueva, Idalis ( October 2019 , An initial exploration of the perspectives and experiences of diverse learners' acceptance of online educational engineering games as learning tools in the classroom)

   This Work-In-Progress falls within the research category of study and, focuses on the experiences and perceptions of first- and second year engineering students when using an online engineering game that was designed to enhance understanding of statics concepts. Technology and online games are increasingly being used in engineering education to help students gain competencies in technical domains in the engineering field. Less is known about the way that these online games are designed and incorporated into the classroom environment and how these factors can ignite inequitable perspectives and experiences among engineering students. Also, little if any work that combines the TAM model and intersectionality of race and gender in engineering education has been done, though several studies have been modified to account for gender or race. This study expands upon the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) by exploring perspectives of intersectional groups (defined as women of color who are engineering students). A Mixed Method Sequential Exploratory Research Design approach was used that extends the TAM model. Students were asked to play the engineering educational game, complete an open-ended questionnaire and then to participate in a focus group. Early findings suggest that while many students were open to learning to use the game and recommended inclusion of online engineering educational games as learning tools in classrooms, only a few indicated that they would use this tool to prepare for exams or technical job interviews. Some of the main themes identified in this study included unintended perpetuation of inequality through bias in favor of students who enjoyed competition-based learning and assessment of knowledge, and bias for students having prior experience in playing online games. Competition-based assessment related to presumed learning of course content enhanced student anxiety and feelings of intimidation and led to some students seeking to “game the game” versus learning the material, in efforts to achieve grade goals. Other students associated use of the game and the classroom weighted grading with intense stress that led them to prematurely stop the use of the engineering tool. Initial findings indicate that both game design and how technology is incorporated into the grading and testing of learning outcomes, influence student perceptions of the technology’s usefulness and ultimately the acceptance of the online game as a "learning tool." Results also point to the need to explore how the crediting and assessment of students’ performance and learning gains in these types of games could yield inequitable experiences in these types of courses. 

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4. Active Learning Strategies in the Geospatial Sciences

   Ignatius, A. ; Turk, J. ; Panda, S. ( January 2019 , 2019 ATE Principal Investigators' Conference)

   null (Ed.)

   Science-based educational research increasingly supports the high value of active learning. The geospatial sciences incorporate active learning strategies such as field observation, experimental methods, hands-on learning, and the use of technology in the classroom. This session will demonstrate implementation of experiential learning methods such as field-based inquiry, metacognition, retrieval practice, and storytelling to promote comprehensive understanding and long-term learning in geoscience. 

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5. HITS: Harnessing a Collaborative Training Network to Create Case Studies that Integrate High-Throughput, Complex Datasets into Curricula

   https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2021.711512  

   Robertson, Sabrina D. ; Bixler, Andrea ; Eslinger, Melissa R. ; Gaudier-Diaz, Monica M. ; Kleinschmit, Adam J. ; Marsteller, Pat ; O’Toole, Kate K. ; Sankar, Usha ; Goller, Carlos C. ( August 2021 , Frontiers in Education)

   As educators and researchers, we often enjoy enlivening classroom discussions by including examples of cutting-edge high-throughput (HT) technologies that propelled scientific discovery and created repositories of new information. We also call for the use of evidence-based teaching practices to engage students in ways that promote equity and learning. The complex datasets produced by HT approaches can open the doors to discovery of novel genes, drugs, and regulatory networks, so students need experience with the effective design, implementation, and analysis of HT research. Nevertheless, we miss opportunities to contextualize, define, and explain the potential and limitations of HT methods. One evidence-based approach is to engage students in realistic HT case studies. HT cases immerse students with messy data, asking them to critically consider data analysis, experimental design, ethical implications, and HT technologies.The NSF HITS (High-throughput Discovery Science and Inquiry-based Case Studies for Today’s Students) Research Coordination Network in Undergraduate Biology Education seeks to improve student quantitative skills and participation in HT discovery. Researchers and instructors in the network learn about case pedagogy, HT technologies, publicly available datasets, and computational tools. Leveraging this training and interdisciplinary teamwork, HITS participants then create and implement HT cases. Our initial case collection has been used in >15 different courses at a variety of institutions engaging >600 students in HT discovery. We share here our rationale for engaging students in HT science, our HT cases, and network model to encourage other life science educators to join us and further develop and integrate HT complex datasets into curricula. 

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